April 2026 – Page 2 – SMASH PAGES

Slugfest | ‘Action Comics’ hits issue #1100 in DC’s July solicitations

From a milestone issue to a Dark Knight/Lex Luthor team-up, here’s a rundown of the notable items from DC’s July solicitations.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s July 2026 titles. Hit the links for more info.

Action Comics will hit a big milestone in July as it reaches issue #1100 — following several months behind Detective Comics, which hit issue #1100 last year. The oversized issue will feature stories from creators from across the Superman titles, including Mark Waid, Skylar Patridge, Sophie Campbell, Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Dan Slott and more.

Her’s a look at the main cover by Ryan Sook:

Tom Morello, Marc Guggenheim + Szymon Kudrański will launch the sci-fi miniseries ‘Leviathan Freedom’ on ComiXology Originals

The story of Civil War hero Robert Smalls inspired this cosmic epic, which arrives this summer.

Tom Morello, the Grammy-winning guitarist and co-founder of Rage Against the Machine, is returning to comics this summer with Leviathan Freedom, a sci-fi miniseries co-created with writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Szymon Kudrański. The five-issue series will be published digitally through Amazon’s ComiXology Originals.

The series is a science fiction reimagining of the story of Robert Smalls, a former slave turned politician who, in 1862, commandeered a Confederate warship and sailed himself, his family and others to freedom.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been on a mission to unearth the stories of revolutionaries—the fighters, the visionaries, the ones history either buries or sanitizes beyond recognition,” Morello said. “Their courage, defiance, and unwavering pursuit of justice, often in the face of seemingly impossible odds, have shaped the world, even if their names are too often left out of the narrative. Robert Smalls is one of those heroes. The idea of taking his revolutionary spirit and launching it into the cosmos feels like a perfect extension of his fight.”

‘Gender Queer’ once again lands on the most challenged books list for 2025

The American Library Association shares the list of the most challenged books for last week as a part of National Library Week.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was the third most challenged book in libraries in 2025, according to the American Library Association.

The graphic novel, which was published by Oni Press in 2019, has appeared on the list for five of the last seven years. It topped the list in 2021-2023, and was the second most challenged book in 2024. An annotated edition is due out next month.

No other graphic novels were on the list for 2025, a year that saw the ALA track 4,235 unique title challenges, the second highest ever documented by the ALA. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.

And just like in previous years, the majority of these challenges aren’t being made by concerned parents — they’re being challenged as part of organized efforts.

“In 2025, book bans were not sparked by concerned parents, and they were not the result of local grassroots efforts,” said Sarah Lamdan, Executive Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They were part of a well-funded, politically-driven campaign to suppress the stories and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals and communities.”

Zack Kaplan + John Pearson reunite for ‘The Smart Division’

The five-issue series arrives in August from Dark Horse Comics.

Zack Kaplan and John Pearson, who previously collaborated on the Vault Comics series Mindset, reunite for The Smart Division, a five-issue modern sci-fi detective series arriving in August from Dark Horse Comics. The series is lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and designed by Tom Muller.

The story is built around a mysterious, predictive AI program that has begun helping people commit the perfect murder. When the technology surfaces, a mismatched pair of investigators must establish the Bureau’s first AI crimes division to hunt down the killer and the app enabling them.

“The Smart Division takes everything you loved about our first series Mindset — the playing with form, the thoughtful commentary on technology, and the tense character drama — and raises the bar, with more danger and dread,” Kaplan said. “Artificial intelligence is the hot topic of our time, but we’re exploring it like you’ve never seen — what happens when it helps us commit the perfect crimes.”

‘Absolute Wonder Woman,’ ‘The Power Fantasy’ among nominees for the 2026 Hugo Awards

Winners will be announced in August.

The nominees have been announced for the 2026 Hugo Awards, which includes a “Best Graphic Story or Comic” category.

Presented annually since 1955, the Hugo Awards recognize the best science fiction in books, comics, movies, TV and more. The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story has been awarded since 2009, with previous winners including volumes of Saga, Ms. Marvel, Girl Genius, LaGuardia, Far Sector and Monstress. The graphic novel Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way won the category last year.

This year DC, Image and First Second all scored a nomination, with a picture book, a webcomic and an Ursula K. Le Guin adaptation rounding out the category.

This year’s nominees are:

Exclusive | First look at the slipcase for ‘The Marvel Art of Mike Zeck’

The Kickstarter campaign for the 200-plus page coffee table book celebrating the artist behind ‘Secret Wars,’ ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ and the first ‘Punisher’ miniseries, launches soon

Today we have an exclusive first look at the slipcase for The Marvel Art of Mike Zeck, the 10th volume in Clover Press and Marvel’s ongoing series of high-end artbooks celebrating legendary Marvel artists.

You can follow the campaign on Kickstarter.

The slipcase itself is a showcase of some of Zeck’s most iconic imagery. The front features his artwork from the cover of Captain America #286, which featured a Deathlok story by J.M. DeMatteis and Zeck. It’s inked by John Beatty, Zeck’s frequent collaborator during his celebrated run on the title. The back features a striking pin-up from Silver Surfer Annual #4, and tucked on the spine is an image of Kraven the Hunter from Kraven’s Last Hunt, the landmark Spider-Man story that remains one of Zeck’s most enduring projects.

“I first met Mike at the Chicago Comicon in 1986 right after his Punisher was released, and he left such a positive impression on this very impressionable kid,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “I had the privilege of working with him on a couple of projects over the years, and I am thrilled that in retirement, he’s agreed to be a part of our prestigious The Marvel Art Of… line of art books.

Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Kindt on ‘Mind MGMT: New & Improved’

After moving his Flux House imprint from Dark Horse to Oni Press, the cartoonist prepares to launch another round of his mind-bending series.

Matt Kindt has proven to be one of comic’s most restlessly inventive creators, particularly when it comes to story structure, formal experimentation and the physical design of the books themselves. From his early work on Pistolwhip and Super Spy to Mind MGMT and beyond, Kindt has never been content to make a comic that looks or reads like anything else on the shelf.

Now he’s making a move. After launching Flux House at Dark Horse Comics, Kindt is relocating his imprint to Oni Press, where his first two titles will be Mind MGMT: New & Improved and Fort Psycho, the latter co-created with artist Brian Hurtt. Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 arrives in June, billed as a self-contained entry point for new readers. Although Kindt would be the first to tell you, you should probably read that disclaimer with some skepticism.

I spoke with Kindt about this new chapter, both for Flux House and for Mind MGMT, how the new series differs from the previous one and his zany approach to the blind bag cover program for the first issue. My thanks for his time.

Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Spider-Man + Superman, round two

Check out new comics arriving this week by Andrew MacLean, Aditya Bidikar, SOM, Ray Fawkes, Federico Sabbatini, Michael DeForge, Christopher Priest, Davis Goetten, Ted May, Ben Sears and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

Penguin Random House (Marvel + IDW + Dark Horse + more)
Lunar Distribution (DC + Image + Mad Cave + more)
ComicList (Pretty much all of the above)
Amazon/Kindle new releases (digital comics)

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

Smash Pages Q&A | Mark Russell on ‘The Forgotten Divine’

The award-winning writer of ‘The Snagglepuss Chronicles’ and ‘Not All Robots’ talks to us about his latest project for Ahoy Comics.

Mark Russell’s new book with artist Russ Braun is about how ordinary people fall into cults. The Forgotten Divine follows Rodney Coleman, an unhoused veteran and former bomb disposal expert whose dreams of a faraway planet draw him toward others who’ve had the same visions, and the group that forms around their shared experience.

The book arrives via AHOY Comics’ first-ever Kickstarter, which gave the team the freedom to tell the story they wanted to in the format they thought fit it best. I spoke with Russell about the project, the Kickstarter campaign, why he takes his “kiss of death” ideas to AHOY and more.

Jaime Hernandez, Trung Le Nguyen win at the 2026 L.A. Times Book Awards

Congratulations to this year’s winners.

Graphic novels by Jaime Hernandez and Trung Le Nguyen each took home an L.A. Times Book Prize this year.

Life Drawing: A Love and Rockets Collection by Hernandez won in the Graphic Novel category, while Nguyen’s Angelica and the Bear Prince won in the Young Adult Literature category.

Exclusive | Check out the merch for Stephan Franck’s ‘Palomino’ Kickstarter

The campaign for the final graphic novel in the series will launch next week.

Cartoonist Stephan Franck will launch a Kickstarter next week for the sixth volume of Palomino, his neo-noir graphic novel series, and we’ve got an exclusive look at some of the rewards he’ll offer as part of the campaign.

Available exclusively through the Kickstarter will be a Palomino T-shirt, mug and art print. The campaign will also offer all six volumes of the series, which wraps up in this final volume. Take a look at the merch after the jump.

Kelly Thompson + Stephen Byrne’s new ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ comic series launches at Dynamite in July

Dynamite Entertainment’s new Buffy ongoing kicks off with an oversized first issue tying in the cast of both Buffy and Angel.

Dynamite Entertainment has revealed the full creative team, launch date and story details for their new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, the first details since the publisher announced the license at San Diego Comic-Con last summer.

Artist Stephen Byrne will join Kelly Thompson on the title, along with colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Jeff Eckleberry. Nate Cosby is editing the series.

The oversized first issue kicks off an event story drawing in characters from both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, with Thompson describing a “mythic new villain” and a major twist she says will shake longtime fans. The series picks up at a pivotal point in the character’s timeline and includes the comics debut of a beloved character from the TV series. Thompson is also writing a companion Angel title, with further details to come.

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