Tag: comic books

Smash Pages Q&A | Ben H. Winters on ‘Benjamin’

The creator of TV’s ‘Tracker’ talks dead sci-fi authors, sunny noir and why comics let you do “any damn crazy-ass thing you want to.”

Ben H. Winters has built a career out of defying easy categorization. He’s the Philip K. Dick Award-winning novelist behind The Last Policeman trilogy and Underground Airlines, a TV writer whose credits include FX’s Legion and Apple TV’s Manhunt, and the creator of Tracker, currently one of the biggest hits on CBS. If that sounds like a lot, it is, yet somehow he’s also found time to dive headfirst into comics.

After contributing to Oni Press’s acclaimed revival of the EC Comics line, Winters has now made his miniseries debut with Benjamin, illustrated by the Leomacs. The book follows Benjamin J. Carp, brilliant, slightly self-destructive sci-fi author who died in 1982, as he wakes up inexplicably alive in 2025 Los Angeles, forced to investigate the impossible mystery of his own existence. It’s surreal, funny and deeply strange in the best possible way. The trade paperback collection of Benjamin is out now from Oni Press.

I got the chance to talk to Winters about how he came to comics, what makes Benjamin tick, and what it’s like to bounce between network television and deeply weird graphic novels. He also let slip some details about what’s coming next.

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Slugfest | Dark Horse turns the tables on dungeon-crawling with ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers’ in July

Today’s round-up brings milestone issues, beloved licenses and monster adventurers to comic shops this spring and summer.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more info.

As announced at this weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con, Dark Horse Comics will publish Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers, a four-issue series arriving in July that flips the script and makes the monsters the heroes.

Written by Christopher Hastings and illustrated by Denis Medri, the series follows a lycanthrope, gelatinous cube, mind flayer, death knight and baby beholder who must band together to protect the lair of their recently deceased wizard master — or find a way to trick someone into setting them free.

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‘Gaysians,’ ‘Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices’ win at the GLAAD Media Awards

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation recognized comics from Marvel and Algonquin Books in their 37th annual Media Awards.

Gaysians and Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices were among the winners at the 37th annual GLAAD Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ+ community and the issues that affect their lives.

GLAAD recognizes the comic arts in two categories — “Outstanding Comic Book” and “Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology.” The awards were given out Thursday night in Los Angeles, across categories that recognized film, television, video games and more. Other winners included the TV show Heated Rivalry and the video game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

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Saladin Ahmed + Mario Santoro dig into Bishop’s family history in a new miniseries

The five-issue miniseries reunites Bishop with his sister Shard as a new villain group from his future travels to the present to eliminate him.

The displaced-from-the-future X-Man known as Bishop will star in a five-issue miniseries written by Saladin Ahmed and illustrated by Mario Santoro. The first issue will arrive in June.

The series follows in the footsteps of recent standalone X-Men miniseries like Rogue and Cyclops, delivering a self-contained story that digs into the character’s history while putting him through his paces. In this case, Bishop will reunite with his sister Shard, who appeared in X-Factor and seemingly died in a previous Bishop series.

“I’m having a blast doing a deep dive into the dark corners of Lucas Bishop’s time-travel traumatized mind!” Ahmed said. “I’m a writer who loves both family drama and spectacle, so getting to juxtapose the big visual comic book elements of temporal warping and explosive powers with the quiet pain and joy of sibling relationships is my happy place.”

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Slugfest | New Absolute titles, Next Level expansions, Guy Gardner + a MAD milestone from DC in May

From a reimagined Superman origin to a Barbara Gordon prison break, here’s a rundown of the notable items from DC’s May solicitations.

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

The creative team behind Marvel’s Deadpool reunites at DC for Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Guy Gardner #1, a 48-page one-shot arriving May 6.

“Guy Gardener has always been one of my favorite comics characters, so working with Paul Kaminsky, Jillian Grant…and I couldn’t be more excited about reuniting with one of the stars of my Deadpool days, Matteo Lolli. He’s got everything you need for an action packed comic with some laugh out loud beats — and Matteo can break your heart,” writer Gerry Duggan said on his Substack.

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Vault Comics + novelist Jeremy Robinson launch supernatural horror series ‘Excommunicated’ in May

The series pairs a faithful nun with a festering demon after a botched exorcism leaves them cast out from the church and from hell.

Vault Comics will publish Excommunicated, a new supernatural horror/”buddy cop” series written by novelist Jeremy Robinson and illustrated by Tiago Palma, beginning in May.

They’ll be joined by colorist Manuel J. Rodriguez, letterer Jim Campbell and designer Tim Daniel on the series, which features an excommunicated nun and an exorcised demon thrown out of hell teaming up to save the world.

“My whole life I’ve been what people call ‘steeped in the Bible.’ I’ve incorporated this knowledge into my novels the way I do other religions and mythologies, but I really wanted to use my recent discoveries regarding original translations of the Biblical texts that fundamentally change the game—specifically concerning the satan (yes, lowercase) and the strange beings known as Elohim,” Robinson said. “Me being me, I wrote a story that is sinister, action-packed, and funny, but made even cooler by a supernatural backdrop far more interesting than what we’ve all been taught in Sunday school and by Hollywood.”

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Slugfest | Civil War turns 20, Rogue One turns 10 in Marvel’s May comics

From anniversary celebrations to a contracting cosmic line, here’s a rundown of news coming from Marvel’s recent solicitations.

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

Marvel not only revealed news on several upcoming comics projects at last week’s ComicsPro meeting, but also released their solicitations for May as well. So here’s a look at several of the new projects they’ll release in May, along with a few other comics for later in the year that have come to light.

Starting off, Marvel Comics will publish Civil War: Unmasked, a five-issue limited series revisiting the 2006 event. Written by Christos Gage with art by Edgar Salazar and colors by original Civil War colorist Morry Hollowell, the series tells previously unseen stories set before, during and after the events of the original crossover, spotlighting Iron Man, Spider-Man, Goliath, Tigra and Captain America.

The first issue sends Tony Stark on a mission into the Days of Future Past timeline, where a glimpse of an apocalyptic future forces him to reconsider everything he believed about the Superhuman Registration Act.

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Rafer Roberts + Joe Eisma blend horror + romantic comedy in ‘Babylon Cove’ from Mad Cave Studios

The five-issue series, described as Stephen King writing a Hallmark movie, arrives in May.

Mad Cave Studios will publish Babylon Cove, a five-issue horror romantic comedy written by Rafer Roberts and drawn by Joe Eisma, beginning in May. The miniseries will feature colors by Marissa Louise, lettering by Crank! and a variant cover by The Goon creator Eric Powell.

The story follows Heather Hutchens, a no-nonsense career woman returning to her picturesque New England hometown for the first time in a decade for a family funeral. Waiting for her are Dennis, the all-American dreamboat who broke her heart in high school; Charlie, the shy boy she never gave the time of day; and Karthon, an ancient demon with plans to devour the entire town.

“This project came about simply because it’s more fun to make comics with your friends,” Roberts said. “My first inclination was to write a romance comic to take advantage of Joe’s reputation from his Archie and Morning Glory days, but like all of my stuff, I had to subvert those expectations by adding a straight-up horror element. Babylon Cove is the product of both Joe and me, making the comics we’re known for, but at the same time making the comics we wish people would let us make. There is no other romantic comedy like Babylon Cove that has this much blood and guts, and there is no other horror out there that has this much romance and laughs. Babylon Cove is for people who say they hate romance stories, people who go to brunch because their friends drag them to brunch, and people who join book clubs and have strong opinions about why the romantic leads don’t belong together.”

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Sonic the Hedgehog + Godzilla meet in comics this summer

Writer Nick Marino and artist Jack Lawrence bring the two iconic franchises together in a crossover event launching this summer.

Sonic is one busy hedgehog. In addition to his own comic and the recent crossover with DC (for which a sequel will arrive later this year), IDW has added another item to his “to do” list — Sonic x Godzilla, a new crossover series pairing the video game hero with the King of the Monsters (whose schedule stays pretty full as well).

The series is written by Nick Marino and illustrated by Jack Lawrence, with colors by Reggie Graham. It’ll kick off this summer and marks the first time the two franchises have crossed over in comics.

“I’m doing my best to cook up fun scenarios for Jack to draw, and then I’m making sure my panel counts leave enough room for him to properly play around with the fantastic spectacle that this crossover deserves,” Marino said. “I’m fascinated by the scale of life, how we perceive lifeforms differently from bacteria to planet-wide ecosystems, from micro to macro. This particular character combination allows me to explore that in a fun way, and it’s been really satisfying. I hope our readers agree that the result is a cohesive mix of these two visual focuses​– small speedsters and massive monsters​– that delivers the best of both worlds!”

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Mark Russell + PJ Holden bring WWII series ‘Dog Tag’ to Mad Cave Studios

The six-issue series begins in May.

Mark Russell and PJ Holden have teamed up on Dog Tag, a six-issue World War II series with colors by JP Jordan and lettering by Buddy Beaudoin, which will launch in May from Mad Cave Studios.

Inspired by real events from the final year of the war, the series follows Corporal Tom Fuller, a soldier/journalist whose account draws on little-known true stories from the conflict.

“Dog Tag is the kind of World War II story I’d always hoped to write,” he said. “An homage to a grandfather I never knew but who served in the war, a reminder of the consequences of giving a nation over to belligerence and cruelty, and also the re-telling of true but little-known chapters of the war through the eyes of a writer who is worried that no one will believe him when he tells them what the war is really like.”

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IDW Publishing partners with Sanrio for new ‘Hello Kitty’ comic series

Mariko Tamaki and Cody Lemieux helm ‘Hello Kitty: Hello World!’, which will debut in July.

IDW Publishing has entered into a partnership with Sanrio to publish Hello Kitty comics. The line launches with Hello Kitty: Hello World!, a new ongoing series written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Cody Lemieux, arriving in July.

“It’s truly an honor to team up with Sanrio to create Hello Kitty comics,” said Davidi Jonas, CEO of IDW Publishing. “We’re thrilled to craft comics that celebrate the cute and fun spirit of the franchise while uplifting readers of every age. We can’t wait for these comics to bring inspiring and joyful stories to comic shops everywhere.”

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Al Ewing + Iban Coello pit Hela against Knull in Marvel’s ‘Queen in Black’

The five-issue series launches July 1 with Spider-Man, Venom and the Brock family caught between two cosmic evils.

Marvel’s been setting up and teasing its Queen in Black event for a bit, and this week revealed more information on what we can expect from it and when.

The five-issue event series by writer Al Ewing and artist Iban Coello will launch July 1. The series spins out of Ewing’s Venom run and the current Knull limited series, in which Hela seized Knull’s throne and forced the God of the Void to go on a spirit quest of sorts.

Queen in Black will bring Hela to Earth with a legion of the galaxy’s deadliest symbiotes, while Knull builds a new army on the edges of the solar system — with Spider-Man, Venom, Mary Jane, Eddie Brock and Dylan Brock caught in the middle of their collision. Tie-in series exploring other corners of the Marvel Universe will be announced in the months ahead, but … we all realize Hela’s a Thor villain, right? And the former God of Thunder is also on Earth right now … I’m just sayin’.

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