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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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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Slugfest | ComicsPro week continues with news from IDW, Dark Horse + more

From a milestone ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ issue to a new Lilo & Stitch anthology, this wave of ComicsPro week announcements covers a wide range of publishers and properties.

The news flow from this week’s ComicsPro industry meeting in Glendale, Calif. continued late Thursday and into today. For Wednesday’s round-up, click here, and for Thursday’s round-up, click here.

Ignition Press launches supernatural action thriller ‘Bad Thoughts’ in May

Ignition Press will publish Bad Thoughts, a new series from writer Ande Parks (Extraction) and artist Dave Wachter (Godzilla), beginning May 27. The series follows Jack Coates, a private security operative with the ability to look inside people’s minds and see every terrible thing they’ve ever thought or done, a gift that serves him well until he puts his trust in the wrong people.

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IDW Publishing will launch two new ‘Star Trek’ ongoing series to mark franchise’s 60th anniversary

Christopher Cantwell and Charlie Jane Anders will helm new titles arriving in September and October, with additional one-shots and specials planned throughout 2026.

IDW Publishing announced this week a major expansion of its Star Trek comics line timed to the franchise’s 60th anniversary, headlined by two new ongoing series launching this fall.

A new Star Trek #1 arrives in September from writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Dennis Menheere.

“As we look back on 60 years of Star Trek, we celebrate a story universe that has actually always been about looking forward — a shared dream swirling within the daunting wonder and awe of the stars,” Cantwell said. “I discovered Star Trek at the age of 10 and my life was never the same. The worlds, the people, the stories that wrestled with the work it takes to build community and consensus, to establish and hold sacred values like peace and harmony, the tenuousness of truce amid a galaxy of agendas and perspectives. That is the magic of Star Trek — the kaleidoscopic wonder of its complex themes and notions.”

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Slugfest | ComicsPro news from BOOM!, Dark Horse, IDW and more

From a new ‘Something is Killing the Children’ miniseries to a Terry Moore/Dark Horse partnership, this week’s ComicsPro announcements brought a steady stream of news.

You may have noticed it’s a big week for comics industry news. ComicsPRO, the comics retailer organization, is holding its annual industry conference in Glendale, Calif. this week, and it’s being attended by comic retailers, publishers, distributors and creators. Skybound’s chief Robert Kirkman is delivering the keynote address later this week.

Publishers traditionally flood the zone with announcements timed to the meeting, and this year is no exception. Here’s a roundup of more announcements that caught our eye so far:

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The ‘Horror of Godzilla’ arrives in July

IDW is taking the King of the Monsters back to where it all began.

IDW Publishing will unleash The Horror of Godzilla this summer, a new series set in 1954 Japan that revisits humanity’s first catastrophic encounter with the King of the Monsters.

The less spectacle, more dread monster story comes from co-writers Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan, who have worked on Marvel Zombies: Red Band and Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone, along with Tristan Jones, the acclaimed artist of Alien: Defiance and other horror titles. They’re diving deep into the terror behind Godzilla’s initial onslaught and the consequences of exposure to the creature’s mysterious “Kai-Sei” energy.

“Godzilla’s been such a huge part of my life as far back as I can remember, and as someone that had Godzilla 1985 on near permanent loan from our local video store, and hounding my local bootlegger every day on the walk home from high school for the original Japanese cut, I’m genuinely hard-pressed to think of anything I’ve been this excited about in my career,” Jones said. “As a storyteller that’s become something of a fixture in the horror genre, it’s a genuine honor and a thrill to work with Griffin and Ethan (and our incredible editor Jake) on a Godzilla story that leans so hard into my favorite visuals and even harder into things I always wished the films would. It’s a huge departure from what I’ve been known for so far and everyone’s given me incredible space to both try new things, and bring visuals to comics I’d never had a proper chance to before.”

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IDW will launch a new Crime imprint in May

The new imprint will launch with ‘Seven Wives’ by Zoe Tunnell, V Gagnon and Tesslyn Bergin-Dicoi.

IDW has announced a new imprint to complement IDW Dark, the horror line they announced last year. IDW Crime will feature — you guessed it — crime comics.

The line will feature stories about “twisted, everyday acts of humans that we just can’t look away from,” and will launch with projects by Zoe Tunnell, V Gagnon, Joey Esposito, Amy Chase and more.

“Crime has a deep, often under-celebrated history in comics, from hard-boiled noir to social thrillers that pushed the medium to be bolder, sharper and more adult,” said IDW Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “With the IDW Crime imprint, we’re honoring that legacy while giving it a modern spotlight — elevating creator-driven stories that feel urgent, character-forward, and unapologetically human. These are stories about obsession, consequence and the ability to hold a mirror up to society, and we couldn’t be more excited to help bring them back to the forefront of mainstream comics.”

Here’s a look at the three titles IDW announced today:

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Penguin Random House officially announces Comics Giveaway Day for May 2

The first ever Comics Giveaway Day will coincide with next year’s Free Comic Book Day.

Comics distributor Penguin Random House has officially announced Comics Giveaway Day, their competitor/compliment to Free Comic Book Day, the annual comics event that is now owned by Universal Distribution.

Last week we learned that Universal Distribution and Lunar Distribution had teamed up to bring Free Comic Book Day back to comic shops in 2026, following the bankruptcy and dissolution of Diamond Comics Distributors. They announced they would offer free titles by the various publishers they distribute, including DC, Image Comics, Archie, Dynamite and more.

Missing from the list were any publishers that are now distributed by Penguin Random House, and now we know why — titles by Marvel, BOOM!, Dark Horse and others will be released on Comics Giveaway Day, which just so happens to fall on May 2 as well.

So, everyone wins, right? Free comics for everybody, even if some of them will have a different events log on them.

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A lost Dave Stevens story takes flight in ‘The Rocketeer: The Island’

John Layman, Jacob Edgar and K.J. Diaz send the pulp hero on a rocket-fueled adventure involving Amelia Earhart.

The Rocketeer will return to comics next February in an adventure drawn directly from a “lost” story by Dave Stevens.

IDW has announced The Rocketeer: The Island by writer John Layman, artist Jacob Edgar, and colorist K.J. Díaz, adapting a never-before-published story outline written by the character’s creator. Stevens, who created The Rocketeer in 1982 as a love letter to pulp serials and Golden Age adventure strips, left behind notes, sketches and partial concepts before his passing in 2008. One such outline — unseen and unused for decades — is now becoming a full comic for the very first time.

“This Rocketeer project has been coming together for the past few months, and I can’t say enough about how much joy I’m getting every time a new page comes in,” said Layman. “Playing in Dave Stevens’ world, a retro-world of charm, humor and rocket-fueled adventure, has been an absolute blast. As an artist Stevens was an absolute virtuoso, and I feel like Rocketeer is an all-time classic comic character — he’s always been one of my favorites. IDW, a publisher I’ve already done work for on some of my very favorite comic projects, has given me another fantastic opportunity to get paid while having fun, while allowing me to honor a vision of a comic book hero of mine, and play in a world I’ve loved for decades. Plus, the art and colors by Jacob Edgar and K.J. Díaz are just phenomenal and perfect for the book.”

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NYCC | Zorro strikes twice in 2026 with new projects from Alien Books

Alien Books follows its ‘Zorro Remastered’ crowdfunding project with a pair of new series for 2026, created by Howard Chaykin, Jorge Fornés, Dan Abnett and Aaron Lopresti.

Building on the success of this year’s Zorro Remastered Kickstarter campaign, Alien Books has announced two new miniseries starring the legendary masked avenger, both set to debut in 2026.

“We’re building something truly special for both Zorro and comic book fans,” said Alien Books Editor-in-Chief Matias Timarchi. “It’s a dream come true to be working with creators of this caliber.”

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NYCC | Don’t sleep on IDW Dark’s 2026 slate of comic nightmares

The horror imprint’s lineup includes new tales from Hannah Rose May, Phil Hester, Ryan Kelly and more

IDW Publishing’s horror imprint, IDW Dark, is cranking up the terror for 2026 with four new series aimed at keeping you up all night.

The first-half lineup, revealed at New York Comic Con, includes movie tie-ins Smile: For the Camera and A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, the sequel The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace, and the IDW Original Operation: Iron Coffin.

Kicking things off in February, Smile: For the Camera brings the sinister “Smile Entity” to New York’s fabled Fashion Week in 2005. Written by Hannah Rose May and illustrated by Miriana Puglia, the series promises psychological horror with a glossy, pop-culture twist.

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SDCC | Gene Yang + Freddie Williams II take on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’

Plus: TMNT X Godzilla, Battle Nexus and more Turtle-focused news from San Diego.

The 12th issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be the final issue by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferrerya, who kicked off the new series last year. But December will bring a new creative team as Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Freddie Williams II (Batman/TMNT) take over the title.

The creative team change was one of several TMNT-related announcements IDW made this week at the San Diego Comic-Con.

According to publisher IDW, “this all-new story arc will provide fans with a fresh jumping on point as the Heroes in a Half-Shell are back together and hopeful about the future of the city, but there’s a dark and personal danger lurking in the shadows as a deadly new assassin makes their debut.” Yang and Williams will be joined by Jake Thomas, who take over editing the title.

“I’ve been a fan of the TMNT since I was young. I remember watching the ‘80s cartoon with my brother and then reenacting the Turtles’ adventures with our action figures,” Yang said. “I read my first issue of TMNT at a friend’s house, and I was blown away by the melding of gritty martial arts action and wild, out-of-left-field ideas. Many years later, I began my cartooning career in American independent comics. All of us from that corner of comics owe a huge debt to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Their talent and creativity, both as comics creators and as businessmen, carved out a path for the rest of us to follow. In fact, the very first comic I ever self-published was funded by a grant from Peter Laird’s Xeric Foundation. I’ve admired the Turtles for a long, long time. I’m absolutely thrilled to get to tell their stories at IDW.”

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