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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:

Darcy Van Poelgeest + Erin Connally team for gothic graphic novel ‘The Cutting Garden’

The standalone hardcover, set in New Orleans and described as a literary horror story, arrives from Image Comics in September

Image Comics will release the graphic novel The Cutting Garden by Eisner Award-winning writer Darcy Van Poelgeest and watercolor artist Erin Connally this fall.

Set on a quiet street in New Orleans, The Cutting Garden follows a mysterious girl who seeks out a florist to deliver a life-altering truth in a final act of kindness and redemption.

“The Cutting Garden has been a labor of love for many years and I’m thrilled we can finally share it with the world,” said Van Poelgeest. “The process of writing and creating this story has sincerely changed me, as a writer, and a person. My hope now is that readers will take this journey themselves through the stifling shadows of Louisiana, and perhaps they too might feel a change.”

A lonely Abraham Lincoln robot looks for a friend in ‘If Destruction Be Our Lot’

Matthew Rosenberg, Mark Elijah Rosenberg and Andy MacDonald team up for the new science fiction title from Image Comics.

Matthew Rosenberg is teaming up with his brother Mark Elijah Rosenberg and artist Andy MacDonald for a new series from Image Comics, If Destruction Be Our Lot.

The announcement comes via Matthew Rosenberg’s Ashcan Press Substack, where he shared more about the science fiction comic:

Humanity is extinct and all that remains are the robots who once helped us. Despite the computer viruses, electricity addiction, and rampant cannibalism, the robots are happier now doing their jobs in peace. But not an animatronic Abraham Lincoln. He just wants a friend.

Ghost Machine will launch its first crossover event this summer

‘Who Are the Unbelievables?’ rebrands the publisher’s Family Odysseys universe and introduces new characters like The Trillion Dollar Kid.

Ghost Machine, the Image Comics imprint of Geoff Johns and friends, will launch its first summer crossover event, “Who Are the Unbelievables?” The event will also formally rebrand one of Ghost Machine’s four original creator-owned universes, previously known as “Family Odysseys,” as “The Unbelievables.”

Ghost Machine was announced in 2023 by Geoff Johns and several frequent collaborators, built around the idea that creators would co-own all characters and universes developed within the imprint. Its four universes include the horror-themed “Hyde Street,” Johns’ “The Unnamed” universe featuring Geiger and Junkyard Joe, a science fiction universe featuring Johns and Jason Fabok’s Rook, and now “The Unbelievables,” which is anchored by The Rocketfellers by Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul and Hornsby & Halo by Tomasi and Peter Snejbjerg.

The crossover will span four issues and introduce several new characters, chief among them The Trillion Dollar Kid, a 13-year-old secretly tracking individuals with extraordinary abilities whom he dubs “The Unbelievables.” The character was created by Johns, Tomasi and Manapul. Other new characters joining the universe include The Deadtones, described as a rock band of misfit monsters on the run, and Jean Genie, a genie navigating freedom after centuries of servitude.

Here’s a map detailing where they all live:

Skybound + Act 4 will release ‘DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition’ in November

The oversized collection will include more than 75 classic covers and stories by Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino and more.

Skybound and Scott Dunbier’s Act 4 Publishing have announced that they will release DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition, an oversized art collection spotlighting some of the most influential work from DC Comics’ Silver Age era, in the fall.

Like the other Artist’s Editions, the collection will measure 15 by 22 inches, and it’ll feature more than 75 covers and interior pages drawn at the original “twice-up” size. Highlights include the complete interior pages from the 1960s Green Lantern #1, full stories from The Flash by Carmine Infantino, Action Comics #282 by Al Plastino and a Sugar and Spike story by Sheldon Mayer. Iconic covers include Flash #123, the first appearance of Earth-Two, and the debut of the Silver Age Hawkman in Brave and the Bold #34 by Joe Kubert.

Writer and historian Mark Waid contributes an introduction to the volume.

Gail Simone + Ig Guara team up on ‘She-Spawn’

The award-winning comics writer brings her voice to the Spawn Universe this May with a five-issue series centered on Jessica Priest.

Image Comics announced today that Uncanny X-Men writer Gail Simone will helm She-Spawn, a new five-issue miniseries set in the Spawn Universe, working with Blue Beetle and All-New Wolverine artist Ig Guara. The first issue will debut in May.

The series will follow Jessica Priest, a former soldier, assassin, superhero and mother, as she battles an angelic cult determined to sacrifice a child.

“It’s a thrill to be chosen specifically by one of the iconic founders of Image to create in his playground,” Simone said. “Apparently, he’d read a DC book I’d done and was impressed by the dialogue, which was incredibly gratifying. The next thing I know, I was having hour-long conversations with Todd McFarlane–not just about She-Spawn, but about his passion for storytelling and character. Each one felt like a masterclass. He asked a lot about my process, with genuine and heartfelt curiosity, and it was one of the nicest and most collaborative introductions I’ve ever had with a publisher. I’m proud to get to write part of the Spawn Universe, and grateful to Todd and his team for making this connection happen.”

Slugfest | ‘Head Lopper’ returns in Image’s April solicitations

Plus: ‘Lost Fantasy’ and ‘Final Boss’ both get spinoffs, ‘Royals’ and ‘In Your Skin’ debut, and Cobra heads out on some “Sssilent Missions’ of their own.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Image Comics’ April 2026 titles. Hit the links for more info, and for more Image Comics news, check out our posts on Corpse Knight and Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook.

Head Lopper returns this April with an all-new story arc that marks roughly 10 years since Andrew MacLean’s cult-favorite fantasy series first debuted at Image in 2015. Launching with an extra-length issue, Head Lopper #1 drops readers back into the savage, monster-haunted world of Norgal the Relentless and his endlessly talkative, severed-witch-head companion, Agatha.

Skybound unearths the dark fantasy miniseries ‘Corpse Knight’

Michael Chaves and Matthew Roberts team for a new fantasy/horror series where a father’s love survives the grave.

Skybound has announced Corpse Knight, a horror/fantasy miniseries from Michael Chaves of The Conjuring franchise fame, along with artist Matthew Roberts and colorist Rico Renzi. The comic combines dark fantasy, brutal horror and an emotional core rooted in family, as a father and daughter embark on a “sacred quest” after he returns from the dead.

“Corpse Knight was born out of my love of dark fantasy, but it quickly became something more. It’s a story of parenthood and mortality, told through heroes, monsters, and all the shades in between,” said Chaves. “I’ve been a fan of Matthew Roberts since Manifest Destiny, and I truly believe this is some of his finest work. His art is beautiful, tactile, and, when it needs to be, amazingly gruesome. Alongside Rico Renzi’s awesome color work, it’s everything you want from this kind of book.”

Ghost Machine announces an official handbook for their universes

The five-issue ‘Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook’ will detail facts and figures about Geiger, Hyde Street and more.

In the spirit of the indispensable guides that were the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Who’s Who in the DC Universe, Ghost Machine has announced a five-issue Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook, which will include entries on characters from the various universes they publish.

Launched in 2023, the Ghost Machine family of titles span genres and universes, from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Geiger to Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul’s The Rocketfellers. If you want to get familiar with all the characters they’ve introduced, now is your chance.

“I was always a huge fan of these entertaining encyclopedic comics,” said Brian Cunningham, Ghost Machine editor-in-chief. “Whenever I wanted to know something about a character, I knew where to go. I also loved learning about characters I had never seen before, and then wanting to track down those comics with them so I could read those stories. I’m hoping fans will do the same with our Guidebook.”

Doug Wagner + Daniel Hillyard awaken ‘Narco’ at Image Comics

The five-issue miniseries begins in March.

Plastic and Vinyl creators Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard will return with a new five-issue miniseries from Image Comics next March. Narco is the story of a narcoleptic whose condition hits him at the worst possible time — leaving him the prime suspect in a murder.

“If you haven’t figured it out yet, Daniel and I are a little bit obsessed with quirky horror, AND we’re both huge fans of Alfred Hitchcock,” said Wagner. “We’ve been talking for years about what OUR version of his works would look like. Well, Narco is that version. It combines our weird sense of horror and humor with classics like Rear Window and Psycho.”

Skybound celebrates Invincible Month with Spider-Man/Invincible team-up reprint, more Battle Beast

Get ready for the return of the ‘Invincible’ animated series with several comic projects.

Skybound has declared next March as Invincible Month, which will coincide with the fourth season of the Invincible animated series on Amazon Prime. So far the publisher has announced two projects to help celebrate: a reprinting of an intercompany crossover and the return of Battle Beast.

Let’s start with that crossover. Back in 2005, Robert Kirkman was writing Marvel Team-Up and having a pretty good time with the title — while at the same time writing Invincible. Issue #14 of MTU turned out to be a very special issue for Kirkman fans, as he and Cory Walker brought their creator-owned character to the Marvel universe, teaming him up with Spider-Man (and the Avengers). It came at a time when Marvel wasn’t doing a lot of intercompany crossovers, so it was unexpected and fun.

The comic hasn’t ever been reprinted and was never collected by either Marvel or Image, for obvious reasons, but that changed earlier this year when Skybound introduced their “blind bag” variant cover program for Battle Beast #1 — and boy, these blind bag variant things have really taken off, haven’t they? Seems like just about every comic publisher is doing them. Anyway, Battle Beast took an interesting approach, not only offering variant covers, but also mixing in a few original comics for a few lucky fans who happened to buy the right bag — including the second issue of Battle Beast and copies of Marvel Team-Up #14.

Andrew MacLean + Alexis Ziritt team for the run-and-gun mayhem of ‘Death Fight Forever’

Prepare for a neon-drenched, full-throttle throat punch of a story.

If your pull list’s been missing a wild brawler of a comic, Andrew MacLean has you covered.

The Head Lopper creator is teaming up with gonzo artist Alexis Ziritt (Space Riders) for Death Fight Forever, a five-issue miniseries crashing into comic shops this February from Image Comics. Think ‘90s beat-’em-up arcade chaos meets heavy-metal energy, and you’re in the right arena.

“Death Fight Forever was born from a love of ’90s beat ‘em up video games and a desire to write a comic that highlights some of the coolest art styles of our time,” said MacLean.

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