Skybound – SMASH PAGES

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.

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.”

Free Comic Book Day 2026 will include titles from DC, Skybound, Titan, Vault + more

See what you can get for free on Saturday, May 2.

This year’s Free Comic Book Day is starting to take shape, with publishers announcing some titles and the FCBD website sharing many more. The titles have also popped up on the distributors’ websites, revealing some of the cover art you can expect to see in May.

Universal Distribution now owns Free Comic Book Day and its branding, having bought it in the wake of the Diamond Comics Distributors bankruptcy. They’ve teamed up with Lunar Distribution for the event, which will occur on May 2, which is the same day as Penguin Random House’s Comics Giveaway Day.

Here’s a look at what to expect:

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.

Tyler Boss + Martin Simmonds unmask Skybound’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’

The miniseries featuring the infamous Universal Monster will take the spotlight in February.

For more than a century, The Phantom of the Opera has haunted stage and screen. Now the iconic character prepares for an encore in an entirely new medium.

Skybound, in partnership with Universal, will bring Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera, to comics next year. Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds will bring the Phantom to the printed page in February, following Skybound’s other Univeral Monsters series, featuring Dracula, the Invisible Man and more.

“What separates the Phantom of the Opera from the other Universal Monsters is that it’s the only ghost story of the lot,” Boss said. “With the Paris Opera House as our haunted site, and a production of Faust about to be performed, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect collaborator to breathe life into the Phantom of the Opera than Martin Simmonds.”

SDCC | Robert Kirkman + Mark Englert return to ‘Capes’

Remastered issues of the 2003 series will arrive in November from Skybound, followed by new issues written by Benito Cereno.

Capes, an early superhero comic by Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert, will get a makeover by the creators as it returns in November.

The story revolves around a superhero business, Capes Inc., that’s set in the same universe as Invincible (and has been seen in the animated series). It employs characters like Kid Thor, Knockout, Captain Cosmic and more, who protect New York when they’re on the clock.

Capes originally debuted in 2003, a month before another Kirkman-written series, The Walking Dead, and many years before Kirkman would form Skybound and become an Image partner. At the time, the young up-and-coming writer had already kicked off Invincible and Tech Jacket at Image Comics, so he was turning into a force for the publisher.

Kirkman and Englert’s original Capes stories will be remastered with new art and dialogue by the original creative team and released as single issues. And then with issue #7, the title will continue with new stories drawn by Englert and written by Blood & Thunder writer Benito Cereno.

Robert Kirkman + David Finch’s brutal fantasy epic ‘Skinbreaker’ arrives in September

An old chief and his reluctant heir try to keep their world from falling into ruins.

The Walking Dead co-creator and Skybound chief Robert Kirkman continues to fill up his dance card for the fall. In addition to taking over writing Transformers, Kirkman is also teaming with artist David Finch of Batman and New Avengers for Skinbreaker.

The fantasy epic is about a tribal chief who attempts to pass his mighty sword, Skinbreaker, down to his reluctant heir. Kirkman and Finch are joined by colorist Annalisa Leoni and letterer Rus Wooton on the title.

“I have wanted to work with David Finch for the entirety of my career,” said Kirkman. “We’ve gotten close many times over the years, but we wanted our collaboration to be something truly special. Skinbreaker is that series. I feel like this book is a high-water mark for both our careers. An action epic that is unrelentingly brutal but also contains a ton of emotion and heart. It’ll shock you and make you cry.”

Robert Kirkman + Dan Mora take over ‘Transformers’ with #25

A new era for the Energon Universe title begins in October with an oversized issue.

Robert Kirkman, the founder of Skybound who briefly sat in the writer’s room for the Transformer films, is getting his chance to chronicle the adventures of the Autobots and Decepticons. After ushering in the Energon Universe era with Void Rivals, Kirkman and Superman artist Dan Mora will take over the ongoing Transformers title with issue #25 following Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona’s epic run.

Kirkman and Mora will join colorist Mike Spicer and letterer Rus Wooton in October with an oversized issue that celebrates the series’ second anniversary. The issue will also feature a second story written by Kirkman and drawn by Corona.

“Holy smokes, I’m writing a Transformers comic!” said Kirkman. “I’ve been so invested in this series since the beginning. I’ve marveled at what Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona have brought to some of my all-time favorite characters. When Daniel’s run came to an end, I could stand on the sidelines no more! I just had to get in the ring! It’s a tremendous honor to be a small part of the legacy of these amazing characters. This world has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can’t wait for everyone to see what the legendary Dan Mora and I are cooking up!”

Here’s a look at issue #25’s main cover by David Nakayama:

The Laphams return with ‘Good as Dead’ this fall

David and Maria Lapham reveal ‘how far a small town will go to keep its secrets’ in a new crime comic coming from Skybound this September.

Legendary Stray Bullets creator David Lapham has a new series, Good as Dead, launching at Skybound this fall with co-writer Maria Lapham and colorist Dee Cunniffe. The story was co-created by Chris Black, creator and showrunner of the Apple+ show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Skybound CEO David Alpert.

“I can’t tell you how excited Maria and I are about this book coming out,” said David Lapham. “Chris Black and David Alpert provided us with their initial concept and outline and generously gave us the room and edict to ‘do our thing.’ And we went for it. It’s both completely what you’d expect from us based on our Stray Bullets work and at the same time, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before, combining elements of the surreal, science fiction, conspiracy, horror and, of course, classic noir.”

Robert Kirkman, Benito Cereno + E.J. Su will unleash ‘Blood & Thunder’

The new series from Skybound will arrive in May.

Skybound has announced Blood & Thunder, the story of a bounty hunter and her talking gun, will kick off in May at Image Comics.

The new title is written by Benito Cereno (Tales from the Bully Pulpit) with art by E.J. Su, who will be joined by colorist MSassyK and letterer Rus Wooton. It’s based on a concept created by Skybound founder Robert Kirkman, who will consult on the story.

“Blood & Thunder is a concept I’ve been dying to share with the world for quite some time. I’m so thrilled to be on the cusp of debuting what Benito Cereno, E.J. Su and I have cooked up,” Kirkman said. “Monsters! Aliens! Space! Talking Guns! I dare you to find a comic that’s more exciting! Blood & Thunder! Shut up!”

Faith Erin Hicks digs up ‘The Mummy’ at Skybound next year

The Universal Monster will rise again in a four-issue miniseries about love and death.

Skybound’s Universal Monsters line will grow next March as they dust off The Mummy for a four-issue miniseries, written and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks.

Skybound has done a great job of matching creators to the Universal Monsters, from James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds’ Dracula to Michael Walsh’s creative approach to Frankenstein. Hicks, who has worked on everything from Dark Horse’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series to her own The Nameless City Trilogy, has an eye for character-driven stories about ancient civilizations.

“What I enjoy the most about The Mummy is the romance underlying all the horror,” Hicks said. “A mortal man defies ancient gods to bring his dead lover back to life and pays the ultimate price, transformed thousands of years later into a walking specter of death. The Mummy is intrinsically a tragic figure driven by his own pain and loss, his understandable human emotions twisted into acts.”

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