Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Via Fangoria, Ignition Press has announced The Patron, a thriller set in the world of fine art by writer Christian Ward, and artist John J. Pearson (Mindset). The book revolves around the titular Mr. Cherish, who increases the value of his clients’ work by orchestrating their untimely deaths. However, a complication ensues “when the script is flipped” by a painter, putting “his empire in the crosshairs.” Issue #1 will be released on July 22, with separate covers by Ward and Pearson.
§ Speaking of Pearson, Dark Horse announced The Smart Division will begin on August 5. The five-issue sci-fi series, which reunites him with Mindset writer Zack Kaplan, was revealed earlier this year, and revolves around two detectives battling an AI app designed to help users evade the law. In the meantime, Kaplan’s next Dark Horse series, Only the Savage Are Left, will begin on June 3, while his latest, Kill All Immortals II and Masterminds, will end respectively on May 27 and June 24.
§ Fangoria also shared a first look at IDW Dark’s Operation: Iron Coffin, a Dracula series by writer Kenny Porter (Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow) and artist Tyrell Cannon (The Schlub). Set during World War II, the gory action series sees the Count join the Allies, and get deployed on a Nazi train full of “augmented villains, and a vampire plague.” Porter comments, “If John Wick had been a horror film starring Dracula, this would be the book it was adapted from.” Issue #1 will be released on July 28.
§ Via AIPT, Vault revealed they will begin releasing a monthly version of Dead Acre: Black Badge this July. The graphic novel, by Cullen Bunn and Riley Brown, is based on the book of the same name by Rhett Bruno and Jaime Castle, and revolves around an undead outlaw being forced to make amends by battling demons. The OGN was originally published by Vault late last year. For more of what’ll be on offer from the publisher in July, head here.
§ Via IGN, Sony unveiled the villains in Spider-Noir, confirming Brendan Gleeson as mob boss Silvermane; Jack Huston as Flint Marko/Sandman; Abraham Popoola as Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone; Andrew Lewis Caldwell (iZombie) as Dirk Leydon/Megawatt; and Jack Mikesell (Pluribus) as an original character, the fireblazing Jimmy Addison. The show, starring Nicolas Cage, will premiere on MGM+ on Monday, May 25, before releasing in its entirety (in black-and-white and color) on Prime Video two days later.
§ Heartstopper Forever will be released on Netflix on Friday, July 17. The conclusion of the queer, British series about the romance between schoolboys Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring (Kit Connor and Joe Locke), the movie is based on the final volume of creator Alice Oseman‘s webcomic of the same name, and will arrive mere days after the sixth and final collection of the series (which concluded on April 11) hits stores on July 7. It will also be released nearly two years after the third season of the show, which arrived in October 2024, and a decade since the comic began.
§ CBC reports Lee Lai has been shortlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, for her graphic novel Cannon. The $150,000 prize, which began in 2023, honors the year’s best work by a female/non-binary Canadian or American author. The book, published by Drawn & Quarterly, tells the story of a cook who suffers a nervous breakdown. Lai, who is a non-binary Asian Australian based in Canada, was nominated alongside Julia Elliott (for Hellions), Quiara Alegría Hudes (The White Hot), Sonya Walger (Lion), and Megha Majumdar (A Guardian and a Thief). The winner will be announced on June 2.
§ Finally, Marvel will mark 616 Day (Tuesday, June 16) by building up to December 18’s Avengers: Doomsday with Doctor Doom-themed blind bags, containing copies of a black-and-white version of Doomquest #1 (with separate covers), facsimile copies of other classic Doom comics (with variant covers), or a paper mask of Jack Kirby‘s Doom. The company also revealed Spider-Man/Superman will get a second printing with new covers by Jim Cheung and Martin Cóccolo in May.
