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.
§ IDW Dark revealed Event Horizon: Pandemonium, the third comic series based on the 1997 sci-fi horror film. Written again by Christian Ward, with Hernán González (Star Trek: The Last Starship) taking over the art, the comic will introduce a heavenly counterpart to the film’s version of Hell, which is somehow an even worse place. Ward tells IGN, “If you look at a Biblically accurate description of an angel, it is terrifying. Terrifying.” Issue #1 will be released in December, while issue #4 (of 5) of the second series, Event Horizon: Inferno, will go on sale on August 5.
§ The Asahi Shimbun reports a manga by Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka has been reprinted for the first time since 1972. The 50-page comic, titled Nagai Ana (Long tunnel), explores the discrimination Koreans face in Japan, and debuted in the pages of Sunday Mainichi in 1970. The story centers on Moriyama, a Korean who forced to labor for the Japanese during World War II, and who hides his origins from his colleagues while working a corporate job in the former enemy country. The new edition was printed by Hosei University Press.
§ Fathom Entertainment will rerelease 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie in theaters to celebrate its 40th anniversary on September 17 (aka Transformers Day). The 4K remaster of the film will include a new, post-credits scene featuring the dead Optimus Prime’s body floating through space, presumably bridging the gap with his subsequent resurrection on the TV show. Tickets for the weekend-long engagement will go on sale on Friday, August 7 (the day before the film was released in 1986).
§ AMC revealed Emily Kinney will reprise the role of Beth Greene on The Walking Dead: Dead City. Per EW, Beth will appear in an episode set in an alternate reality where the zombie apocalypse never unfolded. Kinney previously played Beth, who is the younger half-sister of Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), on the original Walking Dead series from 2011 to 2015. The first episode of Dead City season three is available now.
§ The opening for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, animated by Sanzigen (Sakura Wars), was revealed. It was also announced Phoenix Cyclops will be the game’s first DLC character, and that a skin of Wolverine based on his costume from the Insomniac game will be added (at no extra cost) on September 1. The X-Men field leader’s Phoenix incarnation will be available as part of the Year 1 Character & Stage Pass this fall. The game will be released on PlayStation 5 and PC on Thursday, August 6.
§ Netflix announced Parasyte: Tamiya, a new Korean series based on Hitoshi Iwaaki‘s horror manga, starring Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool 2‘s Yukio). Kutsuna play Ryoko Tamiya, a teacher who was taken over by a parasite in the source material, and who subsequently caused it “to question how, or if, parasites and humans can coexist.” The show is being developed by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Hellbound), who also created 2024’s Parasyte: The Grey (the first live-action series based on the manga) for Netflix. It will premiere sometime in 2027.
§ Finally, filmmaker Chuck Russell died on Wednesday, July 22, aged 74. He was found dead by firefighters at his home in the San Diego area, after they received reports that he was unconscious. Russell was best known for directing 1994’s The Mask, as well as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Blob (1988), Eraser (1996), and The Scorpion King (2002). His last film was 2024’s horror remake Witchboard, co-starring Jamie Campbell Bower.
The Mask star Jim Carrey paid tribute to him in a statement, saying, “I consider it a privilege to have worked with Chuck Russell, who during the shooting of The Mask, created an ebullient, childlike atmosphere of wonder and camaraderie on his set. The entire cast and crew were touched and inspired by his playfulness. Every one of us has been many years blessed by that buoyant and timeless moment. I consider The Mask one of the jewels of my creative life. Thank you, Chuck.”
