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.
§ Sumerian Comics announced Janis Joplin: Pearl, a graphic novel about the late singer-songwriter, written by Eric Gladstone (No Holds Bard), with art by Marika Cresta (Star Wars: The High Republic), colors by Fares Maese, and lettering by Micah Myers. Named after Joplin’s second, and final, posthumous album, Pearl will be released in hardcover this October (56 years after her death from a heroin overdose, aged just 27), and is available to pre-order from her website, as well as in a bundle with a shirt, poster etc. from Sumerian.
§ Via Brands Untapped, Legendary Comics revealed David Dastmalchian, who is playing the evil M. Bison in the new Street Fighter movie, will write a story about the character for Street Fighter: The Official Movie Graphic Novel. No ETA for the book was provided, but the movie, produced by Legendary, will be released in theaters on October 16. It’ll mark the first comic by Dastmalchian for Legendary, something that brings his career full circle, as he made his film debut in the company’s 2008 co-production The Dark Knight.
§ Anime News Network shares IDW has begun releasing an English version of the Sonic the Hedgehog manga The Blade of Courage through the IDW Digital Comics app. The comic, created by Yūki Imada, launched in Japanese in Shogakukan’s Monthly CoroCoro Comic in 2025, and follows Sonic as he befriends a boy in possession of the titular sword, which can affect things’ speed, provided he feels courageous enough. Together, they embark on a quest to save the people of the kingdom the sword came from.
§ Speaking of manga, Crunchyroll reports My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi‘s next project will be a horror one-shot, titled Warawanaide-yo Shijima-san (“Don’t Laugh, Shijima-san”). The 61-page comic will be available in the combined Weekly Shonen Jump #37/38, due out August 10, and is described as “boy-meets-girl horror,” with a promo image showing a schoolgirl and an apparently possessed boy going for a ride. It marks Horikoshi’s first work since the conclusion of the My Hero Academia manga in 2024.
§ Via File 770, the winners of the annual Scribe Awards, honoring the year’s best tie-in media writing, were announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Marv Wolfman received the lifetime achievement Faust Award, while Best Graphic Novel went to Eric Campbell and Jody Houser for Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire. Stranger Things also got the YA/MG prize for Jennifer Brody‘s Starcourt Mall Escape, while John Jackson Miller won Best Original Novel (Speculative) for Batman: Revolution, and Star Trek: Khan (by Kirsten Beyer and David Mack) won Best Audio Drama. For the full list of winners and nominees, head to the links.
§ Via Marvelous News, Hasbro revealed a line of Marvel Legends x Magic: The Gathering action figures, each containing a unique foil card. They consist of Black Panther (wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, ala 2015’s Secret Wars), Avengers: Twilight‘s Captain America, Doctor Doom 2099, and Sue Storm as Malice. Pre-orders will begin on Thursday, August 13, with Black Panther available exclusively through Amazon. Hasbro, which owns MTG producer Wizards of the Coast, previously released a line of figures for last year’s Spider-Man cards. The MTG Marvel Super Heroes card decks are available now.
§ Finally, BBC News reports British convention organizer Monopoly Events has banned Meta glasses from its shows, after a number of guests and attendees told the company they would be reluctant to return after being recorded without their knowledge. “Anyone seen using one of these devices might be asked to leave the event and forfeit any unfulfilled autographs or photographs they had purchased,” they say. “Please let’s make these events a safe space for everyone.” Monopoly runs Comic Con Liverpool, Manchester, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Midlands: Birmingham, Czech Republic, and many more.
