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.
§ Mike Mignola and Jesse Lonergan will reunite on Miss Truesdale and the Rise of Man, a sequel to their 2023 Hellboy spin-off about Margaret Truesdale, a Victorian member of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, who was the Hyperborean gladiator Anum Yassa in her past life. The sequel will follow Anum, now having regained her memories, as she “wanders the forest in search of answers about her past, present, and future lives – only to discover a dark entity on her trail and threatening all of mankind.” Issue #1 (of 4) will be released by Dark Horse on December 10.
§ Image announced the Colossal Kaya Special, a 48-page jumping on point for Wes Craig‘s fantasy series, featuring art by Craig, Nathan Fox, James Harren, Mike Huddleston, Declan Shalvey, and Ryan Stegman. It will be released on November 12, shortly after the 30th issue of the main series drops on September 24.
Also revealed this week was a trade for Guillem March‘s angelic series Karmen (which Image had collected in hardcover after its monthly release in 2021, but not paperback until now), hitting comics shops November 19, and bookstores December 2; and a black-and-white, hardcover rerelease of Black Heart Billy, Rick Remender and Kieron Dwyer‘s satirical sci-fi series from 2000, arriving respectively in comics and bookstores on Dec. 17, and Dec. 30.
§ Marvel launched Astonishing Miles Morales: Spider-Man, an Unlimited Infinity Comics series by Cody Ziglar and Alessandro Miracolo. A companion piece to the main Miles Morales series (also penned by Ziglar), the book focuses on Miles’s smaller, more personal, “slice of life” adventures. Chapter one is available now. The House of Ideas also revealed a trio of Toy Story variant covers to mark the film’s 30th (!) anniversary in November, and an entire line of “Street-Verse” variants by Inhyuk Lee for that month, featuring many fan favorites in unique streetwear.
§ Wynonna Earp star Melanie Scrofano shared on Instagram that she will appear in an undisclosed role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The movie, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Michael Mando, Sadie Sink, and Liza Colón-Zayas, is currently filming in Glasgow, Scotland, for a release on July 31, 2026. In the meantime, Scrofano can be seen on Syfy’s Revival, and Paramount+’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
§ Deadline reports Matt Smith (Doctor Who, House of the Dragon) will play a villain in Star Wars: Starfighter, the upcoming, post-sequel trilogy era movie directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ryan Gosling. Details on his part weren’t given, although his character will be one of several villains featured, with another set to be played by Mia Goth. This is the second time Smith has been attached to Star Wars, as he was cast in The Rise of Skywalker, but cut when the undisclosed part was written out. Starfighter hits theaters May 28, 2027.
§ In other Star Wars news, Disney has settled Gina Carano‘s lawsuit out-of-court. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Carano, who received financial support from Elon Musk, sued Disney over being dropped from The Mandalorian, after social media posts Disney said “denigrat[ed] people based on their cultural and religious identities”. While Carano is (knock on wood) still unlikely to be cast in a Disney project, it’s a surprisingly toothless decision from the infamously litigious House of Mouse. In any case, the Carano-free Mandalorian and Grogu movie arrives May 22, 2026.
§ The winners of the fifth annual Critics’ Choice Super Awards, honoring genre media, were announced. The Penguin took home four awards in the Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie categories, namely Best Superhero Series, Best Actor, Best Villain (both for Colin Farrell), and Best Actress (for Cristin Milioti). Deadpool & Wolverine won Best Superhero Movie, and Best Actor (for Hugh Jackman) in that sub-category. Click the link for the full list of this year’s winners (who also include Andor and Diego Luna), and here to browse all the nominees.
§ In further DC news, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav confirmed during an earnings call that James Gunn will write and direct “the next installment in the Super-Family [after Craig Gillespie‘s Supergirl].” Gunn previously stated he was writing a follow-up to Superman, but indicated it will not be another solo film. Superman, which opened on July 11, has grossed $561 million worldwide (including $322 mil domestically), making it the seventh most successful film of the year (third locally), and DC’s most successful since The Batman. Speaking of which, Zaslav also said The Batman Part II will begin filming in the spring; the sequel is now set to release on October 1, 2027.
§ Finally, actress Kelley Mack, who played Addy on season nine of The Walking Dead, died of cancer on Saturday, August 2. She was 33 years old. As well as The Walking Dead, Mack also appeared on 9-1-1, Schooled, and Chicago Med, plus various short films, feature films, and commercials, including providing additional voices for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. She began working as a child, and had behind-the-scenes experience as a writer, producer, and director on some of her short projects, as well as a degree in cinematography. She is survived by her boyfriend, her parents, two siblings (including actor Parker Mack), and two grandparents.
