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.
§ Faber will publish Call Me By Your Name: The Graphic Novel, an adaptation of the original novel by André Aciman, by cartoonist Sarah Maxwell (pictured above, left). Like the book and its hit film adaptation, the graphic novel will tell the story of student Elio Perlman, and his relationship with visiting scholar Oliver one summer in Italy during the 1980s. It will be released on August 11, 2026, 19 years after the book’s release (and nine since the film hit theaters), and will be supported by Aciman and Maxwell during its promotional tour.
§ Via Daily Dead, Mad Cave announced a print edition of Mary Shelley: The Eternal Dream by Alessandro Di Virgilio and Manuela Santoni. The graphic biography, originally released in English on comiXology in 2023, chronicles how Shelley conceived Frankenstein, which was published when she was only 20 years old in 1818. It will arrive in bookstores on January 13 (and comics shops the following day), shortly after Guillermo del Toro‘s Frankenstein hits theaters on October 17 (and Netflix on November 7), and before Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s The Bride! releases on March 6.
§ Dark Horse announced The Legend of Vox Machina: The Whitestone Chronicles — Cassandra, the second entry in the publisher’s spin-off graphic novel series, created by writer Marieke Nijkamp and artist Travis Hymel in collaboration with the cast of Critical Role. Due out in bookstores and comics shops on March 10 and 11, 2026, the book follows Cassandra de Rolo as she recovers from being “critically injured and seemingly abandoned by her brother after the murder of her family.” The character originated in Critical Role‘s original 2015-17 campaign, and was voiced by Esmé Creed-Miles on the animated series.
§ Archie teased Archie Meets Captain Canuck, a crossover with Ron Leishman and Richard Comely‘s Canadian superhero for Summer 2026. The announcement comes during the character’s 50th anniversary, which has also seen his profile increase as a result of the current trade war with the US. It will be published in collaboration with Captain Canuck publisher Chapterhouse Comics.
§ Lucasfilm announced the full main cast of Star Wars: Starfighter, now in production for a release in theaters on May 28, 2027. As well as the previously revealed Ryan Gosling, Matt Smith, and Mia Goth, the film will star Flynn Gray (Wednesday), Aaron Pierre (Lanterns), Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners), Jamael Westman (the West End’s Hamilton), Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen), and Amy Adams. No details were given, but based on previous reports, we can assume Gray is playing the boy Gosling’s hero must protect from Smith and Goth’s villains in the film (which takes place five years after The Rise of Skywalker).
§ Deadline reports the Scarlet Scarab herself, May Calamawy, has joined the cast of Netflix’s Extraction series, alongside Waleed Zuaiter (Gangs of London) and Ed Speleers (Star Trek: Picard). They will respectively play an executive, an ex-soldier, and an engineer. The show, set in the world of the Chris Hemsworth films based on the graphic novel Ciudad, will star Omar Sy as a mercenary on a rescue mission in Libya, and also feature Boyd Holbrook and Natalie Dormer.
§ Lady Gaga announced a new song for Wednesday, “The Dead Dance,” which will be released on, well, Wednesday, September 3. The singer and actress will appear on the final volume of the second season (which also releases on Netflix on Wednesday), playing “the mysterious and enigmatic Rosaline Rotwood, a legendary Nevermore teacher who crosses paths with Wednesday Addams.”
§ 100 Nights of Hero will close out this year’s BFI London Film Festival on October 19. The romantic fantasy film, based on Isabel Greenberg‘s graphic novel, starring Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe, and Nicholas Galitzine, received its first trailer earlier this week. It will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, before hitting US theaters on December 5, so this might be British viewers’ only chance to see it (and early) for the time being.
§ Publishers Weekly reports Fantagraphics will reprint Hugo Pratt‘s Corto Maltese, beginning with Corto Maltese: The Fable of Venice and Other Stories, a collection of the short stories in January 2026. The main series will then be released in six deluxe, hardcover color books, each about 250-300 pages, with extras like Pratt’s sketches, historical commentaries, and essays. Corto Maltese was previously available in English, and black-and-white, courtesy of the Library of American Comics and IDW.
§ Finally, speaking of Fantagraphics, the publisher launched their second sale of the month, JP Morgan Ripped Us Off, to cover the losses incurred by the bank and Diamond’s attempted liquidation of their stock, as well as the unpaid fees from the distributor. This sale is aimed at retailers, whom Fantagraphics pleads with to “stop buying through Diamond, if you haven’t done so already, and take us up on our special offer by buying books, comics, and merchandise you can sell.” The sale ends Tuesday, September 2, at 11:59pm PT.
