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.
§ A Kickstarter for an artbook written by and spotlighting From Hell co-creator Eddie Campbell has launched. Titled The Arts of Eddie Campbell, Comicker, the book will feature the artist’s 10,000 word autobiography, unpublished redraws of scenes in From Hell, a new autobiographical story, and much more. The hardcover edition will include 16 extra pages of strips, paintings, and From Hell character studies. The Kickstarter will end on October 20, and has exceeded its £500 ($660.37) goal with £9,338 ($12,333.02) raised at the time of writing.
§ Deadline reports Amazon MGM is developing a film version of Garth Ennis and Mike Perkins‘s 2024 one-shot Freddie the Fix. The horror comic, which marked the first release from Image’s horror imprint Ninth Circle, followed Freddie, a fixer working for werewolves, vampires, zombies, aliens, and more in Hollywood. It will be directed by Lawrence Lamont (One of Them Days), and written by Kalen Egan and Travis Sentell (The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams), while producers will include Ennis, Kimberly Steward, Kenya Barris, and Adam Glass.
§ Titan revealed Killproof, a Gun Honey spin-off written by series creator Charles Ardai, with art by Ace Continuado and inker Juan Castro. It follows Evie Parker, the genetically altered mercenary introduced in 2024’s Heat Seeker: Combustion, who has an accelerated healing factor, and “can’t feel pain, heat, cold, hunger or fatigue” — leading to her being abducted by the world’s richest man, who wants her powers for himself. Issue #1 will be released in April 2027, shortly after the latest Gun Honey is released in trade. A 16-page sampler will be available for signings at New York Comic-Con on Friday, October 8 (at the ComicXposure booth, #3935, at 12pm).
Titan Manga also announced an English release for Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem, the source material for the Japanese HBO Max series Song of the Samurai. The first volume will collect the first three tankōbons (of a current total of 36) on January 26, 2027. Created by Shinya Umemura and Eiji Hashimoto, Chiruran ran from 2010 to 2023, and revolves around the formation of Shinsengumi, a secret police active in Japan during the 1860s. Song of the Samurai, an eight-part live-action series, premiered in Japan and the US earlier this year.
§ Variety reports Kevin Feige was honored on Wednesday, September 30, by the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, who awarded him their annual Pioneer of the Year prize. Jon Favreau, Josh D’Amaro, and Chris Pratt were among those who attended the event honoring the Marvel Studios president, while Michael Giacchino, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Hailee Steinfeld, Pedro Pascal, and Vanessa Kirby sent video messages. The event raised $1.9 million for the Will Rogers Pioneers Assistance Fund, which helps those working in film distribution and theaters in need of financial aid.
§ In news you may’ve missed because they’re mentioned in passing elsewhere this week, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is getting released digitally on Tuesday, October 6, and arrive on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 15. There’s no audio commentary or deleted scenes planned for the latter (presumably because of the reported extended rerelease), but there will be lots of featurettes and outtakes. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, the new edition of the anime series from 2015, will stream weekly on Netflix in the US from Saturday, October 17. The show will premiere in Japan on October 11.
§ Finally, Paramount announced Mattel chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz will serve as co-CEO of the merged Paramount and Warner Bros. Kreiz will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations and vertical integration, while CEO and chairman David Ellison will continue to lead “strategy, creative [direction] and technology”. The controversial merger is set to be finalized next week, after a judge approved the settlement of the 12 state attorney generals’ joint lawsuit over it. Kreiz will be replaced at Mattel in the interim by Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch, who has been succeeded in turn at that company by Mike Perlis.
