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 will reteam with his brother, Todd Mignola, and artist Warwick Johnson-Cadwell on The Crown: A Tale of Hell. A two-part Hellboy event comic beginning February 11, the series takes place in 16th century Hell, before Hellboy’s birth, and revolves around a battle between his father, uncle, and half-brothers Gamon and Lusk for Satan’s throne — something complicated when Gamon and Lusk’s mother returns from her prison. The book marks Johnson-Cadwell’s Hellboy Universe debut, and the second comic by Todd, who previously co-wrote the 2015 Dark Horse Presents story “The Exorcist of Vorsk.” Gamon and Lusk were previously introduced in Hellboy in Hell.
Dark Horse also announced ElfQuest: Hidden Years Gallery Edition, an oversized hardcover reprint of the 1990s series’ first five issues. The comics marked the first color entry in the saga (which began in 1978), and the reprint will allow fans to appreciate artist Wendy Pini‘s paintings in more detail; it will also include margin notes, color tests, and more behind-the-scenes material. It will be released in bookstores on July 14, and comics shops the following day. In the meantime, you can peruse Dark Horse’s newest and upcoming reprints of the series on their website.
§ Deadline reports Iyanu co-creator Roye Okupe will write and direct an anime-inspired film of his graphic novel Malika: Warrior Queen. Created with Chima Kalu in 2017, Malika: Warrior Queen follows the exploits of an empress and military commander in 15th century West Africa. Nigerian actress Adesua Etomi-Wellington (The Wedding Party), who previously starred in a pilot for a series of the comic in 2019 (embedded above), will voice the title character and executive produce the feature.
§ SelfMadeHero announced their Spring 2026 slate. The schedule consists a belated 80th anniversary edition of Joann Sfar‘s adaptation of The Little Prince (March); Barbara Yelin’s Holocaust memoir Emmie Arbel: The Colour of Memory (February in the UK, March in the US); Comic Therapy: Meditations for Reflection by Kay Medaglia (April); and Noisy Valley: The Art of Protest by Myfanwy Tristram (May). Also included is ILYA‘s circus-themed adventure Romo the WolfBoy, which will be released in the UK in February, but strangely, not in North America until September.
§ People magazine, surprisingly, reports Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has become the highest-grossing international release in the United States, topping the record previously held by 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The anime has grossed $128.6 million domestically, and $648.8 million worldwide, making it the most successful Japanese film of all time, and the fifth biggest movie of 2025. (However, it hasn’t surpassed the amount the first film, Mugen Train, grossed in Japan, where it remains the country’s greatest box office hit.)
§ Netflix revealed 11 additional cast members for the Extraction series, including Sacha Dhawan (Doctor Who), Ross McCall (White Collar), Pip Torrens (The Dark Pictures Anthology), Sam Woolf (We Were the Lucky Ones), and Emma Appleton (The Witcher). Details on their characters were not provided. The show, which stars Omar Sy, Boyd Holbrook, Natalie Dormer, May Calamawy, Ed Speleers, and Waleed Zuaiter, is a spin-off of the films based on the graphic novel Ciudad, and will be released sometime next year.
§ Via Deadline, Raphael Sbarge (Mass Effect), Romi Shraiter (Ginny & Georgia), Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica), and David Hewlett (Stargate) have joined the cast of The Boys prequel series Vought Rising. They will play undisclosed recurring roles on the show, which will star Jensen Ackles, Aya Cash, KiKi Layne, and more, and explore the origins of the Vought corporation in the 1950s. No ETA is currently set for the series, while the fifth and final season of The Boys will be released on Prime Video next year.
§ Virginia’s Christopher Newport University has launched The Comic Book Burnings Project, a website chronicling anti-comics hysteria in America from 1945 to 1955. The portal features a map of every confirmed book burning event during that decade, a timeline, contemporaneous newspaper reports, resources, and a request for help for more information on these events. The site was designed by Professor Brian Puaca, a historian and Comics Journal contributor, whose primary expertise is post-war German history, but who also teaches a course on comics and American society.
§ The Far Side creator Gary Larson released several new cartoons on his website, including a tribute to the late Dr. Jane Goodall. Larson befriended the zoologist in 1987, following a brief dispute with her foundation over a cartoon where a chimpanzee insults her. Goodall passed away from natural causes on October 1, aged 91.
§ Finally, KISS co-founder and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, aka Spaceman, died on Thursday, October 16. Per Rolling Stone, his death was a result of a recent fall at his home in New Jersey. He was 74. While Frehley didn’t contribute to comics, his alter-ego frequently appeared in comics portraying the band. Fellow KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley stated, “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.” Frehley is survived by his wife and daughter.
