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.
§ IDW and Hunters Entertainment launched a Kickstarter for a Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees board game, which has already exceeded its $20,000 goal. The project, billed as “a cozy storytelling game about murder,” allows 3-6 players to explore creator Patrick Horvath‘s setting of Woodbury, the town of seemingly friendly animal people: each are given a Dark Secret that the others must uncover, including being a killer competing with Sam (the murderer from the comic). If interested, you’ll have until Wednesday, November 12, to back the crowdfunder for the game, which’ll release on November 1, 2026.
§ Via GamesPress, Marvel Rivals is launching Zombie Mode in time for Halloween on Thursday, October 23. Inspired by the new Disney+ series Marvel Zombies, the free update lets players fight waves of computer-controlled zombies instead of each other, including Zombie Namor and the Queen of the Dead (Scarlet Witch); there’ll also be new skins for characters like Thor and Blade (Knight). It marks the game’s first PvE (player vs. environment) mode. Marvel Zombies is available to stream in the meantime now.
§ ICv2 reports Kodansha will publish Shirow Masamune: Artworks in the Shell, a new hardcover artbook of work by the Ghost in the Shell creator. The book, which is intended for readers aged 18 and above, was created to accompany a recent exhibit in Tokyo, and features several previously unseen pieces of art. For more Fall 2026 announcements, including four new middle-grade series from the publisher, head to the link.
§ Via Crunchyroll, Viz Media had several manga announcements for Summer 2026. They include Alice in Borderland Retry, a sequel to the original series by Haro Aso; Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Tales of Iga, a prequel to the new game about Naoe’s mother by reguje; and Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo, an original, post-Order 66 story by Ultraman creators Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi.
Non-fiction titles include Manga in Theory and Practice: How to Create Villains, a new book by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki, and Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, a compilation of insights from the late Nintendo CEO. For more of the books, also featuring work by tokitokoro (Jeff the Land Shark), Boichi (Dr. Stone), Paru Itagaki (Beastars), and Ai Yazawa (NANA), click the link.
§ Skybound has launched a line of Invincible plush dolls, kicking off with Mark Grayson (in his blue outfit), Atom Eve, Rex Splode, Robot, and a jumbo-sized Battle Beast. (Blood splatter not included.) The toys are available to preorder now from Makeship, and will be released on January 30, 2026. Invincible season four will premiere in March, and you can watch the trailer here, and read our impressions of the upcoming game Invincible VS here.
§ Finally, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are coming to Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast revealed the new line of cards during New York Comic Con, which are now available to preorder ahead of their release on March 6, 2026. It marks the latest addition to the Universes Beyond range, which kicked off with The Walking Dead in 2020, and has expanded most recently with the addition of Spider-Man, Final Fantasy, and TMNT’s fellow Nickelodeon property SpongeBob SquarePants. In the meantime, season two of Tales of the TMNT will premiere on Paramount+ in December.
