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.
§ Dark Horse will publish Knight City, a three-part superhero series by Matt Kindt and David Lapham, starting February 4. The book follows a hero who enters a world without superpowers when he sleeps at night, and subsequently faces a choice after a mental breakdown over the weight of his responsibilities: “embrace his extraordinary abilities, or seek solace in the ordinary.” It will mark one of Kindt’s final series at Dark Horse, following the announcement his imprint Flux House will relocate to Oni Press.
Dark Horse also announced their next Magic: The Gathering series, Untold Stories — Jace. The four-issue series, by Michael W. Conrad and Caitlin Yarsky, follows mind mage Jace Beleren as he delves into his “lost memories to uncover the manipulation by his mentor, Tezzeret, in pursuit of a dangerous magical artifact with the potential to reshape or destroy the Multiverse as we know it.” Issue #1 also arrives February 4. It’ll mark Dark Horse’s second new Magic title, following Elspeth, the second issue of which drops November 12.
§ Via Fangoria, Ignition Press revealed Ripcord, an action horror series by Cullen Bunn and Aneke. The book revolves around the titular drug, which “transforms [users] into mindless, frenzied killers who want nothing but to destroy,” and follows a woman who heads to the Australian Outback to rescue her sister, who went missing after becoming addicted to the substance. Bunn says the story poses the question, “How much violence would you be willing to inflict if it meant saving the life of someone you love?” Issue #1 will be released on January 14.
§ BOOM! Studios will release Alice Forever After, the third and final installment of Dan Panosian and Giorgio Spalletta‘s reimagining of Lewis Carroll‘s heroine. Starting January 14, the book will pick up with the adult Alice now living a peaceful life, until her daughter becomes the target of the Cheshire Cat’s machinations. Panosian and Spalleta’s take kicked off with Alice Ever After in 2022, and continued the following year with Never After; in the meantime, Panosian also penned this year’s Peter Pan sequel The Lost Boy.
§ Return to Skull Island creators Simon Furman and Christopher Jones will reunite at Titan on the four-issue follow-up Escape from Skull Island. Starting January 28, the book follows the stranded main cast of characters as they try to leave Skull Island once more. The comics are a continuation of the animated 2023 Netflix series Skull Island, and are set in 1993, between the MonsterVerse movies Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong. The trade paperback of Return to Skull Island will follow Escape #1 into stores on February 3.
§ Via Deadline, Gungnir imprint lAsgard Books will crowdfund a graphic novel of the Blumhouse Games release Fear the Spotlight on Kickstarter. Patricia Villeto (Sonic Prime) and Claudia Leonardi (Life is Strange) will collaborate on the follow-up to the 2024 horror game, which followed two girls who get involved in a decades-old murder mystery after a seance gone wrong. The Kickstarter page will launch early next year, presumably around the same time the game’s physical release hits the PlayStation 5 on March 13, 2026.
§ Mad Cave revealed Where Does the Rainbow End?, a new sci-fi series by Francesca Perillo and Stefano Cardoselli, the creators of Don’t Spit in the Wind, Love Me: A Romance Story, and Long Cold Winter. It follows a girl who was raised by robots after being abandoned by her parents in a dump; however, the expertise she gains from fixing machines draws the attention of a more malevolent but damaged race of robots from another commune. Issue #1 releases January 14.
§ The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center announced the pop-up exhibit “Jack Kirby: From the Ghetto to the Cosmos,” which be held at the One Art Space in Tribeca, Manhattan, from Wednesday, November 12, to Monday, November 18. The displays will feature Street Code, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the King’s Lord of Light art, as well as his better-known work, while events will include livestreams of dramatic readings, and a live recording of the Jacked Kirby podcast. Stay tuned to the museum’s website for further announcements in the coming weeks.
§ Speaking of Marvel, the company revealed Luna Snow: World Tour, a one-shot by Greg Pak, Ario Anindito, and Takeshi Miyazawa for January 14. (Wow, a lot of comics got announced for that day.) It will follow Luna after being dropped from her record label as a result of allying with Emperor Doom in Doom’s Division, and see her investigate Vibe, an evil new K-pop idol with mysterious powers. Pak previously penned Luna’s adventures in the Asian-centric Agents of Atlas series that ran from 2019 to 2021. In the meantime, Luna starred in “The Cities of Heaven,” the most recent arc of the Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic (which now has a sister series, Rivals Unleashed).
§ Finally, retro beat-em-up game Marvel Cosmic Invasion will be released on Monday, December 1; it was also announced Iron Man and Phoenix/Jean Grey will be the last two playable characters. To coincide with the news, Marvel Comics unveiled 12 tie-in variant covers for the featured heroes’ titles in January and February, including the relaunches of Iron Man and Storm. Because the game has 15 characters at launch, Phoenix and Phyla-Vell go unrepresented on the covers, while Rocket Raccoon shares space with Jennifer Walters on February’s Planet She-Hulk #4 cover.
