Creators' Year in Review Part 4: Comics to Look Forward to in 2026
The future is vast and unknowable. A tantalizing vista. A terrifying darkness.
Welcome folks to the second Creators' Year in Review here at House of Ideas, Powers of Secrets, keeping the Multiversity tradition alive and well. The gist for anyone new is I send out five questions to comics creators from all the around the comics world. They come back with a list of answers that is every bit as eclectic as they all are and I compile them into articles. Part of the fun is: you never know what comics or other creators will be reified en masse and which ones will bubble up from the underground, catching you completely off guard.
For anyone who would like to see what 2024 held in store before diving into 2025, check out last year's lists!
So. Five Questions. Five Posts. It's time to look to the future!
What comics are you looking forward to in 2026?
Meredith McClaren (“Black Cloak,” “Hinges”): Oh man. I have... no idea. There will be a million good books, I just can't keep track of which are due out in 2026. Plus, I'm more of a 'wander and find books' than a 'in the know, anticipating books' audience.
I'll probably pick up “Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees” by Patrick Horvath by next year though. It's been out for a while, I just haven't had any time carved out for it yet.
Blue Delliquanti (“O Human Star”, “Across a Field of Starlight”): There are a few books on my library hold list I’ll probably get in the new year, like Raging Clouds by YuDori and On Starlit Shores by Bex Glendining. All the Cameras in my Room is a short story collection from Michael DeForge that promises to be another banger. And Glacier Bay is reprinting Tada Yumi’s True Blue Never Fades, which is the kind of mid-90s Americana ligne claire manga I’ve been drawn to the past few years.
Jose Pimienta (“Halfway to Somewhere,” “Suncatcher”): “Wake Now in the Fire” by Jarrett Dapier and Aj Dungo
Michael Grover (“Deeply Dave,” “Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within”): My friend Rae Allen is working with Mike Mignola on a Western spinoff set in the Hellboy universe, called Carmen Red Claw, and I'm very excited to see what that looks like. (The press release I linked there says it's coming out January 2025, but that is presumably a typo, since this was just announced a couple months ago. Watch for it in January 2026!).
Check out Rae's comic The Manderfield Devil here.
Rodrigo Vargas (“The Do-Over,” “Walking to Do”): I have no clue what’s coming out next year. Buuuut I’m excited to see what YOU do points at the reader.
Reed Hinckley-Barnes (“Hero of Legend,” “Countless Little Deaths”): Selfishly, there are two books I'm writing that I'm really excited to get out there. First is Below the Depths, the follow up to my sci-fi graphic novel Into the Deep, and then SCUM, a cyberpunk book that I've been slowly putting together and I think will finally be ready to show off sometime next year.
For things that I'm not actively making, it's technically coming out this December, but I won't get to read it until next year, so I'm going to say it counts: “A Garden of Spheres” by Linnea Sterte. Excited that the next volume of “Witch Hat Atelier” is finally coming. And the line up of relaunced Vertigo books looks really cool! Especially excited to see more Rosemary Valero-O’Connell artwork.
Jade Armstrong (“Scout is Not a Band Kid,” “Food School”): “Penny Tooth” by Lina Wu. I've been lucky enough to get sneak peeks of the pages, and they look soooo beautiful. I've been a big fan of comics done in pencil these days.
Joe Corallo (“Dahlia in the Dark,” “The Never-Ending Party”): Always looking forward to more Ice Cream Man. Looking forward to seeing where the Absolute line goes at DC and what else Hayden Sherman might be getting to illustrate. I've been a fan of theirs since “Wasted Space” and am so glad to see all of the love they've been getting critically and commercially lately. And I'm always looking forward to the next installment of Skybound's Universal Monsters comics. Really been enjoying the different mini-series they've put out overall.
Zach Weinersmith (“Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal,” “A City on Mars”): Sorry, I'm too out of the loop!
Clayton Cowles (“Die: Loaded,” “Wonder Woman Historia”): I can’t wait to finally read Naoki Urasawa’s Billy Bat. Any Urasawa book is a treasure, and how it took so long for Billy Bat to get an English release is downright baffling. I’m also looking forward to Mike Mignola’s next short story anthology Uri Tupka and the Gods, the YA graphic novel The Girl Who Draws on Whales, Briar: Night’s Terror, and, of course, more Assorted Crisis Events.
Zack Quaintance (“Death of Comics Bookcase,” “Macabre Valley”): My friend and collaborator Nick Cagnetti has a new book coming out called “Spirit of the Shadows” via Oni Press. I'm also absurdly excited for the new Vertigo Comics coming from DC.
Brian Gonsar (“Dracula’s Brunch Club,” “Twisted Tales of Scary Stories: Werewolves”): I know it’s an end-of-2025 release, but I'm pumped to read Franklin Jonas’s first comic, “Lost Fantasy” #5. He’s my brother-in-law’s brother, so we’ve been talking comics a lot when we see each other. I think he has some more in the works for 2026, so it’s exciting to be debuting in the same year.
Kyle Starks (“Rick and Morty,” “Assassin Nation”): I really never ever know what's going on at any time unless it's something my friends or I am working on. I'm most excited about Vertigo coming back - not only because I'm a part of it but because a bunch of those books sound super dope. As I said Condon and Phillips “Peril Of The Brutal Dark” is great; I can't wait to see Deniz Camp do zombies in love with “Bleeding Hearts;” I can't wait to see Tom Taylor's dinosaur zombie book “Necretaceous” and everything said about Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell’s “A Walking Shadow” sounded like it could be a potential comic horror classic in the making. And all the others sound sincerely dope too, that's not me being a team player. They all look really interesting and by great teams you know they'll be good.
“End Of Life” with Steve Pugh who I teamed up with on “Peacemaker: Tries Hard” is the third release of this great new Vertigo rollout and I'm sick to my stomach with nervous anticipation about it being received by comic fans. Like that's the one I'm most looking forward to but selfishly so. It is an extremely me book and a lot of people will be seeing that for the first time.
Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt are doing a book together next year with ONI called “Fort Psycho” which is, more or less, their play on “Gi Joe” and I love both their work so much I'm overjoyed to get to see it in the same place. Hurtt is severely slept on for how strong a comic creator he is.
Caroline Cash (“PeePee PooPoo,” “Adventure Time: The Bubbline Special”): “All the Cameras in my Room” by Michael DeForge.
Michael Conrad (“Plague House,” “Wonder Woman”): I'm not super sure what’s on the way. Naturally I'm excited to see what Becky Cloonan is working on, because she’s the best. I'm also excited to see the things you can't predict, the new voices, the stuff that slips in and shakes things up. That’s the really cool thing about the medium, you never know what’s gonna pop up at a show, through crowdfunding, or at your LCS. I try to make sure I hit the FOC on books I support, because that counts… But I really find a lot of joy in discovering new things organically.
Derek Charm (“Toxic Summer,” “The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl”): Matt Fraction’s “Batman,” Skybound’s Universal Monsters line, anything from the creators from the previous questions, and of course “Speed Racer Adventures” by Franco and Derek Charm ;)
Ben Kahn (“Mr. Muffins: Defender Of The Stars,” “Heavenly Blues”): Right now I'm really looking forward to the new Vertigo line of comics. I'm especially excited for “Swamp Thing 1989” which finally gives us Rick Veitchs' final “Swamp Thing” story after more than 30 years. And then as a fan of all things superhero and action, I'm really hyped about the DC Absolute Universe and “One Piece” heading into its final saga.
Murewa Ayodele (“Akogun: Brutalizer Of Gods”, “Storm” (2024)): “Iron Man” by Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero.
The continuation of “Captain America” by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti.
“Daredevil” by Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett.
Adedotun Akande (“Akogun: Brutalizer Of Gods,” “I Am Iron Man”): “Iron Man” by Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero. “Cyclops” by Alex Paknadel and Rogê Antônio. “Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant” by Murewa Ayodele and Federica Mancin.
Matt Hotson (“Wild West C.O.W.-Boys Of Moo Mesa”, “MMPR: The Return”): Brian Michael Bendis (back at Marvel!) & Mark Bagley (out of semi-retirement!) on “Avengers” #800. “Ultimate Spider-Man” #1 (2000) is my favorite single issue of all time, so getting these two back together for anything is special.
Marvel & DC continuing to do crossovers (“Superman Vs. Spider-Man”) is also exciting. A couple of years ago it seemed like something that would never happen. It’s good for fans when the Big Two play together!
Not a comic book, but a digital platform: Neon Ichiban. Nothing will ever replace my trips to the comic shop(s) or my physical collection, but Neon Ichiban has found a way to digitally reproduce the collectable aspect of comics with their numbered editions, remarques, autographs, and resale market. The platform isn’t just easy to use, it’s fun. Can’t wait to see what else they have planned for their first year!
Not a comic book, but an imprint: Vertigo. Welcome back! Let’s hope we can expect the unexpected from version 2.0.
Rye Hickman (“Hey Mary!”, “Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story”): Mira Ong Chua's work rocks, and next year they're going to drop a new graphic novel, “The Cosmic Ballad of Layla+Airy” and I'm terribly excited for it. They handle complex and nuanced emotional stuff SO well, and their art is so energetic and crisp.
Cullen Bunn (“Autumn Kingdom”, “Harrow County): “Just Brutal” by Dennis Hopeless is one of the books I’m most thrilled about. It’s Thundarr if Thundarr got transported to our world and started a family… but still had to protect the world from vile wizards.
Also, “Fort Psycho” by Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt is gonna knock some socks off. I’ve been getting little sneak peeks at this book for a while now, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it out in the wild!
Zac Thompson (“Cemetery Kids Don’t Die”, “Come Into Me”): Everything in the new Vertigo relaunch looks incredible. Alex Paknadel doing a “Cyclops” miniseries is appointment reading. And we’re supposed to get Absolute Scarecrow in 2026 - I’m dying to see how dark that reimagining goes.
Andrew Wheeler (“Hey Mary!”, “Cat Fight”): I'm so out of the loop on industry stuff these days -- speaking as someone whose whole job back when I was editor of ComicsAlliance was to be all over the industry news -- so I genuinely don't know what's coming out in 2026. My greatest hope is that publishers will push back against the political climate and continue to embrace and champion diverse voices, because these are the times to show that we still believe in heroes.
Triple Dream Comics (Lauren Davis, Mel Hilario, Katie Longua) (“Agent Cupcake”, “Debian Perl, Digital Detective”):
LD: “Batcat: Seeing Stars!” by Meggie Ramm. “Batcat” is always great, and I love visiting Spooky Isle and seeing the world fill out a little bit more. But I got an early peek at the script on this one, and it’s extra special. I think this book is going to be a good friend to a lot of kids.
MH: Since we’re on our convention tour with the release of “Agent Cupcake,” I’m honestly looking forward to meeting both emerging and established creators and the work they’re putting out in the world.
In that vein, Katie and Lauren have both been encouraging me to write my own zine, so I look forward to reading that, if/when it’s a reality.
KL: I’m planning to table at a lot of shows in 2026 to promote “Agent Cupcake,” so honestly I’m most looking forward to all the hand made mini-comics from creators I’m unfamiliar with! I got my start making my own comics and trading them at shows, and it’s still my favorite way to consume comics. People have been really pushing the format forward, I’m seeing so many creative shapes and ideas that can’t be mass produced - It’s so inspiring!
Jorge Corona (“Transformers” (2024,) “Middlewest”): I'm excited to keep going on the new series I picked up this year and the new Spurrier and Bergara book, “Mischief of Magpies,” I believe comes out next year and I'm always down for what those two work on.
Taylor Robin (“Never Satisfied,” “Hunger's Bite”): Everyone I know whose books I was looking forward to came out this year, so I'm not actually sure what's coming out in 2026... despite everything 2025 was a great year for comics... I suppose I'm looking forward to Theo Stultz's “The Nameless Prisoner,” a webcomic he started this year. It's only barely begun so I think that should count as something to look forward to in 2026.
Colleen AF Venable (“Junie B. Jones,” “Kiss Number 8”): I'm a big fan of Emma Steinkellner so “Last Day Pool Party” is definitely on my to-read list. Naoki Urasawa is one of the greatest working today—“20th Century Books” being an all-time fav series—so the upcoming “Billy Bat” English edition has my heart a-flutter.
Der-shing Helmer (“Mare Internum,” “Quail Party”): Anything new that Linnea Sterte makes, which should be no surprise, since she is the best.
Violet Kitchen (“Allodynia,” “Crawlspace”): A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at an excerpt from Tillie Walden’s upcoming book, “Charity and Sylvia,” and found it electrifying – just incandescent. I could feel a jolt of remembrance as the love of making comics re-entered my body. I’m incredibly excited to get to read the entire story.
Up Next:
Elias Rosner
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