The Deadman was easily the one title from DC Comics’ Next Level initiative I was most excited about when it was announced. How could I not be given the creative team involved, who produced last year’s excellent Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum and the Eisner Award nominated anthology Ice Cream Man? Given that, I expected something unique that pushed the boundaries of the DC Universe. I was not disappointed.

The opening scenes quickly introduce us to Boston Brand, with a knowing nod to All-Star Superman #1. Sadly, Boston Brand cannot be summed up in eight simple words, though W. Maxwell Prince does make a game attempt. Even so, the opening scenes explain how the assassinated acrobat was chosen by a goddess of balance to act as her agent on Earth and just what that entails.

The classic Deadman comics usually had Boston Brand possessing people to see justice done. This time, however, his duties are a bit more spiritual, as befitting the servant of a nominally Hindu goddess of karma. Yes, he puts the fear of Hell into a wicked man so the man can earn a shot at reincarnation into someone decent, but he also prevents the death of a teenage girl who is due to have a miraculous recovery just in time for prom.

The overall effect makes Deadman into a more heroic version of Beetlejuice. I think this an apt comparison, even though he’s a doctor, janitor, counselor and/or exterminator rather than a bio-exorcist. The level of humor in Prince’s script is comparable to the Tim Burton films, even before Boston busts out a rule book or starts talking to ghosts who did not die as clean a death as he did while trying to bring them peace. Things shift into more traditional superhero territory near the end, with the introduction of soul-eating monsters that can actually hurt Boston.

The script is brought to life beautifully by the art team, which is unsurprising given all their experience together. Martin Morazzo has a distinctive style, well-suited to subverting slice-of-life visuals. We see commonplace things off-set by weird figures. These are subtly punctuated by the coloring effects of Chris O’Halloran. The ghosts, for instance, have a quiet glow, despite their muted shades (no pun intended) in comparison to the less flashy colors in the backgrounds. And Good Old Neon lives up to their name, with some good old lettering.

The Deadman #1 puts an interesting spin on an often overlooked character. More than any of the DC Next Level titles to date, it truly lives up to the ideal of giving new creative teams a chance to do something unique to redefine the DC Universe. That should give it broad appeal beyond the audiences of supernatural and horror comic fans who will definitely enjoy this series.

The year is 1975. The place is Averno County, deep in the Texas Hill Country. It was here that a family and a community were torn apart when revelations regarding the Kernek family came to light. Rozina Krenek, the matriarch of a clan of cannibals, was gunned down by the county sheriff, despite her being his distant relative.

Nearly five decades later, they still tell tales of the woman now known as The Matron. It is a cross that has to be born by her surviving granddaughter and great-granddaughter. However, when times grow tough as winter draws near, there are whispers that the Matron may return…

There is a certain subclass of horror comic that seems to be a horror comic because the writer couldn’t get it produced as a horror movie because it was too much like what came before. At a casual glance, The Matron #1 might seem to be of that ilk. Mention a story involving cannibals in Texas and many will dismiss it as a Texas Chainsaw Massacre rip-off. The irony is that The Matron is much more authentic to the Texas setting, even ignoring that TCM was based on a serial killer from Wisconsin and The Matron is based on Slavic mythology.

Like all great horror, there’s a lot of social commentary amid the flashbacks showing The Matron in action. There’s racial drama, generational divide drama, and class drama. This, coupled with the slow introduction to our cast, gives the whole thing more depth than is typical of most slasher horror comics. Then again, given the writers involved have been nominated for an Eisner and a Ringo respectively, this is hardly surprising.

The artwork is not quite as strong, though it is serviceable. Monica Gallagher does a great job of giving each character a distinctive look, so there’s no confusion as to who is who as we get to know the cast. The inks are also solid throughout. Unfortunately, with her open designs combined with the bright colors used by Harry Saxon, the whole thing looks far lighter than it should and the deaths lose some impact as a result.

Overall, I think horror fans will find a lot to like about The Matron. The script is smart, with some wonderful bonus features at the end of the comic. The art, while seemingly meant to visually contrast with the story to the point of contrariness, does not distract from it. If noting else, it’s nice to see a story where the serial killer isn’t just another weird guy who doesn’t get out much.

The Matron #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.

Our Matt Morrison and Mike Ryan were there taking pictures of all the unconventional conventionalists.

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My hopes weren’t high heading into Ultimate Impact: Reborn #1. The entire series seemed to be as hastily thrown together as the effort to close out the new Ultimate Universe. Still, with Chris Condon writing, I was willing to give it a shot, having enjoyed his work on Green Arrow.

Most of the comic is focused on Miles Morales, who took an accidental journey into the new Ultimate Universe in Ultimate:Spider-Man: Incursion. Before returning to his reality, he was charged with transporting a number of Origin Boxes: devices which can instantly give a person superpowers. Miles was meant to deliver these to Tony Stark.

Unfortunately, someone got wind of this and hired The Spot to steal them. The resulting fight ends with the boxes being scattered through Spot’s portals and into the hands of some random people. These characters, most of whom get a cover highlighting their new hero or villain look, are introduced through a series of vignettes across the comic. Also, there’s a new villain from the new Ultimate Universe Negative Zone called Hostilicus, who leads a cult that worships Annihilus.

Condon does his best to give us an overview of these characters. However, his tendency toward writing graphic novels better than periodic fiction works against him. We barely get the chance to know the new characters’ names, much less who they are.

The new Wonder Man fares best, having three pages compared to the other characters’ two. Then again, teens Max and Lola are forced to share two pages between them. They don’t merit a cover or codenames yet, though it appears they got a set of Captain Marvel’s Nega-Bands. We get little insight into Sightseer and Mogul beyond “cynical reporter” and “corporate weasel.”

The artwork for the issue is similarly serviceable yet uninspired. Steafno Caselli is one of Marvel’s more reliable house artists, with a good sense of proportions. Marte Garcia and David Curiel do a decent job on the colors and there’s nothing glaringly off-putting in the final product. Joe Sabino’s letters are clear and readable, but there’s little in the sound effects balloons that is inspiring.

Ultimate Impact: Reborn may have the most ironic comics title of 2026. There’s little here that makes any impact and nothing thus far appears to be reborn. Perhaps it will make more of an impression in a collected volume, but right now there’s little reason to keep reading.

The good news is that the opening pages of Barbara Gordon: Breakout immediately countered my chief objection to this miniseries after it was set up in the pages of Matt Fraction’s Batman. The bad news is that everything after that justified my reasons for dreading it after it was originally announced. Yet somehow, despite being built upon a major misunderstanding of Babs’ character, this sort of works.

Initially, it was made to look like Barbara Gordon was arrested as the one member of the Bat-Family unlucky enough to get caught shutting down safehouses in the wake of Vandal Savage’s efforts to destroy Gotham’s vigilantes. The opening pages reveal that this was all part of a larger plan to investigate Savage’s private prison and the sudden deaths of prominent Gothamites arrested for fighting Savage’s regime as GCPD Commissioner.

Logically, it makes sense Batman would investigate this. And apart from himself, Barbara is the most prominent member of the team in their secret identity in Gotham. Making her a target for Savage’s vendetta makes the most sense if you can believe that Bruce wouldn’t take this dangerous mission on himself. However, Barbara Gordon: Breakout is based on a larger break with character history.

In an interview at the issue’s end, Mariko Tamaki says the core idea of this book was based around Barbara operating as a lone agent. “What makes her incredible is that she’s someone who can lead a team to victory. So the question became: What happens when you take someone who’s so good at that and pull her out of that environment?”

As a Barbara Gordon fan, I would like to applaud a story that puts the focus on her outside of her leading the Birds of Prey, helping the Justice League, and everything she does as part of Batman’s team. The problem is that painting her as ineffectual outside of a team does her a disservice. Lest we forget that Babs started out operating on her own without Batman’s approval or support and did well enough to be brought into the fold. Granting that it’s been a few years since she was operating in the field extensively (the timeline is a bit wonky on this point) Babs is not unused to working on her own.

Thankfully, none of Tamaki’s core concept seems to have made it into this first issue. To put it simply, Babs kicks ass and takes names. And Tamaki does a fantastic job capturing Barbara’s analytic mind and how she puts it to work in a fight.

Talking of the fights, the action sequences are well-illustrated. Amancay Nahuelpan splits Western and Eastern influences, with manga-style speed-lines and traditional character designs. The colors by Tamra Bonvillain are relatively muted, but that does fit the prison environment and reflect the aura of despair in the setting. And the letters by Ariana Maher are well-rendered.

I wound up liking Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 far more than I expected. Granting that I am a bit defensive when it comes to Babs (us librarians have to stick together) I still have issues with the core concept and how it fits into the larger narrative of the Batman books right now. Taken as its own beast, however, this is an enjoyable first issue that leaves me wanting to read more.

Conan has traveled far in his life. Further than any other Cimmerian, as far as he knows. He has even traveled through time and space, beyond the realms of the Hyborian Age. Thus the barbarian was not too shocked when he and his mercenary company found themselves in another world witht wo moons – the mystic realm of Erondár!

Erondár is a wildly different world than Conan’s, with magic more commonplace and technology that seems like magic to his eyes. Yet there are threats that are familiar to him, such as the dragon that apparently brought him into this world. Yet Conan will not face this threat alone, for Erondár is also home to the reknowned dragon-slayer called Dragon Nero

Until this book, I was not familiar with the fantasy series Dragonero. Apparently it is a relatively recent comic, barely a decade old, which became a big hit in its native Italy. It has also apparently inspired a role-playing game and a video game.

However, Conan and Dragonero #1 only offers a taste of its setting and its central character doesn’t appear until the closing pages.Thankfully, that taste is enough to inspire further reading. Writers Stefano Vietti and Luca Enoch put the focus on Conan, allowing the reader to learn of the world of Erondár through his eyes. This is a subtle but brilliant touch, given that most of the audience probably consists of comic readers like me: Conan fans who haven’t read Dragonero.

The artwork by Lorenzo Nuti presents an interesting paradox. Cool, muted shades dominate the artwork, giving everything a washed-out aura. However, this emphasizes the alien nature of Erondár from Conan’s perspective. That serves to make the action of the issue more intense. This is further reflected in the sound effect balloons, which create a visual clamor that once again contasts with the stark backgrounds.

I cannot speak as to how well Conan and Dragonero captures the spirit of the Dragonero comics. I can say, as a Conan fan, that I found this interesting enough to want to read more. It may not hold as much appeal to those who don’t like sword-and-sorcery stories, but I found it to be an enjoyable work of fantasy.

Conan and Dragonero arrives in comic shops everywhere on May 13, 2026.

A new menace threatens the nations of the Hyborian Age. This time, however, it is not some fell demon or dark wizard. It is a new group called the Rising Sun. Some call them a cult. Others call them heroes. In either case, their goal is violent revolt against all nobles who feast and drink while their subjects starve.

This is of little concern to Red Sonja, who has seen far too many liberators become tyrants. However, the call of one of the few nobles worthy of the name sees her playing bodyguard to the last scion of a famous wizard’s line. The Rising Sign seek the girl to further their own goals, but are they truly as dangerous as the noble class claim?

I’ve read a great many Red Sonja series and mini-series over the years. Most of the time, they seem to be more focused on art than story. This might be fair given the number of fantasy fans whose chief concern is how much skin is revealed by the title heroine (and the cosplayers portraying her) on various covers.

The 2026 Red Sonja She Devil With A Sword series is another kettle of fish altogether.

Writer Rory McConville presents an interesting threat through the Rising Sun. Peasant revolts are nothing new in sword-and-sorcery. (Indeed, there was one occurring among all the other events in Robert E. Howard’s Rogues in the House.) Yet they are rarely treated as a threat unto themselves amid all the lusty warlords, slathering monsters, and evil witches that usually serve as the antagonists in Red Sonja stories.

That alone would mark this series as something unusual even without the way McConville writes Sonja herself. Far too many authors write Sonja as a cliched man-hating amazon or a generic action hero. There is humor and boldness in equal measure with this Sonja, yet also a softer side rarely seen as she mentors a scared teenage girl thrown into the fire – a circumstance Sonja knows all too well.

Would that the artwork showed such depth! Pablo De Bonis is not a bad artist. Indeed, his close-ups and action scenes are reminiscent of the classic Prince Valiant comics. The problem comes whenever he is required to draw crowd scenes or anything beyond the middle distance.

There are many pages in this comic that look like preliminary sketches that never got finished. This is particularly problematic in the panels where the characters in the foreground are fare more detailed than the ones standing immediately behind them. Colorist Salvatore Aiala Neto has similar issues, shading foreground characters in shadowy palettes while highlighting the undefined characters in the background! The letters by Carlos M. Mangual are competent, but there’s nothing outstanding and a curious absence of sound effect balloons.

The new Red Sonja: She Devil With A Sword is sure to please most fans of the franchise. The story is truly unique and this take on Sonja harkens back to the salad days of her introduction. With stronger art, this could be the beginning of something legendary. Alas, it all balances out to be merely adequate.

The year is 2015. Mead and Stix are two former soldiers come to Earth and Tokyo. Mead is a human. Stix is a combat-model Replicant. They became private eyes to support themselves while hunting the traitor that got the rest of their squad killed.

Their last case led to a whole host of complications. Chief among these was a Blade Runner from America, hired to hunt the off-model Replicants made by the Chesire laboratory in defiance of Tyrell Corporation’s monopoly on synthetic humans. There was also the matter of a serial killer who looked like Stix, a war between two Yakuza clans, and a new neural interface dubbed Aurora, which lets human operators control Replicants remotely.

Now, Stix and Mead are working for the Yakuza. Unfortunately, the Blade Runner Rumiko is still on the hunt for Aurora. And there are more forces from the Tyrell Corporation hunting them.

It’s been a while since we’ve explored the world of Blade Runner in a new comic series. Thankfully, this first issue of the latest Tokyo Nexus saga – To Die Is To Win – opens with a summary of the story so far. There is some irony then that over half this comic is devoted to a flashback to Stix and Mead in the past, long before the events described. The rest of the issue is devoted to setting up a new case for the duo.

Nancy A. Collins takes over the writing duties for this series, but it is hard to judge her based on this first issue. The writing is technically proficient, but it is too soon to say if Collins can capture that unique resonance that defines the Blade Runner franchise. Most of the comic reads more like a war story, albeit a good one. The rest seems to be aiming for a Noir tone, but it is too brief to gauge well.

The artwork, thankfully, remains spot on. This is due to this new volume of Tokyo Nexus retraining the same art team as the first volume, Die In Peace. Mariano Taibo continues to offer up unique character designs that are instantly identifiable and intense action sequences. The colors by Marco Lesko are brighter than is typical of a Blade Runner story, but the neon shades capture the spirit of this world’s version of Tokyo.

Fans of the Titan Comics’ Blade Runner series to date will find this an enjoyable read. It is somewhat inaccessible to newcomers, despite the summary page at the start. Personally, I would suggest interested new readers check out the first volume – Die In Peace – before giving this one a try.

Sister Josephine was as faithful a nun as any to be found in Boston. As such, when the priest assigned to her church called her in to assist with an exorcism, she came running. Unfortunately, Father McDonough died in the middle of the ceremony and that was only the start of Sister Josephine’s problems.

While able to banish the demon, the possessed died along with Father McDonough. This would have been bad enough without the issue of there being no record of Father McDonough calling Sister Josephine and the Church needing someone to blame for the two deaths. Soon Sister Josephine is just Josephine and, ironically, depending on the charity of the Church to survive. But she does have one unexpected ally…. the demon she sent back to Hell!

Excommunicated is the sort of comic I think will read far better as a trade than in monthly installments. The summary of the first issue reveals far more of the series’ concept than the actual first issue. The issue actually ends with the demon reaching out to Josephine to establish the partnership teased on the cover and in the early press for the issue.

With that being said, this first chapter is an solid read. Josephine is an engaging hero and the mystery behind how she comes to be excommunicated is interesting. The artwork is suitably spooky and definitively detailed, with varied colors and clear lettering.

I doubt Excommunicated will hold much broad appeal. There is little to recommend it to audiences outside the supernatural horror fandom. Thankfully, genre enthusiasts will find a lot here to enjoy.

Due in equal parts to spending the past week moving and planning to cover a convention, I did not get much chance to read the preview comics sent to me over the past week. Indeed, despite swinging by my comic shop first thing on the morning of Free Comic Book Day, I didn’t get a chance to read the books I grabbed until Sunday evening. As such, I’m a little late to the party in covering FCBD: Conan: Tides of the Tyrant King #0 despite Jim Zub himself sending me a digital copy of it. For this, I apologize, but the book proved worth the wait.

Those who have been reading the current Conan the Barbarian series from Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures will be on familiar footing here. Titan has used Free Comic Book Day to kick off Conan-themed crossovers over the past few years. The crossovers, in this case, involve other characters created by Robert E. Howard. And in the case of Tides of the Tyrant King, the story this time involves Stephen Costigan – a character easily confused with Howard’s more famous Sailor Steve Costigan, who headlined more of his stories than any character save Conan.

Zub establishes Conan and Costigan as warriors who share a spirit, despite the undreamed ages that lie between them. The battlefields of Zingara and France blur as the two men fight and both show the same crude chivalry toward the women who tend their wounds. Yet the two men are similarly connected by an evil that touches both their lives across time and space…

This is typical of how Zub handled Conan and Howard’s other creations in earlier events. Zub is equal parts fan and scholar, who writes Conan with a clear enthusiasm for the character in specific and sword-and-sorcery in general. However, he does his homework when it comes to the whole of Howard’s oeuvre.

All of Zub’s stories draw off of shared points of mythology and the fact that Howard placed his heroes in the same shared universe at different points in time long before such things were commonplace. While this #0 doesn’t offer much of a hint at the story to come, it does highlight its two protagonists well and has enough of a hook at the end to encourage further reading.

The artwork by Jesus Merino is equally detailed. This is Merino’s first time drawing Conan apart from a recent cover, but you’d never know it. The color art by Jao Canola is a bit bright at times, given the generally dark tone of the story but not distractingly so. And the scratchy letters by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith subtly speak to the rough lives of both of our leads.

Based on this special, Conan: Tides of the Tyrant King will be another masterful adaptation. Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures have yet to hit a wrong note in their management of the franchise and Robert E. Howard’s legacy. If you’ve not given the new Conan the Barbarian a chance, now’s the time to see what you’ve been missing!

Conan: Tides of the Tyrant King #1 releases in September 2026.