Hello, everyone! This is the Comics NEWS Digest, an aggregation of all the top comics and comics-related stories that caught my attention that I thought you might enjoy reading. I post these two weeks after every regular newsletter.
San Diego Comic-Con was a couple of weeks ago and there are lots of great essays on this platform detailing people’s personal experiences. You can read Gizmodo’s summary here and Jarrod Jones wrote about Marvel’s big Hall H presentation for The AV Club. David Harper at SKTCHD provided his own con journal and a breakdown of the controversy of a leaked list of Eisner winners. The link to the full list of Eisner winners is below.
Speaking of Marvel, perhaps the biggest news of the past month is that the company will be moving its operations from New York City to Burbank, California. This may have been inevitable once they became a Disney subsidiary, but it’s still sad. Marvel Comics has been synonymous with New York for my entire life and the characters were part of their respective neighborhoods. This robs them of the sense of place that made them special in the first place.
On the other hand, this news came with the bonus that C. B. Cebulski, a man who had no business being in charge of anything, would finally (finally!) no longer be editor-in-chief. Of course, because this is America and god forbid a mediocre white man face consequences for his actions, he’ll simply be stepping into a different high-level position while someone else takes over.
In book ban news, the United States senate introduced yet another bill to restrict reading materials in public and school libraries. This one will force them to construct curricula around the reading recommendations of a Christian homeschooling company, a combination of words that sends a chill down my spine, and which doesn’t contain a single title published after the 1990s.
On the topic of schools, the Joe Kubert School, a vaunted institution that has produced and inspired generations of comic book professionals, has been acquired by the County College of Morris in New Jersey.
In the first update on a couple of old stories, the Cartoonist Cooperative published an artists collective statement on the issues plaguing publisher Silver Sprocket. It’s a disheartening read, as the company that produced some defining indie and underground comics has been mired in miscommunication and payment problems. I hope the affected creators are able to get what they’re owed.
In our first Diamond update in what feels like a minute, a settlement has been reached between the former distribution company and publishers collectively referred to as the Consignment Group. Part of me feels like calling this the end is premature, but I’m glad progress is being made towards getting companies their comics back, if not the creators themselves.
Meanwhile, AfterShock Comics, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022, has emerged from bankruptcy with a plan to pay back creators and a new home for its catalogue at GlobalComix. They also have plans to publish new titles next year, though I think creators will be understandably wary to submit.
In other GlobalComix news, Image Comics is pulling all of its titles from the platform. They’ve only been on there for three years, but Image titles will be available at several other platforms.
This next story had one of the wildest headlines in recent memory before it was changed to be less sensational, but it still involves comics writer Tom King having to deny a role in starting the Iraq War. I could probably write at length about this, but suffice to say that his previous work for the CIA, including glib admissions of torture, clearly has not diminished his star power.
Finally for this section, the larger comics community was dealt another serious blow recently when printing company Comix Wellspring suddenly and without warning suspended operations indefinitely. This left a lot of people, including myself, scrambling to find a way to get comics ready for conventions and several others with suspended orders that they’d already paid for expecting refunds or deliveries and no idea what was going on. Fortunately, alternatives have been making themselves available. Platform Comix.one has announced a new print-on-demand partner to replace Comix Wellspring.
First up, David Harper at SKTCHD checked in with retailers for a look at the industry in the year so far. It turns out 2026 is looking great!
July was Disability Pride Month, and Eileen Gonzalez at Book Riot had this look at disabled superheroes who aren’t Daredevil.
Shelfdust reprinted an article from The Gutter Review by Chloe Maveal about Northstar’s coming out and the erasure of AIDS at Marvel Comics.
Tynan Stewart reviewed The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco for SOLRAD. Scott Cederlund at From Cover to Cover examined Gigs by Mark Mosedale and Si Smith. Both timely works in their own way.
Andrew Irvin had a few great pieces at Comic Book Yeti this past month. First, he interviewed writer Jordan Mechner about his graphic novel Liberty!, about arms smugglers who aided the American Revolution, with art by Étienne Le Roux and Loïc Chevallier with colors by Elvire De Cock. Next, he interviewed Joël Dos Reis Viegas about his graphic novel Urbance, which expanded on the animated short film of the same name. Anything that cites Æon Flux as inspiration has my attention. Most recently (time of writing), he had this look at Metro Comic Con in Melbourne, Australia.
Chris Arrant at Popverse spoke with Fabrice Sapolsky at FairSquare Graphics.
Wrapping up by returning to SOLRAD, Stefan Orlić examined the cosmology of Jesse Lonergan’s Eisner award-winning (spoilers for below) Drome.
As promised, you can read about who won at the 2026 Eisner Awards here. An earlier version leaked online, which led to some confusion and controversy, but this is the final list from San Diego Comic-Con itself. Lots of great titles and talented people! Congratulations to David Harper on his win for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism for SKTCHD!
The 11th Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics was announced that same weekend and the winner was Crownsville by Rodney Barnes and Elia Bonetti, a horror series inspired by true events.
The nominees for the 2026 Harvey Awards have been announced. Voting is open for industry professionals until August 28 and the winners will be presented at New York Comic Con in early October.
Professional voting is also open for the 2026 Ringo Awards. Those winners will be announced at Baltimore Comic-Con in late September.
The winners of the 2026 Graphic Medicine Awards were announced last month. They were It’s a Journey by Asiel and Dr. M. Giacomozzi in the Educational category, “What Have We Lost?” by Shawn Forde in the Short Form category, and Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young in the Long Form category.
The Comics Advocacy Group provided their third round of mini grants of $500 each to 20 recipients out of more than six hundred applicants.
The winners of the 38th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced back in June, but I’m only somehow getting around to them now. Sorry about that! Gaysians by Mike Curato won the category for LGBTQ+ Comics.
Sadly, the comics community lost more members this past month. Editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant, who received death threats from liberals and conservatives alike, has died at the age of 90. The linked article notes that some of his work has “not aged well,” which is to be expected in a career that spanned more than half a century.
Finally, creator Will Franz has died of heart failure at the age of 75. Best known for war comics, he inspired at least one conscientious objector through his work at Charlton Comics. A website has been set up to help pay for his end-of-life care.
That’s all for this month. Did I miss anything? Comment below if I have. Feel free to subscribe if you haven’t already. The Comics Book Club will be meeting again on August 19 to discuss Cosmoknights. Thanks again for everything.
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