Image Advance Arrivals: July 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Wrestle Heist
Wrestling promoters suck. The one in this story sucks even more because his actions have led to multiple wrestlers getting crippled and having to quit their chosen profession. So it’s not a hard decision for them to try and get their revenge by robbing the promoter blind during the biggest show of the year. While Kyle Starks has written a lot of good comics recently, he’s always been a great artist too and he’s back to drawing his own work with this miniseries. Which means we’ll have big, colorful characters drawn in a stylishly over-the-top way as they work their way through a story that gives every appearance of being able to balance Starks’ comedic and dramatic sides. Wrestling may not be my thing, but there’s no way I won’t be part of this heist.
Terminal #1: Here we have a brand-new superhero series co-written by Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey and illustrated by Andy Kubert with contributions planned from David Finch and Art Adams. That is A LOT of veteran genre talent for this series that’s being described as something that’s perfect for fans of “Invincible” or “X-Men.” Yet when I look at it, I just can’t help seeing something that’s destined to fail.
Look, Kirkman has written one of the all-time great modern superhero stories in “Invincible” and Casey, well, he sure has written a bunch of superhero comics for Marvel and DC, and I’ll always have a soft spot for everything he did on “Wildcats.” Kubert, Finch, and Adams are also great superhero artists, but I get the feeling that the reason all three of them were announced is because it’s going to take their combined efforts to keep this title coming out on a monthly basis. Even with all this talent, it doesn’t sound like we’re getting anything actually different from the comics that inspired it. You can even boil the plot down to, “There is a secret war being waged across the world by two violent forces with superhuman abilities who blur the lines between good and evil,” as stated in the solicitation text. Maybe Kirkman is hiding a “Void Rivals”-level reveal in the first issue. I sure hope so as I see this series flaming out after a year without it.
Starhenge Book Two: A Kiss for Atticus #1 (of 4): I have no idea who Atticus is or why he’s going to be kissed. All I know is that this is the second volume of Liam Sharp’s sci-fantasy series. I haven’t picked up the first volume yet because while I like the creator’s pencilwork, his fully-painted stuff (like this) has this blurry murkiness to it that’s a complete turn-off for me. Still, if I was interested in checking out vol. 1 I can either pick up the softcover edition of it that’s arriving this month or pick up the hardcover on Amazon right now as it’s currently retailing for just over 50% off.
Free Planet #14: Billed as the end of the series’ first “story cycle.” Which feels a bit odd with most Image titles preferring either five-or-six-issue storylines and this one going all the way to eight in its second volume. If you ask me, I think it’s because writer Aubrey Sitterson and artist Jed Dougherty saw the writing on the wall and decided to cram some kind of closure for the series into its final two issues. I say this because vol. 1 was extremely ambitious without being much fun, making its story of the struggles of a newly independent planet an absolute chore to get through. I was expecting them to throw in the towel at issue #12, so it’s something of an achievement that they made it this far.
D’Orc vol. 1: While Kirkman’s involvement may not have gotten me hyped for “The Terminal,” I will give him some credit for making me interested in this. I mean, how do you not love, “Don’t be a dork, buy ‘D’Orc!’” as a promotion? This is actually coming from “I Hate Fairyland” artist Brett Bean and while I checked out of that series before he started drawing it, the idea of a half dwarf/half orc who becomes embroiled in all sorts of fantasy conspiratorial nonsense after he’s prophesied to destroy the world sounds like it could be a lot of fun. More intriguing is that the current market has gone absolutely mad for the initial issues of this series which implies that what’s in these issues is really good. Or that we’re witnessing the second coming of the speculator market that fueled the 90’s crash and we’re all doomed. Definitely one of these two.
Purr Evil: “Sweet Paprika’s” Mirka Andolfo writes and Laura Braga illustrates this series about a mother trying to protect her daughter from a supernatural evil in her past. That involves evil cats, it seems? I’ll admit to being a sucker for anything cat-centric in comics, but those six-eyed demons on the cover are not adorable at all. Maybe I’ll pick this up in the hopes of being surprised, or maybe I’ll just wait for the next volume of “Cat + Crazy” for my cat comics fix.
Skinbreaker Deluxe Edition & Black and White Edition HCs: Kirkman again, this time with Finch and the collected edition of their orcish warrior fantasy series. You know the drill: The wielder of the mighty Skinbreaker is getting on in his years and needs to find an heir. Will the warrior he’s chosen rise to the occasion or shrink from his destiny? Normally I’d give anything from Kirkman the benefit of the doubt (yes, I’ll still be picking up the first volume of “The Terminal” when it’s released just to see how it turns out), but I’m drawing the line with this release. That’s because both of these editions are “special” hardcovers that will cost you $50 in an oversized format to read this 208-page volume. No thanks. I’ll just wait for the regular-sized softcover edition.
Assorted Crisis Events vol. 2: You know what they say: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… yeah, I’m calling it quits on new creator-owned work from Deniz Camp after reading vol. 1.
Ghost Pepper vol. 2: Taste of Cinders: I’m saving my thoughts on vol. 1 for my next “Rundown” column, so I’ll just say this: Between this title and “Crazy Food Truck,” making a (good) series about food service in a post-apocalyptic setting is apparently a lot harder than it looks.
Hyde Street vol. 2: Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Francis Portela’s horror series that isn’t very scary gets its second volume. Annoying Boy Scout Pranky has found that he can’t take off the werewolf mask he put on at the end of vol. 1 and now has to turn to its owner Mr. X-Ray and the sinister Dr. Ego for help. I can only hope that they carve the little shit’s face off and he spends the entire volume regretting his life’s choices as that’s the only way I can imagine Johns will get me to feel the sympathy he so obviously wants me to for this character. That said, my goodwill towards the writer extends only as far as the end of this volume so he’d better step up his game here if he wants to keep me on Hyde Street. Speaking of series that are on thin ice…
Radiant Black vol. 8: New Number One: The previous volume, “All-New, All-Different” was anything but, and that was coming off the not as thrilling as it should have been “Catalyst War.” Co-writers Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark need to do something to get my interest back fast. Will a storyline about Marshall clashing with Franklin Group soldiers and their own hero be that something? They’d better hope so.
Void Rivals vol. 5: Quintesson War: Vol. 4 left off promising big things and now they’ve arrived at the Great Ring. The Quintessons have finally found where their old foe Zerta Trion ran off to millenia ago and are now preparing to wipe her great work from the universe. Standing in their way are the Zertonians and the Agorrians – separately, as they can’t come together for fear of unleashing Goliant and destroying the Great Ring and themselves in the process. Which would make it seem that the Quintessons have this in the bag. Something tells me it won’t be that easy for them, and I look forward to seeing how Kirkman and new artist Andrei Bressan pull that off.