Dark Horse Penguin Picks: September 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Marvel’s Most Villainous: Magneto
In case you hadn’t heard, Dark Horse is getting into the Marvel reprint business with themed and prestige collections coming your way. “Marvel’s Mightiest Monsters” is also in these solicitations and you can look forward to a black and white collection of Barry Windsor-Smith’s “Weapon X” next time. While I can’t say that the thought of buying and reading a 376-page hardcover collection of reprints struck me as a worthwhile use of my time, the idea actually started to grow on me the more I thought about it.
Magneto has had one of the more interesting journeys over the years for a Marvel villain. From over-the-top madman, to ideological opposite, to actual hero, then back to villain again, to someone who really has a point now that you think about it, to his current standing as ruthless elder statesman of mutanity. This volume promises to trace a lot of that, and I don’t doubt it’ll be interesting to contrast how Stan Lee wrote the character compared to Chris Claremont, who gave him much of the nuance he’s known for today.
If there’s any obvious problem with this collection, it’s that it appears to be far more concerned with the character through the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. “New X-Men #147” by Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez is included here but aside from being KIND OF A SPOILER for the writer’s seminal run, it really feels like an outlier compared to what else is being collected here. If this sells well, then a second volume showcasing Magneto’s latter days would be welcome to show us what he’s like now, and maybe to remind us that there were also good stories involving him in the 90’s as well.
Six of Us #1 (of 6, natch): When one star of the six-person ensemble that made up one of the most successful sitcoms of all time dies, all sorts of rivalries, betrayals, and secrets start to bubble up between the surviving cast members. While I’m assuming that most of this is made up, there’s no denying that it looks like writer Tom King saw the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry and thought, “You know, but what if this…?” Whether the end result is snarkily loveable or could not possibly be more annoying is up in the air given the writer’s history. He’s re-teaming with his artistic collaborator on “The Vision,” Gabriel Walta, and I’m at least glad they’re filing the serial numbers off their inspiration here rather than hammering established characters into a story that wasn’t meant for them.
Shift (one-shot): More from “Three Moons, Three Worlds” as co-writers Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer, along with artist Mike Del Mundo give us the tale of Syg the White Hart and Markus, his (accused) heretic friend, as they journey to the center of the universe. Why? To stop the collapse of everything that is, of course. If nothing else, the solicitation text makes this story sound BIG, what with it being set “generations before the current science cycle, in a time when magic is at its peak,” the aforementioned premise, and all of the ornate names being thrown around here. I’ll still be waiting for these comics to be released in some kind of collected edition, which might be happening soon given that the three-issue miniseries “Arrivals” starts in the next round of solicitations.
Hillbilly: The Treason of Twelve-Toed Maggie #1 (of 3): I may have fallen off of Eric Powell’s signature creation, “The Goon,” but not with the “Appalachian Conan” adventures of Rondel the Wandering Hillbilly. We got three volumes (which told a complete story) and a follow-up miniseries and they were all quality work. Now Powell is returning with a new miniseries that sees Rondel forced back into the service of Twelve-Toed Maggie to save a friend. I’ll be here for the collected edition, even if it’s going to be expensive based on the fact that this first issue will set you back $6 for a regular-sized 32-page issue.
Ghost of a Ghost #1 (of 4): A supporting character from “Giant Robot Hellboy” gets her own miniseries as she jets across the world to prevent Enkeladite from falling into the wrong hands. Co-written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, the real draw here is seeing Michael Avon Oeming making his return to the Mignolaverse in what looks to be a story with some real swingin’ 60’s spy caper energy. Whether or not that will be enough to get me to pick this up in hardcover… probably not, but you never know.
The Big Shakedown #1 (of 4): The Big One finally hit California and L.A. is turned into a no man’s land after the government decides not to put up the funds to rebuild it. Now, private investigator Ester Blanco has to track down a missing person in the ruins of a city where the majority of its population can also be described as such. “Minor Threats” co-writer Jordan Blum ditches Patton Oswalt in favor of Tim Seely – I guess he was also a big fan of “The Alternates.” I’ll admit that this does sound like a promising setup for a series, and it’ll be neat to see artist Scott Koblish take a crack at a grounded yet still out-there setting rather than his usual genre homage strengths. Also, has Oswalt been holding Blum back all this time? Inquiring minds want to know!
American Caper vol. 2: Cowboys and Conspiracies & Innocent: Rouge Omnibus vol. 3: Two collections that I’ll likely have more to say once their previous volumes are in my possession. “American Caper’s” first still hasn’t been released yet, but “Innocent: Rouge” vol. 2 is part of my current (backordered) comics order.
Dracula Book Three: The Count: Matt Wagner and Kelly Jones’ re-telling of the origins of Count Dracula reaches the main event as we finally get to experience the events of the novel from his point of view. I’d say it should be interesting, if Book Two hadn’t fumbled the trashy fun Book One delivered so well. Still, this is a great idea for a new take on the original story. Let’s hope that there’s some fun to be had as the Count sets the record straight when he finally met the love of his life.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Ghost Ships of Labrador and Others: The best Mignolaverse stories of recent years have been these anthology collections where Mignola works with other artists on standalone weird tales featuring Big Red. While I imagine he’s writing the majority here, he’s also joined by co-writers Christopher Golden, Rob Williams and Matt Smith on a few, and I’m curious to see how those will stack up against the ones from the man himself. Smith also illustrates a story here, with Mignolaverse regular Laurence Campbell contributing along with newcomers Guiseppe Manunta, Daniele Sierra, and Mark Laszlo.
Berserk vol. 43: Arriving a little over a year and a half after the previous one. Is it too soon to make jokes about how new volumes are coming at a faster clip since Kentaro Miura’s passing? Anyway, Griffith showing up to spirit Casca away wasn’t the worst thing to happen to Guts in vol. 42. The worst thing was the warrior’s utter powerlessness to stop it from happening, which sent him into a depressive tailspin as his comrades escaped the destruction of Elfheim, and left them to fend for themselves when the ship was boarded by Kushan raiders. That may have worked out for the best as the Kushan have been at odds with Griffith for a while now and they’d love to have Guts’ power on their side. Assuming he can get back in the right mind to deliver it.
There was an undeniable feeling of deck clearing with the previous volume as supervisor Kouji Mori and the crew of Studio Gaga set about telling this story following Miura’s death. The results were definitely Good Enough and convinced me to stick around as long as they remain so. I’m honestly encouraged by the plot summary given here as having Guts and company team up with the Kushans makes a lot of sense and could even herald the series’ endgame. Not for a good long while, though, as there are A LOT of characters who are going to have to die before Guts and Griffith can settle things once and for all.