Image Advance Arrivals: October 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
White Sky vol. 1
Five years ago the sky went white and everything changed. Now, in the ruins of the world that was, Violet tries to make it on her own after she was separated from her father in the aftermath. Now, in order to find out what happened to him, she’ll have to face bloodthirsty scavengers and ravenous horrors from beyond the grave. Fortunately she’s got a new psychic friend to help, so it all evens out. Right?
“White Sky” is one of a few new Image titles to benefit from an influx of new, maturing readers into comics. It had an impressive launch with people snatching up subsequent issues as they came out, sending the six issues collected here to multiple printings. As for whether or not it deserved that success… that’s what I’m going to find out. I’m going on nothing but the series’ buzz, its description in the solicitation, and the non-existent creative rep from writer William Harms and artist J.P. Mavinga. It could be the start of something big or a lot of empty hype. All I know is that I don’t know what to expect and I want to experience what it is for myself.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero/Tomb Raider #1 (of 5): Just to reiterate, this has nothing to do with the current “G.I. Joe” series written by Joshua Williamson. “A Real American Hero” is the continuity of the comic that has been written on-and-off since the 80’s by Larry Hama. It still seems kind of strange that this crossover is happening after Lara Croft showed up out of nowhere at the end of a recent issue of “A Real American Hero.”
That said, given the cast of colorful characters that are already part of this franchise, a gun-toting, globetrotting archaeologist is going to fit right in there. Heck. “Tomb Raider” is already a pretty solid Joe moniker. As for the comic itself, it’s coming from “Radiant Black” writer Kyle Higgins and veteran superhero artist Elena Casagrande and Lara will be invading Cobra Island along with Shipwreck and some friends. I’m all for this, especially if Higgins can dig deep and deliver some of the expectation-defying writing that he showed off way back in the first volume of “Radiant Black.”
Avengelyne #1: I can’t imagine that there’s anyone on the fence about Rob Liefeld reviving his avenging Angel series from the 90’s. For anyone who might be, Liefeld is doing a $10 NSFW polybagged variant for this issue which should help you make up your mind.
Universal Monsters: Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 (of 4): You know the drill: It’s a new take on a famous Universal Monster from a high-profile creative team – this time it’s Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis – that’ll be collected in an oversized and overpriced hardcover. Don’t get me wrong, I like this team even if their previous series together, “The Cull,” was a bit of a disappointment. It’s just that I’d be more inclined to check out these miniseries if they were collected in more affordable editions.
While we’re on the subject of comics that would probably be better suited for a less expensive paperback edition…
Assassin’s Guild HC: It’s the future. America is run by corporations. Violence and corruption are their stock in trade. Now, one of their former operatives has grown a conscience and seeks to bring it all down. So far, so very “Cyberpunk.” The reason this is getting reprinted is because it’s one of the earliest works from the very talented Dustin Weaver. Whether or not that talent was evident from the start is a better question and one that I’m not entirely convinced is worth paying $25 for a hardcover edition to find out.
Circus of Bones: The Art of Mike Mignola HC: WHY IS THIS NOT COMING FROM DARK HORSE?!?!?! Existential dread about the relationship between that publisher and the creator that has arguably contributed the most to it aside, this collects 53 new watercolor paintings from the artist along with 60 other originals, 29 new pencil drawings, and 40 published covers and pages. It’s safe to say that if you’re a fan of Mignola’s art then you’re going to want this in your library.
If Destruction Be Our Lot vol. 1: It is the future, and there are robots, but no humans. The robots are happier this way, save for one animatronic Abraham Lincoln. Abe is convinced that there must be more to life outside the walls of civilization and is determined to find out what it is. This comes to us from the co-writing team of brothers Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg and artist Andy MacDonald. It’s an interesting premise – billed as “WALL-E” meets “Fallout” in the solicitation text. Yet one that feels more straightforward and somber than what I’ve come to expect from Matthew Rosenberg. I mean, “What’s The Furthest Place From Here?” definitely has a serious core to it, but one that also co-exists with a definite smartassed streak. We’ll see how it goes.
Narco: Marcus Wesphal has a troubling form of narcolepsy. Whenever he gets too excited, he passes out. While he’s adapted his home life to account for this as much as he’s able, that changes when he witnesses the murder of his neighbor (and passes out immediately afterwards). When he wakes up, he’s the prime suspect and now has to find a way to clear his name in the least exciting way possible. Written by Doug Wagner and illustrated by Daniel Hillyard, the two are best known for their love of serial killers as seen in their “Materials Trilogy” and “I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer.” The latter wound up driving their use of that character type into the ground for me, so it’s good to see that they’re moving on to different, stranger, but still murderous pastures. Hopefully this will show that the two have a future together that doesn’t revolve entirely around serial killers and their foibles.