October Roundup

NEWS

We’re coming to the end of October and that means the spooky season is upon us. Marvel has finally launched their horror tinged Midnight Universe and the early reviews are pretty positive, let’s hope they can keep it up. And for comics fans looking for some horror on the big screen Clayface is out now. Get ready for some body horror!

In terms of awards the Harvey Awards were announced at New York Comic Con and the Ignatz Awards celebrating independent cartoonists were also announced. 

In Australian comics news, this month we have two new graphic novels coming out with Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo’s Children of the Round Table and Sally Rippin and Aki Fukuoka’s second graphic novel in the Billy B Brown’s Secret Mystery Club series.

More importantly, the National Library of Australia is hosting some comics related events, so if you’re in Canberra, we highly recommend them, but if you’re not in Canberra you also have the opportunity to engage with at least two of the events.

We’re very glad to see that one graphic novel has made it into Radio National’s Top 100 Australian Books. Of course, we could think of a few more that should be in the list but it’s great to see Shaun Tan’s The Arrival make it to the list. Hopefully, we can see more graphic novels make it to the list in the future.

Without further ado here’s the October Roundup and remember you can also listen to our ALIA Graphic Podcast Roundup with Iurgi and James discussing the latest.

LibraryCon Live 2026

The 2026 edition of LibraryCon Live is coming up. A huge event in the calendar jam packed with panels and presentations, a day-long celebration of fandom, spotlighting genre fiction for adults and teens with panels devoted to comics and graphic novels, horror, sf/fantasy, and more. Registration is free and since this event is in North America, which could be at a really bad time of the day for us with the time difference, if you are unable to join the event live on the day, all sessions will be available for on-demand viewing within 24 hours, and the entire event will be accessible for three months from the event date.

The Comics Journal

Kaoru Kumi examines the interplay between Japan’s military history and the evolution of key military manga and politics. 

Publishers Weekly

The Ignatz Awards, which celebrate independent cartoonists, were announced recently where SPX executive director Warren Bernard highlighted the Expo’s partnership with the Library of Congress, with more than 13,000 comics in Bernard’s and SPX’s collection (including early minicomics from the likes of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang) cataloged and preserved since 2010. The full wrap is here.

Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man is celebrating ten years with more Dog Man and some interesting news.

Don Vaughan writes on the history of Entertaining Comics, EC’s tangle with McCarthyism and the Comics Code Authority, and the return and preservation of EC under the auspices of Fantagraphics and Oni Press.

The Comics Beat

The winners of the 2026 Harvey Awards were announced at New York Comic Con with Absolute Batman winning the Best Book of Year Award. To see the full list of winners check out The Comics Beat’s report here.

Some news about Saga from Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples that explain the long hiatus and give hope for the future of the beloved series.

In other Brian K. Vaughan news, Vaughan is reuniting with Cliff Chiang for a new series titled Roam with Image Comics. Considering their profiles and the success of their previous work together, Paper Girls, expectations are high.

The Angouleme Comics Festival imploded last year and the consequences are still being felt. A new court ruling seems to open the way for a new organisation and new festival to take the place of the old one and its organisers who had totally lost the trust of the French comics community.

Is Ben 10 popular? You bet it is and the numbers show it. The new Ben 10 series, with the original creators back on board has sold more than 500,000 copies. This could be a good time to restock on the series at the library. 

Shea Fontana reflects on 10 years of DC’s Super Hero Girls and how the comics landscape has changed in that time. Her thoughts are well worth a read, as well as Heidi McDonald’s thoughts.  

Other

The National Library of Australia is hosting a few comics related events in November. A live comics reading event, a drawing workshop with Georgina Chadderton and a group of academics (Meg O’Shea, Dr Pat Grant and Gabriel Clark) will discuss the collection of comics purchased for the National Library of Australia and share how the themes found in these works relate to their public facing research project Folio: Stories of Australian Comics. The Read To Me and Folio: Australian Comics events will be held at the National Library of Australia and will also be available online, so feel free to register. All details and bookings here.

Tasmanian comics creator Joshua Santospirito has written a provocative article, published on Overland, challenging literary festivals and awards to be more inclusive of comics creators (or maybe talking himself out of it?).

Pen America has published a great piece exploring book challenges and bans of manga, speaking with librarian Jillian Rudes the founder of Manga in Libraries.

Marvel has announced that its digital subscription service, Marvel Unlimited, will be discontinued and replaced by Marvel Comics Powered by WEBTOON.

As New York Comic Con 2026 draws near, ComicsXF has rounded up 13 highlights to help fans get excited for one of the year’s biggest comics and pop-culture conventions.

In news that has surprised many, Grant Morrison has partnered with IDW to publish a whole new series of James Bond comics. Morrison being one of the most celebrated writers of comics of the last two decades and with no new James Bond movie anytime soon, this is exciting news for 007 fans. 

What makes fictionalized graphic memoirs (“autobiofictionalgraphy”) appealing to teens? Huda Fahmy talks about her latest and favorites.

Emre Altindag, writing for Solrad, examines the quiet contemplation of silent comics, and the storytelling considerations that come with spaces between wordless panels.

For those seeking more academic essays, a new issue of Inks, The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, has landed. This issue features pieces on the life and work of Donna Barr, illustrated scrolls and manga history, comics fandom of the 70s, and more, as well as an obituary for scholar John A. Lent.

REVIEWS

Graphic Medicine has published a review of Moka Onmae’s Good Morning, Good Night, and See You Tomorrow, Vol. 1 published by Seven Seas.

Kay Medaglia’s Comic Therapy uses colourful comics to explore mindfulness and emotional wellbeing. No Flying No Tights recommends the title for adult and older teen readers as a thoughtful and accessible read.

Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games explores the history of tabletop RPGs through engaging artwork, humour, and extensive research, making it a recommended read for teen and adult gaming enthusiasts

The War is a bleak and powerful graphic novel exploring the human impact of nuclear conflict. The Comics Journal praises its emotional impact and artwork but feels the story’s character development and ending prevent it from fully realising its potential.

AIPT’s Jonathan Waugh reviews the dark surprises of Midnight Fantastic Four #1, Collier Jennings reviews the gruesome spin of Midnight Spider-Man #1 and David Brook reviews the frightening new mutant world of Midnight X-Men #1.

Jon Osia Scorfina reviews Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco’s Requiem for Gaza on The Arts STL. 

Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2026 so we thought we’d share a review of the graphic novel she published a few years ago with Rosanna Bruno, an adaptation of the Greek classic The Trojan Women.

For anyone who wants to dive deep into comics and multimodality, Multimodal Comics: The Evolution of Comics Studies, edited by Madeline B. Gangnes, Christopher Murray and Julia Round, first published in 2024, is now available in paperback. This is an interesting book that explores the evolution of comics studies and how the field engages with new media and technologies in a continuously evolving artistic and production environment. More information on Down the Tubes here.

INTERVIEWS

Madeleine Jubilee Saito has published a great interview in The Comics Journal with Swati “Lucky” Srikumar and Maia Kobabe, who are both California-based nonbinary cartoonists, longtime friends, and the co-authors of a new middle grade comic from Scholastic, Opting Out.

JK Parkin has published a great interview with Ben Hatke who recently published home/world and Lily Kim Qian who published Until We Meet Again, on finding a sense of home and exploring the tension between settling down and setting out, and how the places we inhabit shape our identities.

Nick Spacek, from The Pitch, speaks with Beck Kubrick about Dead Girls, moving from the world of small press to working with a Big Five publisher, and the joys of heightened realities in fiction.

COLLECTIONS

The New York Public Library has put together a list of the Best Comics of 2026 for Adults. It’s an excellent list to check if you’ve missed something and we’re very happy to see that they’ve included Campbell Whyte’s Luna Express, not only in their full list of Best 50, but also in their Instagram post highlighting their top 10. 

Eileen Gonzalez(Book Riot) has published a list of titles centred on therapy with characters, fictional and nonfictional, who overcome the stigma and show the power and relief that comes with asking for help…while only occasionally having to deal with world-ending disasters.

Chance Lee Joyner has published a list of 10 immersive and engaging graphic novel fiction series. 

MEDIA

The latest two episodes of the Off Panel podcast are well worth a listen. Episode 574 with Patrick Horvath discussing all things Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Archie in Hell and more. Episode 575 with Willow G. Wilson discussing Ms Marvel, Poison Ivy and more.

A new episode of the Graphic Medicine Podcast with Alex and MK talking with Barbra Dillon and Shane Portman about the Kickstarter for Shrub, an eight issue comic series about grief and connection.

The Virtual Memories Show’s Gil Roth talked to Emil Wilson about The Nightingales and the visual style of the book.

Colin Kaepernick has taken a strange turn into building a platform for school kids to create AI-generated comics. Is he helping or doing a lot of damage? Mystery Treehouse discusses the issue. 

NEW RELEASE TITLES

Junior

• A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up by Elizabeth Agyemang (Penguin Group USA) [9780593524756]
• Besties: Crush It! By Kayla Miller, Jeffery Canino and Sarah K. Turner () [9780063285620]
• Billie B Brown’s Secret Mystery Club Book 2: Code Breakers by Sally Rippin, Aki Fukuoka (Figment Books) [9781761216411]
• CatStronauts: Module Mayhem by Drew Brockington (Hachette Children’s Books) [9780316510783]
• C.O.R.T: Children of the Round Table by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo (Random House US) [9781799505648] 
• Dare You to Dance by Rebecca Mock (Random House US) [9780593181133]
• Doom & Gloom: The Worst is yet to come by Jane Walker and Darin Henry (Andrews McMeel Publishing) [9798881602017]
• Ever Trip Vol 1 by Alan C. Medina (Papercutz) [9781545833988]
• The Extraordinary Voyages Vol 3 by Denis-Pierre Filippi, Silvio Camboni (Papercutz) [9781545833919]
• Fast Break by Shawn Pryor and Del Hahn (Farrar Straus Giroux) [9780374389567]
• Goosebumps Graphix: Monster Blood by R.L. Stine and Maddi Gonzalez () [9781338879421]
• Haunted Comic Club by Josh Tierney, Caitlin Soliman (Oni Press) [9798894883335]
• Huda F Would Love You? by Huda Fahmy (Dial Books for Young Readers) [9780593855676]
• Last One Picked by Audrey Meeker () [9781250383945]
• Moonie and Junie by Katie Kordesh (Simon & Schuster Australia) [9781761828683]
• The Moonlit Spiral by Mike Maihack (Walker Books Australia) [9781529532715]
• Nightmare Library: Welcome to the Nightmare Library by Taiga Kayama (Random House US) [9781427886712]
• Phoebe and her Unicorn: Across Enchanted Lands by Dana Simpson (Andrews McMeel Publishing) [9798881602468]
• Pip & Pals: Otter Space! By Jen de Oliveira (Random House US) [9798217024759]
• Punk Taco Adventures! Vol.2 Big Problems by Adam Wallenta & Makana Wallenta (Papercutz) [9781545835036]
• Rune: The Tale of the Winged Sorceress by Carlos Sanchez () [9781838744076]
• Solar Sisters by Amit Tishler, Elliot Sperl, Virginia Salucci, Giulia Zucca and Taylor Esposito (Papercutz) [9781545827772]
• The Whole Wide World of Mabel Mulligan by Victoria Jamieson (Penguin Group USA) [9780525553939]

YA

• The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story 01 by Natsu Hyuuga, Itsuki Nanao, Touco Shino (Square Enix) [9798899100420]
• Best Friend Show by Craig Hurd-McKinney, Melisa Jones (Nakama Press) [9781545827611]
• Dead Girls by Beck Kubrick (Simon & Schuster) [US: 9781665959810 UK: 9781398535718]
• Fangs and All by Tas Mukanik (Penguin Group) [9780593327081]
• Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li (Norton Young Readers) [9781324082859]
• Marionetta by Míriam Bonastre Tur (Ink Pop) [9798217032853]
• The Secret Society of the Willbrook Witches by Camille Perron-Cormier (Second Story Press) [9781772604795]
• The Three Beasts by Grovey Pascasio (Maverick) [9781545827635]

Adult

• Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beast by Mike Mignola, Rae Allen, Michelle Madsen (Dark Horse) [9781506751733]
• The Credits Roll Into the Sea Vol 2 by John Tarachine (Dark Horse Comics) [9781506752143]
• Gourmet Hound Vol 1 by Robyn Lee Hamada (Webtoon Unscrolled) [9781834110493]
• Human Nature Book 2 (of 3) A Satirical Science Fiction Graphic Novel by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Jeff Welch, Martin Morazzo (ABRAMS) [9781419780387]
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, Samuel Sattin, Shanti Rittgers, Sarah Webb (Ten Speed Graphic) [9781984862310]
• The Mess by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics) [9798875002687]
• Lore Olympus: Book Eleven by Rachel Smythe (Inklore) [9781911720966]
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Fred Fordham (Canongate Books) [9781837264520]
• My Beloved Other: A Memoir of Love, Race and Optimism in a Time of Denial by Nick Abadzis, Angela Watson (First Second)
• Nirvana is Here by Mikael Ross (Fantagraphics) [9798875002649]
• Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics) [9798875002663]
• Requiem for Gaza by Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics) [9798875002724]
• Wandering by Jonathan Djob Nkondo (Magnetic Press) [9781962413794]
• White House Robot Romance by Chip Zdarsky, Rachael Stott (DSTLRY Media) [9781962265430]