Devin’s Comics NEWS Digest - November 14, 2025

Back to a normal schedule! Still catching up, though

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.

NEWS

As mentioned elsewhere in this space, New York Comic Con was last month and there was plenty of coverage. The biggest announcement regarding comics, in my opinion, was that of the ten titles for DC’s latest Vertigo revival!

A major topic of conversation at NYCC was the then-recent cancellation of DC’s Red Hood series, and it turns out retailers are selling the lone issue for insane prices on eBay. Twenty-five copies for $2,000 is almost a bargain compared to the one person selling a single copy for $925.

Another NEWS Digest, another Diamond update. The Diamond Comic Distributors owned by Sparkle Pop/Ad Populum is now known as Diamond II, so at least that’s cleared up, and is suing Dynamite Entertainment for $1.7 million. Dynamite has filed a countersuit against Sparkle Pop for more than $600,000.

One of Diamond’s most well-known assets, Free Comic Book Day, has been acquired by Universal Distribution. Typically the first Saturday in May, Free Comic Book Day is a promotional event where retailers offer comics free to the public (that they still have to pay for) selected by publishers.

In other sad bankruptcy news, Humanoids filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month. One of the most esteemed comics publishers in the world, Humanoids was founded in 1974 in Europe.

For more on comics distribution, Comics Beat shared the latest in its “Tilting at Windmills” series, looking at three new comics distribution companies. One of the distributors examined, Power Pulp, wrote a reply that Comics Beat was gracious enough to post. Yet another digital distributor, Sweet Shop, has launched its invite-only beta version.

There was a rather strange and difficult story from the comics crowdfunding space recently when four comics for an anthology with a campaign on Kickstarter titled A1 Deadline Special were replaced after Frazer Brown, a creator with an unfulfilled campaign from 2020, threatened legal action against them. The four comics in question were originally supposed to be in the unfulfilled campaign, Tales from the Quarantine, which raised almost fifty thousand dollars and never saw the light of day. One of the targeted creators is quoted calling Brown a “scumbag” and that feels like he’s getting off easy.

Things aren’t much better internationally, as Webtoon has been hit with allegations of unfair labor practices. These include unpaid labor, monopolistic market share practices, and restrictive contractual agreements. Examples include years-long “revision” processes that allow Webtoon to stop paying their creators in the meantime; Webtoon also allegedly takes a cut when one of their creators has a paid speaking engagement and up to 90% of overseas revenue that they earn. And don’t get me started on using comics to train GenAI.

This all came to light shortly before Webtoon Entertainment reported a loss of millions of dollars for the third financial quarter of 2025. Projections are not looking much better for the fourth.

In Japan, manga creator Hisashi Eguchi is embroiled in a scandal over tracing some of his artwork. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a simple matter of using an old artist’s time-saving technique with his own work, but using a photograph of a person without their consent. Eguchi eventually obtained consent, but only after the woman whose image he used contacted him. He has since lost advertising work and the originality of all of his artwork has been called into question.

Manga subscription service Manga Planet is cutting back its offerings and shuttering its digital platform entirely early next year. This is part of a much larger story about credit card and payment provider companies, Stripe in particular, refusing to process payments for anything they deem “adult content.” This has severely affected anywhere from dozens to thousands of artists trying to make a living by selling commissioned pieces.

Meanwhile, Viz Media, America’s largest manga publisher, was allegedly the victim of a data breach, though it may have affected only a single employee.

I’ve mentioned previously how the Angoulême International Comics Festival has not been without controversy lately and that has escalated dramatically. Almost all of the largest publishers in France have cancelled their 2026 appearances at the festival and Angoulême’s mayor has intervened, all to try and terminate the contract of those running it, Franck Bondoux and his company 9e Art+, or at the very least prevent the contract from being renewed.

There were a few good pieces about comics from The New York Times last month. There was this personal essay from George Gene Gustines about the ¡Wepa! exhibit at the New York Public Library about Puerto Rican comic characters and creators. Lynda Barry shared a personal comic about “The Real Horrors of America” on Halloween.

In book ban news, because we can’t escape it, the Alabama Public Library Service held a hearing on October 21 about a proposed rule that any book that “positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders” would be inappropriate for anyone younger than 18 years of age. They’re expected to vote on it this month.

A judge overturned a book ban for school libraries on military bases. In Texas, a school board’s conservative supermajority was broken in this month’s elections; it now has a liberal majority of four to three. That conservative supermajority, by the way, ushered in several book bans; don’t let anyone tell you they’re popular.

In other news that’s supposedly about “protecting children,” a retailer in North Carolina has been charged with a felony after allegedly providing a minor with a comic containing “adult material” at a Halloween event. The comic in question, Grendel Tales Featuring Devil’s Hammer #1, has a “not for children” label on the cover and is part of a series I remember first reading in middle school.

I don’t normally cover comics adaptations for a couple of reasons, but Black Hole by Charles Burns was one of the most divisive comics we’ve ever read here at the Comics Book Club. News that it will be made into a series for Netflix by Jane Schoenbrun, the director of I Saw the TV Glow, was sent to me by someone who once joked she would never forgive me for having her read it. Lol

I’ll end this section with some good news. First up, a heartwarming story of a blind high school senior who created an original graphic novel for his Drawing 1 course using braille marker labels and a special paper that reacts to watercolor.

The Kickstarter strike is over and it was a resounding success! The strike lasted more than a month, and played a role in the crowdfunding story mentioned above, but Kickstarter employees now have a four-day work week and cost-of-living guarantees for their salaries. Way to go, NYC-OPEIU Local 153!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Mad Cave Studios Talent Search!

Interviews & Criticism

Harrow County, Volume 1: Countless Haints by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook was one of our most popular selections here at the Comics Book Club, and d. emerson eddy has a great essay about its style and themes for The Comics Beat.

I’m conflicted when it comes to “collectible comics.” On the one hand, I feel like it cheapens a work of art to treat it like an investment or a commodity, turning it into a piece of pop culture detritus. On the other hand, aren’t rare books and pieces of fine art given the same treatment? But does that fall into the trap of trying to fight for the respectability of comics instead of appreciating them on their own terms? This is part of why I found this interview from Pages and Panels with art historian Isabel Baldrich so fascinating. It doesn’t get mired in such philosophizing but provides plenty to consider.

Last month was National Hispanic Heritage Month and over at Shelfdust, Hank Kennedy looked at a time when mainstream United States superhero comics tackled U.S. imperialism in Latin America.

Awards

I didn’t make it to the Harvey Awards ceremony at New York Comic Con, but it sounded like a fun show. You can read the full list of winners here and read about the Image Select Retailer Award winner here.

The Ringo Award winners were announced at Baltimore Comic Con last month. Congratulations to Kat & Phil for getting Best Anthology for Transphoria!

ComicArtFans.com announced the creation of the Jack & Roz Kirby Awards. The inaugural ceremony will be held in February 2026.

The Zelda Awards are accepting nominations to honor women in comics! The nominating process will conclude on December 31, and public voting will begin in February 2026. The awards ceremony will be held Saturday, April 11.

Voting has begun for the Tripwire Awards honoring U.S. and UK comics. That’s only open until Friday, November 21.

Obituaries

Finally and sadly, Drew Struzan, an artist and film poster designer who created several iconic images for franchises that inspired comics, passed away at 78.

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 November 19 to discuss Ginseng Roots: A Memoir. Thanks again for everything.