The new Marvel Midnight Universe launched this week with exactly the right amount of excitement: none. It arrives with all the subtlety of a corporate memo disguised as a comic line, the kind of initiative that feels less like it was dreamed up by a mad scientist in a basement and more like it was assembled in a sterile conference room by someone whose job title includes the word ‘synergy.’ Yes, the creators are good, that’s how these things work now, but the whole project still carries the unmistakable scent of a cash grab wearing prestige cologne.

Even so, one of the three books managed to rise above the laboratory fumes, and I hope you agree with me about which one actually deserves to exist.

David F. Walker remains one of the singular voices in comics today, the kind of creator who keeps showing up, keeps making work, and keeps reminding the rest of us why the medium still matters. Meeting him at Rose City Comic Con 2026 was a genuine pleasure, the sort of encounter that feels less like meeting a ‘name’ and more like talking shop with someone who never stopped being a fan. What follows is my overview of the books I picked up from him at the show, each one a reminder that Walker continues to produce interesting, original work in a field that desperately needs more of it.

Rose City Comic Con 2026 was fun, weird, and unmistakably itself the kind of show that reminds you the Northwest still has a pulse beneath all the corporate varnish. It was especially gratifying to see Dark Horse Comics staging a genuine resurgence at a convention that, geographically speaking, is practically in their backyard. There’s something oddly comforting about watching a legacy publisher remember it has roots and then deciding to water them in public.

Armaveni by Nadine Takvorian is a beautiful yet haunting exploration of family loss, identity, and the experience of being othered in America. It’s a work that prompted deep reflection, and these are some of my initial thoughts.

San Diego Comic-Con is a rite of passage for many lifelong comics fans, and this trip proved genuinely transformative for me.

We were honored to receive a nomination for the 2026 Eisner Awards.

Embarrassing or unwinding?

Even if it isn’t the most “constructive” or “serious” form of reading I could engage with at the end of the day, it brings me genuine joy.

Searching for more of Vivienne Medrano’s content post-binging Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, I discovered Medrano’s unfinished webcomic Zoo Phobia. Reading what exists of the series reminded me of something fundamental yet often overlooked: the profound influence of classic cartoons on the language of comics.

In an age when comics history is still being rediscovered, Winner’s name deserves to be spoken alongside the greats of his time.

Over the past few years, the Washington State Summer Con has easily doubled in size, mirroring the growth of other regional conventions and yet, like so many of its counterparts, its relationship to comics—the medium that in many ways gave birth to modern “con culture”—has become increasingly ambivalent.

Running from 1941 to 1985, Gus Arriola’s “Gordo” depicts the cultural and social aspects of Mexico through the eyes of Salazar "Gordo" Lopez. While praised for its artistic style, humor, and educational value, the comic strip also faced criticism for its occasional stereotypes and inaccuracies about Mexican history and politics.