What On Earth Happened To Free Comic Book Day 2026? A Timeline

It’s been a while since our last digest post, so let’s take a look at all of the headlines you might have missed or just flat-out forgot about since mid-December.

News From DC and Marvel

• In Super-news, the Supergirl trailer dropped, and Man of Tomorrowwill feature Brainiac as its big bad.
• To drum up excitement for Avengers: Doomsday–which is confirmed to feature Chris Evans’ return as Captain America, by the by–Marvel will be rereleasing Avengers: Endgame in theaters starting in September and ending…well, your guess is as good as anyone else’s. Doomsday is scheduled for release in December 2026. In the meantime, you can watch the latest trailer here.
• One last trailer: this one for the Disney+ series Wonder Man. The show debuts January 27.
• <a href="https://www.comicsbeat.com/what-does-netflix-buying-warner-bros-mean-for-dc-comics/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Comics Beat explored what Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. might mean for DC.
• DC made the unusual move of sharing its sales numbers with Hollywood Reporter, probably because those numbers are pretty darn fantastic. Leading the pack is, of course, all things Batman, though all of the Absolute books are proving a big hit with fans.
• DC and Marvel’s crossover comics continue in March with Superman and Spider-Man (well, more like Clark Kent and Peter Parker, apparently) teaming up. Personally, I am more interested in the backup story featuring Power Girl and the Punisher.
• If anyone out there was thinking that Carol Danvers’ origin story wasn’t convoluted enough, Marvel read your mind and is about to make things worse for her and possibly for the readers. We’ll see where this goes.
• It’s official: a Lower East Side intersection in New York City is now officially and permanently called Jack Kirby Way. Hail to the King, baby.
• David Corenswet and Wicked‘s Jonathan Bailey, as well as Hugh Jackman and Cynthia Erivo, interviewed each other for Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” segment.

News From the Wider Comics World

• Public Domain Day happened! As of January 1, you are now free to use the early appearances of comics characters Blondie and Dagwood as you see fit. Also entering the public domain are Betty Boop and several Mickey Mouse cartoons, including the first appearance of Pluto (though he was known as Rover at the time).
• Kpop Demon Hunters is getting a manhwa adaptation in 2027, plus a whole lot of other tie-in materials, courtesy of Penguin Random House.
• More fallout from Diamond’s bankruptcy: Free Comic Book Day, previously run by Diamond, will look a little different this year. The short version is that there will be two events, each with a different set of participating publishers and outlets, but both will occur simultaneously.
• In a move that may as well have been scientifically engineered to offend me personally, former football player/activist Colin Kaepernick is “helping” Maryland students “create” graphic novels with AI.
• The Angoulême International Comics Festival, an annual event held in France, was cancelled due to a lack of funds. That, in turn, was the result of allegations of a “toxic” environment leveled against the festival’s operator.
• If you’ve got a Disney fan in the house, Papercutz is publishing a series of graphic novels about everyone’s favorite princesses.

Now that you’ve caught up with all things comics news, check out some of January’s new comics and graphic novels.