Posted in: Comics, Conventions, Dark Horse Comics, Events, Pop Culture, san diego comic con | Tagged: Baldur’s Gate III, barbie, dungeons and dragons, sdcc
Barbie X Baldur’s Gate? Dark Horse Comics At ComicsPRO San Diego
Barbie X Baldur’s Gate? Dark Horse Comics at ComicsPRO San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Edition
Article Summary
- Dark Horse Comics confirmed its Barbie license at ComicsPRO San Diego, teasing fresh plans for the Mattel icon.
- Dark Horse Comics also spotlighted Baldur’s Gate III, fueling crossover chatter and fan speculation.
- The publisher stressed a stronger direct market strategy with sharper launches, key franchises and variants.
- Dark Horse Comics also previewed November’s new D&D series, plus catalog bundles, ashcans, toys and statues.
Maybe there is a Barbenheimer-style possibility here at San Diego Comic-Con, as Dark Horse Comics confirmed during their presentation to comic book retailers at the ComicsPRO Summit being held during the show that yes, they do have the Barbie comic book license from Mattel, yes, this is an image by Natalie Nardoza, but most importantly, Dark Horse X Barbie.
However, Dark Horse also likes to play the field (well, they are a horse, and a dark one at that), doesn’t like to be tied down, and wants to keep an open eye. Because Dark Horse was also keen to state that Dark Horse also X Baldur’s Gate III with this artwork byBecky Cloonan.
So the question must be put, as well as comic book series for both, is there a Barbaldur’s Gate III in the offing here at some point? Or some kind of Barbie X Baldur’s Gate III x Dark Horse three-way in the offing?
Stuart Shreck, Director of Sales for the direct market at Dark Horse Comics wanted to thank retailers for forty years of support, “all the creator-owned licensed titles throughout the last 40 years, for titles like And Tomb Raider and Zach Kaplan’s titles and Three Worlds, Three Moons, and D&D and Magic and Avatar and Concrete to name a few that have come out this last 12 months. So we have so much more to come, and we’re excited.” He told retailers they should have received 40th anniversary promo pins last month, and a jam poster in September. You will, of course, be pleased to know that Dark Horse Comics is committed to the direct market of comic book stores, promising a “sharper focus on series launches”, franchise names and “fun and appropriate variant covers”…
Dark Horse Comics EIC Dave Marshall talked about “introducing more ongoing series and maxi series than you’ve traditionally seen from Dark Horse” and starting by making their He-Man Masters of the Universe miniseries into an ongoing. “This is gonna continue next month with Masters of the Universe Genesis, which kicks off with the origin story of Skeletor that’s gonna be 12 issues. And then here at the show, we <a href="https://comicvibe.com/sdcc-26-every-star-wars-book-announced-by-lucasfilm-publishing/” title=”SDCC '26: Every STAR WARS book announced by Lucasfilm Publishing”>announced an ongoing series for Dungeons and Dragons and also Canto. So we’re trying to take our biggest licenses, our most beloved creators, and support them with these ongoings and these long-running series so that your customers put them on your poll list, put them on their poll lists, and they’re showing up in the store month after month.
“We want to make these launches new reader-friendly. We also want to make sure that there’s a backlist available for these titles when they launch so that you can direct these new readers to that backlist. Another way that we’re gonna be supporting these titles is with varying covers, And we’re really thinking about what is the right fit for each title in terms of these variants.”
“These dragon variants that we’re gonna be doing for the Dungeons and Dragons ongoing, there’s gonna be one in each of the first 12 issues, they’re from Antonio Jose Mancinato, who you might know from Dungeons and Dragons, the Book of Dragons. They’re going to be Virgin variants, printed on foil paper. There are playable stacks for each dragon on the IFC. We’ve worked really carefully with our print team to make these feel super deluxe. They’re printed in layers, various layers of white, underneath different parts of the art, so like the dragon fire really shimmers and the scales and stuff. They look extremely cool.”
Stuart also talked about getting Dark Horse Comics print catalogues back in stores with all the lovely Dark Horse comics being published in months to come, and ashcans for Canto, D&D and Magic: The Gathering on the way…. and remember, comic book shops cannot live on comics alone! There are toys and statues too…
Stuart Schreck reminded retailers that if they didn’t have an account with Dark Horse Direct for toys, statues and merch, it’s easy to get, w50% discount and low minimum…
Dark Horse Comics’ November 2026 catalogue should be dropping very shortly, though they have done a grand job of preparing the way. Catch up with more from the ComicsPRO San Diego summit with this handy, dandy tag…
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