The Beat Digest 09/25/26: MERCY returns now MERCILESS

Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

§ Image revealed Merciless, a four-issue sequel to Mirka Andolfo‘s 2020 gothic horror series Mercy. Written by Andolfo with art by Lidia Bolognini (Sweet Paprika: Black, White & Pink), the comic picks up 15 years later, and sees Rory, now the new Lady Hellaine, return to the former mining town of Woodsburgh. There, she and her companion Joel must contend with a new drug causing people to turn into berserk monsters, and the returning Sheriff Bancroft. Issue #1 will be released on December 2.

Image also announced they will launch The Forgotten Five on December 16. The ongoing series, by writers Alex Segura & Sara Century, and artists Pat Kennedy & Dean Kotz, follows five former superheroes, who banded together as teens while incarcerated by an evil organization. When rumors emerge that their enemies have returned, they must contend with whether they can return from retirement or not. The comic was originally serialized on Patreon, and the print edition was crowdfunded on Kickstarter earlier this year.

§ Dark Horse unveiled Magic: The Gathering: Mage of Zhalfir, a 12-issue series written by Ray Fawkes, with art by Rapha Lobosco for the first four issues. The book will follow Teferi Akosa, an ambitious young mage studying under the Planeswalker Urza at Tolarian Academy in Dominaria. He “knows he is destined for greatness, but manipulating time and space is delicate work, and tampering with reality always has its consequences.” Issue #1 releases on January 20. Dark Horse’s next MTG series, Liliana, will begin beforehand on October 14.

§ Mad Cave announced a Gatchaman: Leader X one-shot, written by Steve Orlando (2024’s Galactor miniseries) with art by Giona Zefiro. The book follows the evil Berg Katse, Galactor’s second-in-command, as he’s sent to the Arctic to unearth an ancient alien spaceship. However, Leader X’s refusal to explain exactly why the ship is so important soon leads Katse to contemplate usurping his throne. It will be released on December 23, while issue #21 of the main Gatchaman series drops September 30.

§ In previously solicited comics news,ty of Darkness, a new one-shot by Keanu Reeves, Mike Costa, and Kenny Wong. Set in Hong Kong in 1994, the John Woo-inspired book will see Reeves’s immortal alter-ego B contend with a triad gang war. It will be released on November 18, while BRZRKR: Blood Oaths, collecting the last two one-shots (The Bleeding Tide and Light Draws Breath) will arrive on October 27

§ Ignition revealed Joanne Starer and Khary Randolph‘s new series Dinner Date will receive a midnight launch on October 7. A sapphic horror rom com, Dinner Date follows a newly infected vampire who falls in love with a rideshare driver. It is one of several comics receiving a midnight release before Halloween on October 7, along with Marvel’s Midnight Universe books, and Oni’s Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Early copies of the first issue will also be available at this weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con, with an exclusive cover by Alitha Martinez and Emilio Lopez, while stocks last.

§ Finally, The Hollywood Reporter shares David Dastmalchian‘s production company Good Fiend Films has established a division focused on genre literature, simply called Good Fiend Lit. The actor and comic book writer has appointed his frequent collaborator Leah Kilpatrick as the executive creative director of the division, which will launch with the quarterly book club series Buried in Books. The first edition, featuring a conversation between Dastmalchian and Nat Cassidy about the latter’s novel When the Wolf Comes Home, will be held during New York Comic Con, at The Twisted Spine in Brooklyn on October 9.