The Beat Digest 08/26/25: Anime Expo getting its own awards

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.

§ You may’ve heard of the American Manga Awards, held during Anime NYC, now get ready for the Anime and Manga International (AMI) Awards, which’ll be held for the first time during next year’s Anime Expo (July 2-5, 2026) in Los Angeles. Variety reports the awards are being organized by the Japan Society (which also backs the Manga Awards), MyAnimeList, and the Digital Cinema Collective. Unlike the Manga Awards, the AMIs will be voted for by fans. For more details, head to the link; and in the meantime, you can follow The Beat‘s 2025 Anime NYC coverage here.

§ In more awards news, the winners of the National Cartoonists Society’s 79th annual Reuben Awards were announced. Mark Parisi (Off the Mark) was named Cartoonist of the Year, while Silver Reuben Award winners included Gideon Kendall (for comic books), Rick McGee (editorial cartoons), Christopher Weyant (gag cartoons), Jay Fosgitt (graphic novels), Dave Blazek (newspaper panels), Liniers (newspaper strips), David Milgrim (online comics, longform), and Reza Farazmand (online, short form). Congratulations to all the winners!

§ Mad Cave’s Nakama Press imprint announced Cyber Phoenix, a sci-fi action comic by Hong Kong-based creator Andy Seto (the graphic novelizations of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Shaolin Soccer). Due out January 27, the book is set in the near future, and contrasts technology and mysticism with the story of a woman from a scientific family, who must team up with her martial arts-teaching aunt after the rest of their relatives vanish. They “must put aside family friction to rescue the rest of their family. But what terrible powers are responsible for their disappearance, and why?”

Cyber Phoenix cover by Andy Seto

§ Dark Horse will publish The Credits Roll into the Sea, a manga by John Tarachine (Good Night, I Love You), translated by Jocelyne Allen (The Rose of Versailles). A shojo aimed at older women, the book follows a 65-year old widow as she rediscovers her love of cinema, and befriends a young film student, whom she soon enrols at the same school as. “Sailing into this new sea, she’s suddenly inside the currents of her fellow students’ lives, a much younger generation that she struggles to understand, driven by their own passions and relationships.” Vol. 1 releases March 4, 2026.

§ While doing press for her new film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Margot Robbie disclosed the Penguin was originally meant to be the villain of the Birds of Prey movie. “And then [The Batman director] Matt Reeves said, ‘Don’t use the Penguin. I’m going to use him in my thing,'” she tells EW. “And so we swapped it to Black Mask [played by Ewan McGregor].” The story came as a surprise to her co-star, Colin Farrell, who plays Reeves’s Penguin. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey releases September 19, while Farrell is set to return as Oz Cobb in The Batman Part II on October 1, 2027. The status of Robbie’s Harley Quinn remains currently unknown.

Art by Peter Bagge

§ Amidst the ongoing saga of Diamond’s bankruptcy and publishers’ opposition to their plan to liquidate their stock, Fantagraphics held a “We’ve Been Robbed” sale, explaining, “Sadly, having the moral high ground does not diminish the losses we have suffered over the last eight months. We are looking at millions of dollars’ worth of books being unfairly seized and liquidated out from under us — books that our authors have sweated blood to create and that we’ve expended no little love to produce.” While the sale is now over, the publisher will launch a deal for “all the retailers who support us and our work” later today.

§ Several creatives published by Image Comics reported receiving a suspicious email from a Russian site, claiming to be the publisher’s accounting office, suggesting it was hacked. Creators who warned others about the email included Sebastián Píriz, Kieron Gillen, Alex de Campi, and Marissa Louise. Joshua Rivera also said he got the email, although he has not been published by Image. The company has not commented on the story at the time of writing.

§ Finally, Protests broke out at this weekend’s Fan Expo Canada over the presence of an AI-generated photo booth, installed by telecoms company Bell Canada. Writer Stephanie Cooke (Oh My Gods!) shares that Fan Expo were unaware of the specifics of Bell’s plans, and also blindsided when the convention center’s owners called the police, who dispersed the protestors with Bell’s approval. Cooke adds Bell believes the booth was ethical, because they hired an artist to provide the base images. You can support the protestors by emailing media[at]bell.ca, and Fan Expo HQ.