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.
Medieval #1 cover by Alex Cormack§ Via Flickering Myth, comiXology revealed Medieval, a violent, Twain-esque fantasy adventure by writer Neil Kleid (Nice Jewish Boys) and artist Alex Cormack (The Devil That Wears My Face). Beginning Tuesday, November 11, the five-issue series follows a baseball fan who finds himself in sixth century England, where he garners the attention of King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table. When tensions arise, “Lancelot suggests a Grand Tournament of valor, gallantry, and might [where] Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and Danny Landau from the Bronx – an ale-swilling, bat-wielding brawler – [will] engage in a battle of the ages.”
§ In a press release, Mad Cave announced the third and final volume of Oliver Bly‘s The Mushroom Knight will be released on February 24, 2026. The final part of the fungal fantasy trilogy (the first two installments of which were both released in 2024) follows the titular Gowlitrot, and his human friend Lemuelle, “as the Hashkasha’da ritual looms–a ritual that will rid the Wissahickon of trash so long as the fae community offers up a substantial sacrifice of their own. Before this story ends, that sacrifice will be made, Lem will face her fears, a conspiracy will tighten its grip on the Gödel and human communities of Philadelphia… and Gowli will be in more danger than he’s been in before!”
The Mushroom Knight Vol. 3 cover, by Oliver Bly§ Britain’s biennial First Graphic Novel Award has announced its 2025 longlist, featuring 30 entries by newcomers. The competition, organized by publisher SelfMadeHero and London’s Cartoon Museum, will reveal its shortlist at the Thought Bubble Festival in Harrogate on November 15, before announcing the winner at an event in Waterstones Piccadilly, London, this January. The award launched in 2023, and its first winner was Alex Taylor‘s Bone Broth, which SelfMadeHero will release for mass market on December 2.
§ Maamoul Press, an indie publisher specializing in books from the Middle East (including ones by creators from Gaza and Sudan), has returned from hiatus, reopening their online shop in advance of a booth at the Detroit Art Book Fair on October 11-12. Maamoul announced they’d be taking a break last August (with some members of the group pursuing their own projects in the meantime), while the shop remained active until June 30.
Simpsons Movie 2 teaser poster§ 20th Century Studios announced a Simpsons Movie sequel will be released in theaters on July 23, 2027. The belated follow-up will arrive 20 years after the first film, and 40 years after the characters’ debut on The Tracey Ullman Show. It replaces an unnamed Marvel movie on Disney‘s schedule, meaning at the time of writing, there will be no MCU films between Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars (respectively out December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2027), although Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will be released in the meantime on June 18, 2027.
§ Peacemaker‘s second season may be its last. TechRadar rounded up comments suggesting as much from several James Gunn interviews this week, where the DC Studios co-CEO said, “Some of these characters will continue. But, also, it’s not exactly Peacemaker [season] 3. I’m not ruling it out. You’ll see [episode] 8 and maybe you’ll find out a little bit more.” Gunn had previously announced a Waller series in the works, which would presumably feature characters like Adebayo and Harcourt. Peacemaker‘s season finale will arrive on HBO Max on Thursday, October 9, at 9pm ET.
§ Anime News Network reports the Korean Netflix comedy Chicken Nugget has been nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series. The show, based on Ji-dok Park‘s webtoon Fried Chicken, follows a father trying to rescue his daughter after she is somehow transformed into a chicken nugget. The winners will be announced on November 24, and you can read the full list of this year’s nominees here.
§ Amazon, Dentsu Creative, ONCE, and IO DIGITAL X announced Comicast, a mobile app “powered by AWS AI” designed to provide descriptive audio of comics for visually impaired readers. Head to the link for more, though as always, despite the great idea, we stress skepticism towards any claims about the capabilities of “generative AI” (itself a misnomer for a large and diverse amount of tech nowadays.)
§ Finally, the Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic came to an end with chapter #60 last week. Writer Anthony Oliveira confirmed this in a letter on Bluesky, writing, “Comics will mend your heart, if you let them,” before adding, “Above all, remember love. It is all that lasts.” The series, which featured art by Carola Borelli, Bailie Rosenlund & Pablo Collar, launched on Marvel Unlimited in May 2024, and starred Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Red Goblin, Bloodline, Aaron Fischer, Escapade, and Kid Juggernaut (many of whom are LGBTQ), as well as Captain Marvel. It is one of the longest-running Infinity series, and its first chapter received a print release earlier this year.
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