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New York Comic Con 2026 brought a whole new wave of showbiz news into focus; here's the round-up! Zodiac series at their NYCC panel.

Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week, Thorne discusses the upcoming changes to Magic: The Gathering booster packs announced last week.

Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo was named the Book of the Year in the 2026 Harvey Awards, which were presented in a ceremony on October 9, during New York Comic Con. The ceremony also marked the presentation of the first Sophie Castille Award, named for the late Director of Mediatoon and co-founder of Europe Comics (see “ R.I.P. Sophie Castille”), which went to translator Montana Kane for her work on True Colors: Growing Up Weird in the ‘90s, by Elise Gravel (Drawn & Quarterly).

Transformers and G.I. Joe. The new line from Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics, in collaboration with Hasbro and Universal, will star fan-favorite icons in stories intended to be jumping-on points, with complete stories from known creators. The first miniseries is Transformers: Bumblebee - Lost Planet, coming January 27, 2027, followed by G.I. Joe: The Island of Dr. Mindbender in February and Turok: Son of Stone in March. All will have variant covers available.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun is coming from Dark Horse in April 2027. In conjunction with Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast, Dark Horse Books has announced a trilogy of stand-alone graphic novels, beginning with Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun. It's written by Dan Abnett, illustrated by Nil Vendrell, colored by Mattia Iacono, and lettered by Buddy Beaudoin, with cover art by Jeff Stokely.

The horror imprint IDW Dark will be publishing comics based on Blumhouse films, including The Purge. That will be the first title out of the deal, coming late 2027. Writer Dan Watters and artist Juan José Ryp tell a new story involving the premise of the film, about a world where any crime, including murder, is legal on one night a year. Coming later are new stories based on M3GAN and Happy Death Day.

D&D: Star Wars books at New York Comic Con. These two books are part of WotC's previously announced licensing agreement with Lucasfilm, allowing them to publish D&D: Star Wars Universes Beyond books (see "'Universes Beyond'"). The first book revealed with the D&D: Star Wars Core Rules. This book will provide the primary rules set for playing D&D games in the Star Wars Universe. More specific details about the book are forthcoming; it hits the streets in 2027.

Judgment - Covenant Faction Set, a new boxed set for Halo: Flashpoint, which will release in December 2026. The Human-Covenant Wars officially kick off with this set. The Covenant is a faction populated with religious zealots hailing from different alien species. They are led into battle by San'Shyuum Prophets; the boxed set features a variety of different units, including the High Prophet of Regret, Sangheili Honor Guard Mgalekgolo Hunters and more. This boxed set comes with 19 plastic miniatures.

Archie Vs. The Terminator #1 (Of 4) Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Release Date: October 14, 2026 Cover Price: $4.99 Writer: Rory McConville Artist(s): Steven Butler and Lily Butler Cover(s): Francesco Francavilla (A), Bjorn Barends (B), Robert Hack (C), Bill Galvan (D) Format: 32 pgs., Full-Color, Cardstock Covers Rating: Teen Publisher Description.The crossover no one saw coming is here! When a teenage John Connor enrolls at Riverdale High, Archie and the gang soon find themselves in the...

TMNT: The First Ronin miniseries with art by Soo Lee, coming in March 2027 from IDW. In the story, set in 1600s Japan, General Kameyama is losing a great war when four yōkai (supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore) who look like humanoid turtles come to his aid. The series features new character designs and mythology created by Sakai.