Comic Strip News from the 2026 San Diego Comic Con
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Since the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) is mostly a Hollywood/RPG/Comic Book affair this will be a short stack featuring Rip Kirby, Garfield, and Frank Robbins.
Rip Kirby Returns (but not to newspaper pages)
Mad Cave Studios has partnered with King Features Syndicate to bring us new comic books starring Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Defenders of the Earth. Now they have partnered to bring us detective Rip Kirby.
From Christopher Chiu-Tabet at Comics Beat:
Debuting this November, the comic is being crafted by writer Christopher Sebela (Crowded), artist Tango (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), colorist KJ Diaz, and letterer Jeff Eckleberry, and will follow the sophisticated, scientifically-inclined detective on a new adventure in post-war New York.
The full synopsis reads, “War hero. Star athlete. Brilliant scientist. Savvy private investigator. Rip Kirby’s reputation is long secured, and these days he’s enjoying the post-war boom of New York City. With gorgeous and quick-witted Honey Dorian at his side and reformed criminal valet Desmond running the show, it’s a perfect life and perfectly balanced. It’s been perfect for what seems like forever… But Rip’s world is about to get complicated, and his unflappably decent ways are newly tested. Up against a world that seems to be growing too fast, can an upstanding man of morals and fair play like Rip remain himself, or will he be swallowed up by the ugliness?”
Reprints of Rip Kirby have appeared in many comic books and book collections but these, if I am not mistaken, will be the first original Rip Kirby comic stories ever created for comic books (in the latter half of the 1960s one or two Rip Kirby text page stories appeared in the King and Charlton comic books but no original comic strories.).
New Garfield Video Game Debuts at SDCC
From Chase Fiorini at TechTimes:
The world’s laziest cat has spent decades suffering through mediocre video game adaptations. A Comic Con 2026 gameplay debut released July 25 suggests that streak may finally be ending. Garfield: Escape from Monday, the upcoming 3D platformer from French publisher Microids and developer OSome Studio, is set to launch September 24, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC — and the hands-on previews arriving over the past five weeks paint a picture of a licensed game that has absorbed the spirit of its source material rather than simply slapping Garfield’s face on a generic platformer, according to the official game announcement.
Frank Robbins: An Illustrated Biography
TwoMorrows Publishing announced an illustrated biography of Johnny Hazard creator Frank Robbins. Few details are available but despite spending the majority of his career on comic strips (Scorchy Smith 1939-44; Johnny Hazard 1944-77) the publicity pages goes with his late career superhero credits.
The Comics Beat supplies what little is known of the project and those superhero illustrations.
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