Comic writer Joey Esposito joins the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 281 on May 13, 2026. To prepare for the conversation, we have compiled 11 comics by Esposito you should read.
Joey Esposito grew up in New England reading comic books, playing video games, renting movies, and writing stories. After high school, Joey attended film school in New York. In college, Joey honed his writing skills, which he soon applied to his love of prose and comics. He released his first creator-owned comic Footprints, which was featured in USA Today’s Best of 2011 roundup and inspired a sequel, Footprints: Bad Luck Charm, in 2014.
More recently Esposito has written comics such as DC’s Batman: Urban Legends, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Pedestrian, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Zord Quest, Shitkickers, and more.
In 2026, Joey is setup for a fun year with the release of Killer Influences on July 1 (FOC: May 25), and Power Rangers Unlimited.
The Pedestrian
Behold, The Pedestrian! A strange visitor speedwalks into Summer City and silently changes the lives of its residents. But not all is quiet in this sleepy, small town—an ancient conflict linked to the secret history of street signs is brewing! DON’T WALK… RUN! In The Pedestrian, justice always has the right of way!
Writer Joey Esposito reunites with Pawn Shop collaborator, artist Sean Von Gorman (Ghost Planet), for an offbeat tale that will stick with you!
Grimm Fairy Tales: Bad Girls
What’s worse than battling the Mistress of Limbo? Battling Baba Yaga, Venus, the Goblin Queen and the Queen of Spades along with her! Sela’s nightmare has come true as the evil forces of the Grimm Universe join together through a very powerful artifact. The only way Sela can defeat them and protect the Earth is by joining forces with two badass falsebloods she found years ago – Red Riding Hood and Samantha.
Don’t miss this action-packed Grimm Fairy Tales spinoff mini-series by Zenescope Entertainment! It never felt so good to be so bad!
Batman: Urban Legends
Four epic Gotham sagas rage on! The Signal, a.k.a. Duke Thomas, assembles Batman and the Outsiders to find his missing mother. Years before his passing, we follow Alfred Pennyworth on the mystery of a lifetime.
In another story from Gotham’s recent past, Thomas and Martha Wayne have arrived at Wayne Manor, and Batman goes on a hunt to find out who is responsible and if he’s being lied to. And a bold new piece of the Gotham City universe gets introduced from the wreckage of Arkham Asylum…the children and protégés of some of Gotham’s most wicked villains are assembled in the inaugural class of Arkham Academy!
Don’t miss this incredible volume of Batman: Urban Legends!
Shitkickers
When the cocky Dylan Jax of the Cosmic Protection Bureau is assigned to do bullshit busywork with a grumpy vet named Skizz, he’s forced to confront the reality that his great destiny was just a lie his mommy fed him, and the organization he’s committed his life to isn’t as benevolent as it claims to be. Bored out of his gourd and trigger happy, Dylan kidnaps Skizz to go on a mission to crack open one of his new partner’s cold cases that sends them both spiraling down a wormhole of intergalactic conspiracies, dirty cops, and big-time daddy issues.
Sesame Street
Stroll along Sesame Street and join Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and more of your favorite furry friends in adventures for readers of all ages with this hardcover edition of Sesame Street: Grover Lends a Hand!
Grover wakes up to another beautiful day on Sesame Street! But he soon discovers that his friends each have a problem to solve before they can enjoy it. Read along as Grover does what he does best: lends a helping hand. After all, the most fun on Sesame Street comes from working together!
Footprints
Bigfoot and his gang of cryptozoological deviants enter a crime noir world full of mystery, horror, monsters and conspiracy. When Foot’s estranged brother Yeti is murdered in the Arctic, Foot reunites his old team of Jersey Devil, Nessy, and Megaldon for one last case that spans back to their very long history together.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Zord Quest
What defines a hero? The Power Rangers discover that for themselves in this special one-shot!
After a devastating encounter with the villainous Madame Axe-A-Lot, the Mighty Morphin team is left questioning whether they truly have what it takes.
To regain their confidence, they’ll each have to go on a spiritual quest of discovery to the breathtaking landmarks that their Zords call home!
Will they be able to see for themselves the qualities that make them heroes at heart?
DC vs. Vampires: World War V
The smash-hit Elseworlds series returns, as the fight between heroes-turned-vampires and what’s left of humanity goes global!
DC vs. Vampires was just the beginning!
It’s the dead of winter, and any hope for a fragile truce between the Green Arrow-led human heroes and vampire queen Barbara Gordon’s army has been dashed by Damian Wayne and his guerrilla fighters. He’s the only one fighting back against the bloodthirsty hordes, leaving Green Arrow with a choice: Does he stand and fight, or sacrifice the boy in the name of peace?
Pawn Shop
The intertwining lives of four strangers in the ecosystem of New York City, connected by the streets they walk on and the people they touch. Following a lonely widower, a struggling Long Island Railroad employee, a timid hospice nurse, and a drug-addled punk, Pawn Shop explores the big things that separate us and the little moments that inexplicably unite us.
The writer of Footprints and the artist for Toe Tag Riot present a slice-of-life tale that weaves together separate lives to celebrate the ever-changing nature of New York City and the people that make it the greatest city in the world.
Killer Influences
Killer Influences follows Melvin, a serial killer who is aspiring to be one of the most infamous to ever do it, a true American nightmare. His problem? He’s so efficient and methodical that he doesn’t have a brand. No one has connected his crimes except for Kylie, an aspiring true crime influencer who is flailing at a small-town newspaper.
When she comes across Melvin’s crimes and reaches out to him… she figures out how she’s going to become a star. She will give Melvin the identity he needs to be the iconic serial killer he wants to be, while she follows his exploits on her channel and becomes famous. Kylie and Melvin make a pact that will make their dreams come true and destroy their lives in the process.
Eisner Award nominee Joey Esposito and rising-star artist Valeria Burzo (Castle Full of Blackbirds, EC Comics) deliver a scathing and thrilling true crime serial killer saga with Killer Influences!
Hitting shelves at your LCS on July 1, 2026 from IDW Publishing!
Power Rangers Unlimited
Get ready for a groundbreaking new series featuring all your favorite Rangers across time and space!
This is it, Power Rangers fans! All of your favorite Rangers from every season and every series of the long-running television and comic series will finally be united in ways you’ve never even dreamed!
At a mysterious base on the planet Aquitar, a morphinomenal program is taking shape… Under the guidance of the eccentric Operator, the Striking Tiger Unlimited Ranger calls upon Power Rangers from across time and space to form elite teams and battle a rising evil!
In the first issue of this all-new ongoing series, get ready as Power Rangers superfans Joey Esposito and Kenny Porter (The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, Fearless) alongside superstar artist Alessio Zonno (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III) draw from across thirty years of canon to bring together unlimited dream teams of your favorite Rangers.
Hitting shelves at your LCS on July 1, 2026 from BOOM! Studios.
