While we are not the official voice of your decision, we want to help guide you in the right direction for comics releasing October 28, 2026.

Satanic Panic #1

Writer: Matt Miner
Artist: Clayton McCormack
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios

A sleepy 1980s town is stalked by a masked slasher at the height of the Satanic Panic, where every heavy metal record, Dungeons & Dragons campaign and teenage outsider is treated as evidence of devil worship. As fear spreads and bodies pile up, three local misfits become the prime suspects in a series of gruesome murders. Join D&D geeks and Ozzy enthusiasts Naz, Sal, and Terry as they race to clear their names, survive an increasingly blood-soaked town and unmask the real killer before paranoia claims more innocent lives. But in a community eager to blame the weird kids, proving their innocence may be deadlier than facing the murderer.

From Ringo Award and GLAAD Media Award-winning writer Matt Miner (Poser, Young Men in Love, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins) and artist Clayton McCormack (Batman: White Knight Presents – Generation Joker) comes a brutal new horror series that blends slasher terror and the paranoia of the Satanic Panic into one unforgettable nightmare.

Satanic Panic kicks things off with a debut issue that mixes everyday small town horrors with the terror of a slasher and maybe something more. Writer Matt Miner and artist Clayton McCormack craft a meaningful, yet terrifying comic that will frighten you on many levels. There is definitely something here with this first issue. – CLICK HERE to read the entire review

Godzilla: Revenge of the Deadzone #1

Writer: Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan
Artist: Pablo Tunica
Publisher: IDW Publishing

The Wanderer is held captive by G-Force!

Far, far away from his home in the Deadzone, the Wanderer is a captive in New York City! As he’s poked and prodded by a team of scientists, he’ll fill in the gaps of his mysterious past… and learn of the government’s true plans for the future of the Deadzone.

Join Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Pablo Tunica as they return to the Deadzone in this five-issue miniseries!

I Saw Santa: A Spawn Universe Christmas Story TP

Writer: Chris Killian, Andrew Sanders
Artist: Thomas Nachlik
Publisher: Image Comics

In a world where SANTA rewards well-behaved children with gifts and punishes the naughty with a stocking full of coal, one troubled child takes a dark turn.

Offended by his lump of coal, he vows to make it his life’s mission to haunt Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. As the situation escalates, Sam and Twitch stumble upon a series of grim discoveries, but it is ultimately Spawn who must confront this relentless tormentor and restore peace to the holiday season.

I Saw Santa is a brutal and terrifyingly fresh Christmas story that is the perfect blend of holidays and horror. Writers Chris Killian & Andrew Sanders and artist Thomas Nachlik deliver an incredibly accessible tale in the Spawn Universe where Santa is pushed to his limits and blood is shed. The only thing that makes I Saw Santa even better is that we get more this holiday season. – CLICK HERE to read the entire review

White Sky Vol. 1 TP

Writer: William Harms
Artist: J.P. Mavinga
Publisher: Image Comics

After the world is shattered, a teen girl must journey through a haunted wasteland, hunted by monsters and scavengers alike, to save her father.

Five years ago, the sky turned white, and the world was destroyed.

Forced out of hiding, teenager Violet and her father, David, flee toward the ruins of San Francisco, where they believe they’ll be safe. But after catastrophe strikes, the two of them are separated, and Violet has no choice but to face the horrors of the world, and the ghosts that rule it, on her own.

Joined by a psychic-medium and pursued by bloodthirsty scavengers and ravenous horrors from beyond the grave, Violet fights to find and rescue her father.

White Sky is a suspenseful, tension-filled, emotional, and horrifying post-apocalyptic ghost story that hits hard. What William Harris and Jean Paul Mavinga accomplish with this first issue puts this story towards the top of great post-apocalyptic tales in comics. White Sky is the most impactful comic of 2026, so far, and likely to end up on a lot best of lists when the year comes to close. – CLICK HERE to read the enter review of the first issue

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The twenty-sixth century. Humanity has expanded beyond Earth’s system to hundreds of planets that colonists now call home. But the United Earth Government and the United Nations Space Command is struggling to control this vast empire. After exhausting all strategies to keep seething colonial insurrections from exploding into a full-blown interplanetary civil war, the UNSC has one last hope.

At the Office of Naval Intelligence, Dr. Catherine Halsey has been hard at work on a top-secret program that could bring an end to the conflict…and it starts with seventy-five children, among them a six-year-old boy named John. And Halsey could never guess that this child will eventually become the final hope against an even greater peril engulfing the galaxy—the inexorable confrontation with a theocratic military alliance of alien races known as the Covenant.

Having played the original game back in 2001 and select times over the years with various sequels, I was completely unaware of Nylund’s Halo: The Fall of Reach. This is likely just me, as those longtime and diehard fans of the video game series have been fully aware. However, it was nice to know that there was so much faith in the success of the game, publishing a prequel story about Master Chief would be worthwhile. Now, 25-years-later it was nice to celebrate the anniversary and go back to the origins, but with a full cast and that iconic music and sound effects too boot.

It’s hard to tell when video games or similar have companion novels if they are just crafted to help ride the wave of the other medium release or have actual substance to them. I will say, Halo: The Fall of Reach falls squarely in the latter category. The novel is crafted in a way that gives more depth to the overarching universe, specifically Master Chief as their way to becoming the character we all know from the games. A story of Master Chief’s development from child to solider, showing how complex the they really are.

While playing the video game you are put into the shows of Master Chief, so the thoughts, feelings, emotions of the character are only touched on. But in the Halo: The Fall of Reach you almost feel the painful life and journey it took to get to where they are. Nylund doesn’t hold back, but pushes the character to their limits and lays it all out on the pages.

Halo: The Fall of Reach doesn’t feel like a book about a video game, but one that fits into the military science fiction like it is supposed to be there. Compared to the few others in the genre I have had read, The Fall of Reach almost felt more in place that those without a companion video game, ones that are crafted from the ground up. This Halo novel can stand on its own without needing to play the video game, which makes it accessible to more readers.

I would never tell you to not read a physical copy of a novel, but let’s be honest, experiencing this story with vivid sound effects and wonderfully cast voices is the way to go. Performed by a full cast led by iconic series voices Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, and Tim Dadabo, along with those immersive sounds and music allowed for an almost cinematic feeling, letting me get even more lost in the story. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of both the game and novel than getting fully immersed in the story.

Twenty-five years later, Halo: The Fall of Reach proves there’s much more to Master Chief’s story than what we’ve experienced with a controller in our hands. Eric Nylund crafted a story with heart, pain, and action that expanded the story from video game to novel in ways that still surprises most. The 25th anniversary dramatized audiobook is more than a video game tie-in or retelling of Nylund’s story, but an immersive military sci-fi tale that makes Master Chief that much more compelling.

The full-cast dramatized audiobook of Halo: The Fall of Reach drops on November 10, 2026 and is available as CD-Audio or digitally via Audible and Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Halo: The Fall of Reach from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

The post Halo: The Fall of Reach – An Audio Experience That Makes the Halo Universe Hit Harder appeared first on Capes and Tights.

In the sweltering, bug-choked summer of 1986, local misfit Janet Morgan joins her small town’s PTA expecting big hair and idle gossip. Instead, she finds a string of missing matriarchs―and their husbands, who don’t seem too worried about their vanished wives.

Janet, however, can sense a mystery unfolding. And when her best friend is the next to disappear, she becomes more convinced than ever that something dark has arrived in Somerville.

Armed with her encyclopedic true crime knowledge, the snarky wit of two other misfit moms, and a new-to-town coroner’s apprentice, Janet starts digging. What she uncovers is more than a string of disappearances―it’s a dark secret stretching back generations, bound up in a deal far more dangerous than anyone could have imagined.

In order to stop all H-E-double hockey sticks from breaking loose, Janet will have to confront the demons inside her home before the shadows consuming Somerville claim her too.

As a product of the 1980s, I have an affinity towards the slasher, horror and terrifying tales from my childhood. Yes, born in 1986 makes me understand more of the 1990s culture, but there is something special about the 1980s horror scene that really sticks with you. So, a PTA mom horror thriller based in 1986 where there is a devilish secret was something I seriously could not pass up and I am glad I didn’t.

Vick takes the ordinary and pushes it to the limit with Nobody Panic!, a mom just trying to keep things together with a few kids and a husband that seems to do whatever the hell he wants is terrifying on its own, but toss in the mystery of missing women and some turning up dead, something is going on in Somerville. The campiness was what really pulled me in. It’s funny to think of the height of Satanic Panic and you can tell Janet is one of those who doesn’t believe its an issue, but when the evil beneath Somerville actually rears its ugly head, maybe there’s more to it than previously thought.

There is something darkly humorous about taking the perfect suburban community with a caring PTA that just wants what’s best for the town and turning it into a horrifying thriller. The juxtaposition of serene life against the horrors that hide in the dark corners of the neighborhood that lets this story sink in a bit deeper. Vick lays the foundation early to let us think things are smooth sailing in Somerville only to pull the rug out from underneath the table holding a bundt cake and deviled eggs. Mashing together opposites to craft a terrifying tale such as this will always find a special place in my heart.

It’s not just the town itself that makes Nobody Panic! what it is. Vick’s character development is strong from our true crime fan protagonist always attempting to solve a mystery to only come up empty most of the time to our her husband who seems to be covered in red flags, yet the mystery loving wife doesn’t fully see. This is not to mention the amazing collection of PTA moms with stereotypes to fit perfectly and to be the ones who ultimately are forced into action.

While the horror style and vibe were part of this love letter to the 1980s, the chapter titles being songs from the 80s made this even more evident. Not something the book needed for the story to move forward, but a nice touch that made me wonder what the next chapter title would be and if I would hum the song in my head while reading along.

Nobody Panic! reminds us sometimes the evil isn’t hiding in the dark, but sitting across the family dinner table in plain sight. C.J. Vick debut horror novel is a devilishly fun love letter to 1980s horror. Nobody Panic! is a bizarre combination of PTA moms, true crime, small-town secrets, and supernatural terror that blends together seamlessly.

Nobody Panic! hits bookstores everywhere on Sourcebooks from April 20, 2027. The audiobook is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Nobody Panic! from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

The post Nobody Panic!: There’s Something Devilish Hiding in Suburbia appeared first on Capes and Tights.

This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg welcomes author Kevin Johnson to the program to discuss his novel ‘Twas The Night and more!

Johnson is a horror author who grew up reading Goosebumps and roaming the spooky aisles of the nearest Blockbuster Video. He studied Creative Writing at Florida State University and currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and a rambunctious long-haired miniature dachshund named Pepper. ‘Twas The Night is his debut novel.

#304: Kevin Johnson – Author of ‘Twas the Night

The post #304: Kevin Johnson – ‘Twas the Night appeared first on Capes and Tights.

It’s 1974, and Los Angeles Times reporter Hunter Dreary returns to his hometown of Ransom, Kentucky, when he hears his autistic younger brother, Wally, is in trouble. But when he arrives at the sheriff’s office, Hunter is the one facing an interrogation after Wally accidentally reveals details from an infamous night in the town’s history—details that lead the sheriff straight to a body buried in the woods.

The discovery brings back memories of St. Anthony’s first state basketball championship a decade ago and of Lewis Truffant, the Black fifteen-year-old who not only integrated the Catholic high school earlier in the year but hit the game-winning shot. But it also dredges up what most townspeople had hoped to forget, that by sunrise the next day, Lewis had been found hanging from a tree, and fires and riots soon followed. The truth of what happened that night has been buried ever since.

Still haunted by Lewis’s death and pushed into action by each new unearthed secret, Hunter, with help from a childhood friend, Annie Tampini, finally starts asking questions of his own. But he’s not the only one searching for answers. And the painful truth, once exposed, might hold the power to finally bring the corrupt town to its knees.

Now, Ransom Burning isn’t fully based in fact, there are factual moments where Markert has molded into this story to make the impact felt but the overall true events are fictionalized. This blend of fact and fiction made the story more impactful and had me in tears when Markert was explaining the basis for writing this story in his author’s note at the end. It breaks my heart that some people have to deal with things in this world.

You’d think winning a basketball championship would be all smiles around the town of Ransom, but something dark is simmering behind the scenes that won’t rear its ugly head for years. There is only pain, fear, and hurt that comes from Ransom over the years and it isn’t until Hunter Dreary returns to his hometown when things start to shed some light.

Ransom Burning is filled with tension, heartfelt moments, and anger. You can tell the story is told with passion and from a personal place in history. While not all the moments in the book are based in fact, Markert uses this fictionalized story to tell an import part of what this country, specially this location, has gone through over the years when seemingly good people do bad things. Markert touches on racism and the hidden secrets that some unlucky few have to hold onto in life.

Not many stories can make me utterly anger at the world, but Ransom Burning is just such story. It’s another example of a story not there to teach me anything but does anyway. I know bad things such as this have happen in years past, even today, but it’s when a talented author with a personal connection tells the story in such fitting fashion when I truly let it sink in and chill me to the bone. Not to mention being the father of two beautiful children, all I wanted to do was hold them close.

Ransom Burning got under my skin and is going to stay there long into the future. J.H. Markert delivers a story filled with mystery, heartbreak, anger, and characters you desperately want to see find some sense of justice in a town that has spent far too long hiding from the truth. Ransom Burning is a truly powerful and downright heartbreaking story that proves Markert has many levels in his storytelling.

Ransom Burning hits bookstores everywhere on January 26, 2027 from Crooked Lane Books.

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Ransom Burning from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

The post Ransom Burning: A Story That Made Me Angry in All the Right Ways appeared first on Capes and Tights.

For Chloe, the Southwest Renaissance Faire is home. It’s where she performs with her folk-punk band, Chloe and the Well Met, where she feels closest to her late mother, and where she imagines a life on the road, far from the rules of ordinary life.

Until a fateful final joust, when a staged fight turns real―and someone dies.

One year later, the Faire returns under new corporate ownership, bigger and more profitable than ever. Chloe’s band lands a coveted spot on the main stage, but the magic feels thinner, the stakes higher. Beloved performers have vanished and longtime traditions have been gutted. Then a masked figure begins stalking the grounds, turning spectacle into something far more dangerous. Weapons meant for show draw real blood, and no one can tell where performance ends and violence begins.

As fear spreads and her community begins to fracture, Chloe must confront what’s being lost―and what’s worth fighting for. Because this time, the Faire isn’t just an escape. It’s a trap.

McAuley is truly the king of slashers over the past few years. We have been immersed in stories featuring Christmas, movies, healing retreats, and now a ren faire. The author has been able to craft truly wonderful horror tales with unique settings that you possibly wouldn’t normally expect. This not only gives us a unique perspective, but freshens up the slasher sub-genre in ways that surprised me. Now, I keep wondering what McAuley will think of next.

Fairly Bad Ways to Die is not just another slasher, but with new clothing. It is also has an emotional core between family and friends who fight to survive this horrible story. The tale features all the makings for a traditional slasher novel, but with a twist and kills unique to the setting at hand. McAuley starts off somber, lifts us up with positivity, only to kick our legs out from under us with slashery goodness.

The ren faire is not just a unique place for a slasher story, but a unique place in general. These faires are special places for those attending, but a place where those considered outsiders have found a family. This goes for the attendees and those who put the show on each and every year. It’s like returning to camp and seeing those friends all over again, but putting on a show for those paying fans.

McAuley brings the slasher horrors to the pages, but also the horrors of the corporate takeover of something held precious to so many. The mainstreaming and greed seeping into the tents of the ren faire and attempting to profit from the fun that has been taking place for many years. He also blends in the horrors of growing up from your teen years to college and adulthood. Having to find your place in society as a grownup and the possibility of losing what you held precious as a kid, the ren faire and your closest friends.

Not surprising, McAuley weaves in his love for music in Fairly Bad Ways to Die. Our protagonist and her friends are part of a band that plays at the Southwest Renaissance Faire and hopes to take their show on the road. This passion for music spills onto the pages of his passion for slasher horror, proving McAuley’s love for the two can mix together in a fantastic tale.

Fairly Bad Ways to Die is another bloody good reminder of why Brian McAuley has become one of my favorite voices in slasher horror. He takes a setting that feels completely unexpected and somehow makes me wonder why no one has been slaughtering their way through a renaissance faire all along. Fairly Bad Ways to Die is a bloody, yet heartfelt slasher that proves McAuley can turn just about any setting into a slasher’s playground.

Fairly Bad Ways to Die hits bookstores everywhere on April 20, 2026 from Poisoned Pen Press. The audiobook is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Fairly Bad Ways to Die from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

The post Fairly Bad Ways to Die: A Renaissance Faire to Die For appeared first on Capes and Tights.

While we are not the official voice of your decision, we want to help guide you in the right direction for comics releasing October 21, 2026.

The Mandalorian and Grogu – Nightmare on Nevarro #1

Writer: Delilah S. Dawson
Artist: Alessandro Ranaldi
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios / Papercutz

Sinister creatures with glowing red eyes are terrorizing the people of Nevarro, and it’s up to the Mandalorian Din Djarin and his foundling Grogu to put an end to the haunting! Once again, the pair venture into the belly of Nevarro’s magma-filled lava tubes to uncover the truth. Between menacing cave creatures, a deranged mining droid, and the red-eyed flying specters, surviving the darkness may be the greatest challenge of all. It’s a spooky Star Wars adventure where not everything is as it seems!

ThunderCats #1

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: David Cousens
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Superstar writer Greg Pak (World War Hulk, X-Men, Superman/Batman) joins rising star artist David Cousens (Cheetara: Worldbreaker) to present a stunning new chapter in the ‘Cats history!

The THUNDERCATS face a strange, dangerous new life on their Earth, sharing the world with the SILVERHAWKS, a multitude of other societies, and the cat-hating MU’TANTS. This is a time for outreach and diplomacy… or it would be, if it weren’t for a mysterious omen from the sky that unleashes a beast within team leader LION-O, transforming him into the deadly FERAL KING!

The Book of Nosferatu #1

Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Todor Hristov
Publisher: Ablaze

Every monster has a beginning! Learn the origin of Nosferatu in this adult tale of unrestrained gothic horror written by Michael Moreci (Barbaric, Dick Tracy) and illustrated by Todor Hristov (Stranger Things)!

Emil’s wife is missing, but no one in his village will do anything about it. No one will even speak of it. It’s like she never even existed. But Emil knows the truth: Bella did not simply vanish, she was taken, prey to the region’s terrifying blight…Nosferatu. Unable to break through the taboo surrounding any interference in these cursed matters, Emil turns away from society and into a world full of unknown and strange powers. What terrible things lurk between the villages in the deep, dark woods, and how can he harness them to find his beloved bride? Can he harness them at all, or will he too succumb to their curses?

Bleeding Hearts Vol. 1 TP

Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Stipan Morian
Publisher: DC Comics / Vertigo

The zombies won—and 10 years after the fall of humanity, they’re the dominant form of life (or not-life) on Earth. They’ve developed their own cultural practices, their own language, and their own society, all organized around hunting and devouring the few living humans unlucky enough to still be fighting for survival. Mouse-Pokes-Golf-Ball-Through-Hole-in-Head (“Poke” for short) is a valued and beloved member of the Brain-Splashes-and-Sizzles-on-Hot-Rocks Horde of the Undead, and with his brother-in-arm Mush, he’s happy to shamble along through the only world he can remember … until the day his heart mysteriously starts beating again. And in a blink, the first humans he sees have stopped looking like food and have started looking like … friends …?

The team behind 20th Century Men, the bold mission statement that launched writer Deniz Camp and artist Stipan Morian to the next level of the comics industry, has reunited at last to bring you a world ruled by ruthless kill-or-be-killed logic, pitted against the demands of a single beating, bleeding, emotional heart!

The post FEATURED 4: The Mandalorian and Grogu – Nightmare on Nevarro #1, ThunderCats #1, and October 21 Comics appeared first on Capes and Tights.

A sleepy 1980s town is stalked by a masked slasher at the height of the Satanic Panic, where every heavy metal record, Dungeons & Dragons campaign and teenage outsider is treated as evidence of devil worship. As fear spreads and bodies pile up, three local misfits become the prime suspects in a series of gruesome murders. Join D&D geeks and Ozzy enthusiasts Naz, Sal, and Terry as they race to clear their names, survive an increasingly blood-soaked town and unmask the real killer before paranoia claims more innocent lives. But in a community eager to blame the weird kids, proving their innocence may be deadlier than facing the murderer.

As a child of the 1980s I was a generation separated from the height of Satanic Panic, being only 4 years old when life moved into the 1990s, but I don’t live under a rock and know it was a weird time to be alive. What this comic, with the iconic name, does is give you a bit of insight to the crazy time, while also giving us the slasher goodness that we could hope for.

Yes, Satanic Panic is filled with the gruesome horror we showed up for, but also shows the horrific things those who are deemed to be considered outsiders went through during these times in places such as this. Let’s be honest, kids still have to deal with this shit in present day as well. Not just the bullying for playing Dungeons & Dragons, but the homophobia and racism that runs ramped through small towns.

These kids are just wanting to have a bit of fun, smoke a bit a grass, listen to heavy metal, and play D&D with their friends, but all hell breaks loose – with them being the victims – and they become the target just for being a bit different. The group of teens become an easy target when your small town police is filled with homophobic and racist police. But there is something more sinister in this town and it goes beyond the closed-minded leaders.

Satanic Panic has the brutal horror moments, but also the more conversational intimate moments that spread the unease and dread. The suspense is lingering and the mystery is at an all-time high as the first issue comes to a close. It’s a dark and moody, slasher-y first issue that has me eagerly awaiting more.

The artwork is edgy, dark and gritty adding to this horror vibe. McCormack’s lines have a tension to them that just deepens the horrors that light within. Oliver Mertz adds colors that are also dark and ominous, rounding out the visuals.

Satanic Panic kicks things off with a debut issue that mixes everyday small town horrors with the terror of a slasher and maybe something more. Writer Matt Miner and artist Clayton McCormack craft a meaningful, yet terrifying comic that will frighten you on many levels. There is definitely something here with this first issue.

Satanic Panic #1 hits local comic shops on October 28, 2026 from Mad Cave Studios.

Satanic Panic #1 Preview

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Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives. She has a plan: she’s going to make the bravest choice and leave Abnegation to join Dauntless, even though it means abandoning her family. But when tragedy strikes at her choosing ceremony, everything changes—her world, her plans, even Beatrice herself. Her decision will thrust her into the crosshairs of an underground rebellion, where a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own—a boy with only a number for a name—may be the only person she can trust.

As a fan of Marvel Comics, I had my fair share of alternate universe stories to read. However, this is not something you see everyday in the world of prose novels, especially one that has been a best-selling story selling millions of copies and spawning multiple feature films. That story is usually protected beyond comprehension, so for Roth to be able to revisit her original tale and craft something fresh with the characters we grew to love is usually unheard of and is what makes it special to begin with. It also is worth noting that because of Roth’s success with Divergent, also is the reason why she was given the green light to explore an alternate version, is my guess.

What The Sixth Faction is on the surface is new version of the events that take place surrounding Choosing Ceremony and the life-changing decisions that are made on that day. Following Beatrice Prior and her journey to uncover the truth behind some of the things she has been taught her entire life. However, what Roth does with The Sixth Faction is alter the decisions made which then has a ripple effect on how the story progresses. So, as I mentioned, this is similar to what most of us would call an alternate timeline, a fresh look at the core events and characters of a story we all have read.

Roth takes the core from Divergent and explores more of the what the factions purposes and focuses even more on those without a home faction, called the factionless. Which, as the title implies, is really the sixth faction in this world as once you band together for a certain cause are you really the free-thinking and no-conformed group you thought you were.

When entering The Sixth Faction, I had this slight fear it would be just tiny changes with the same story and that I should’ve just read Divergent again. However, there is still a huge level of secrecy and those who look for complete control as you know from the original story, but things are a bit different. The story is a gripping new journey that features a lot of the same characters but some with different motivations or storylines, but all the same vibe we have come to love in the original series. There is this blend of new story and nostalgia that Roth nails, making a book that feels familiar but brand new at the same time.

Having been 15 years since the original book hit shelves, Roth has had time to sit with these characters and places. With The Sixth Faction, it seems the author was able to dive a bit deeper into the characterizations and locations to bring a bit more of it to the story. All while keeping the feeling we get from reading her first novel in this series. This is just the beginning as well, the second book in this new duology hits shelves in February 2027.

The Sixth Faction is a wonderful new take on the story of Divergent. New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth revisits her 15 year old story with a fresh new direction that will scratch the itch of the original story, but gives a new outlook on these beloved characters. Divergent isn’t going anywhere, but The Sixth Faction gives you a chance to relive it in a new and unique fashion.

The Sixth Faction hit bookshelves everywhere on October 6, 2026 from HarperCollins. The audiobook, narrated by Emma Love, Charlie Thurston & Max Meyers, is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of The Sixth Faction from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

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Offended by his lump of coal, he vows to make it his life’s mission to haunt Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. As the situation escalates, Sam and Twitch stumble upon a series of grim discoveries, but it is ultimately SPAWN who must confront this relentless tormentor and restore peace to the holiday season.

There is something that works so perfectly when horror crosses paths with the holiday season. The juxtaposition of holiday cheer and terrifying horror that make me feel the warmth of the season. Things are supposed to be jolly during Christmas, but when a horror story is placed squarely in this merry season it screams even louder.

Killian and Sanders could’ve crafted a story based in the Spawn Universe that was just Santa, Christmas, and the season of giving with Spawn as the forefront character and I would’ve still be in line on new comic day to grab the book. But what the creative team does with I Saw Santa is so much more. The use of Sam and Twitch to investigate a horrible murder on Christmas Eve to kick things off made so much more sense, both fitting the mold of a Spawn story but also making it accessible to those unfamiliar with the universe.

Spawn is approaching issue 380 with 400 on the horizon, not to mention the many off-shoot series in recent years, so I can be daunting to want to dive into a mini series such as I Saw Santa, knowing it was based in the Spawn Universe. However, Killian and Sanders deliver a tale that grazes the lore of Spawn without making the reader feel lost. This allows us to enjoy this horrifying story without the burden of catching up on 34 years of Spawn comics.

This is a Santa Claus story, one that is unique and fresh, but it is also a gruesome and visceral horror story. Something we don’t see often, but works so well together. While this tale could’ve been placed in its own universe outside of Spawn, the slight connective tissue made it so much more special. The appearance of a few familiar faces and storylines, again…that don’t distract from the accessibility of the story, gave the tale a bit more depth for those who know. Sam and Twitch are fantastic characters and using them to place the story where it is made me smile when opening the very first page.

Nachlik illustrates a story that feels like Spawn, but also brings this dark holiday vibe to it as well. The artist doesn’t shy away from the gruesome and grotesque, making I Saw Santa not for the faint of heart. I do appreciate the moments of verbalizing a particular death without the imagery to go along with it, when you get to that point you’ll understand. The brutality is meaningful and not just for the shock factor, which made the story that much more of an enjoyable reading experience than just disturbing factor. Colors by Dan Kemp are dark and moody which lends itself to both the Spawn Universe and the horrors within.

I Saw Santa is a brutal and terrifyingly fresh Christmas story that is the perfect blend of holidays and horror. Writers Chris Killian & Andrew Sanders and artist Thomas Nachlik deliver an incredibly accessible tale in the Spawn Universe where Santa is pushed to his limits and blood is shed. The only thing that makes I Saw Santa even better is that we get more this holiday season.

The collected edition of I Saw Santa: A Spawn Universe Christmas Story hits local comic shops on October 28, 2026 and bookstores everywhere on November 24 from Image Comics.

I Saw Santa Vol. 1 TP Preview

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