End of July 2026 News and Links

It is the last day of July. We've had quite a month for popular culture-related announcements thanks to Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con being a hot spot to let folks know about your upcoming comics, movies, and so forth. A variety of interesting things were discussed or occurred, however, so let's spotlight some interesting tidbits from as of late!

To begin with, my favorite PSP (an underrated portable console) game series of all time was Lumines. In a bit of a surprise, it has finally been ported to iOS and Android, meaning your smartphone can now experience the joy of this strange music-puzzle-matching experience! "Lumines Remastered," can be bought now!

"Wonder Man," is cancelled and won't have a second season on Disney+. This is despite being a really fun show, getting rave reviews for a Marvel streaming show (a bit rare), and having a second season announced a matter of a few months ago! That said, Yahya Abdul Mateen II and Ben Kingsley were a hoot in the show as Simon Williams/Wonder Man and Trevor Slattery/the former Mandarin actor. Perhaps this is a stealthy way to fold them into a movie, one can hope? At least the star was able to not seem too sad.

A number of fly-by-night companies have those hideous AI-generated books these days where you type in some details about a child, and it spits out a, "Personalized," story you can then purchase in book form. A number of Baby Boomers apparently love these and won't stop buying them for their grandkids.

 

I wasn't particularly smitten with the first issue of the new comic, "Terminal," by Robert Kirkman, Joe Casey, and Andy Kubert. I thought it looked great, and the story had potential, but I wasn't immediately hooked. I'm in the minority for now, however, as the debut has sold 300,000 or so copies, with a second printing on the way. Kirkman might have another hit on his hands!

Speaking of Skybound/Robert Kirkman, Netflix has paid for the rights to, "The Walking Dead," franchise starting in 2027, sharing the past shows and new stuff with AMC for a cool 500 million dollars. I'd argue that while the comic and show ended with the spin-offs past their peak of popularity, there always are new fans discovering it, kind of like when Netflix scooped up, "Seinfeld," or any other popular franchise. I guess someone crunched the numbers and decided it was a wise investment.

Finally, fantastic writer John Arcudi is teaming up with Mark Buckingham on art and Dave Steward on colors for Titan Comics' "Kull," relaunch. The literary predecessory/blueprint for Conan the Barbarian, it could be interesting to see what this creative team does with the material!

"Terminal," #1 Advance Review

The debut issue of "Terminal," arrives in comic shops in two days. Skybound (an imprint of Image), putting out this new series, was kind enough to send digital copies out for the purpose of review more than a month before the book was set to hit stands (with the request that all reviewers wait until the Monday before its release to share their thoughts). Written by Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey, those two names have a lot of skill and a number of hits under their belt. This first issue is illustrated by the also extremely talented Andy Kubert. That makes it interesting that I wasn't disappointed in this first issue, but perhaps one could say slightly underwhelmed with a hint of optimism?

"Terminal," features two secret groups fighting to seemingly either save or doom Earth. The people involved have powers, there are long-lost siblings, weird otherworldly beings, and other concepts you've seen in many other stories. Kubert's art is fantastic, but I found myself waiting the whole time I was reading for the story to really hook me in. Outside of a bit of a twist regarding who I thought would be the main character for the book, there wasn't much meat here. Still, "Invincible," didn't really get going with its reveal about Omni-Man until around the seventh issue and, "The Walking Dead," needed a chunk of issues before really picking up steam. This goes to say that I somewhat expect there is more to, "Terminal," than the first issue indicates. Kirkman is known for his slow-burn style with some stories and Casey is excellent as spinning a yarn full of twists and quirks as well (his, "Uncanny X-Men," run remains underrated and his, "Codeflesh," is a grim and surreal masterpiece). It wouldn't surprise me if, "Terminal," manages to, well, surprise me! For now, it has a good-but-not-great first issue and has me at least a bit curious where things could go next.

3 out of 5 Stars.

Later May Links and News of Interest

June is drawing near, but before the conclusion of this month, I shall share some pieces of news and such that I found interesting. Let us proceed...

In one of countless examples of the Missouri legislature ignoring the will of the people, our congress has taken the face our state voted for safe and legal abortion in 2024 with Amendment 3 and want to trick everyone with a new, "Amendment 3," designed to steal reproductive rights away yet again. The fact they used the same number and everything is particularly sneaky/sleazy.

With a strong creative team (including Robert Kirkman, Joe Casey, Andy Kubert and more) behind the upcoming comic, "Terminal," it definetely has piqued my interest more than your usual, "New superhero universe,"-type story. Comics Beat did an interview about the series I enjoyed reading.

The new James Bond video-game focused on the character in his younger years, "007 First Light," is getting a lot of glowing reviews. I'd be interested in renting it and (hopefully) having a good time.

"Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," made over 100 million dollars in its opening weekend, but that is also the smallest opening ever for a Star Wars flick. Hence, people who love Star Wars can say how it is still a huge success with all that cash and those who hate Star Wars can say it is somehow a flop. Honestly, sometimes Star Wars fans equally love and hate the whole franchise.

Uber spent a lot of money on AI tech for various purposes and even the CEO isn't sure there was much cost-effectiveness despite how some folk swear by ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini to a surreal degree. I find AI handy for doing some math or figuring out the name of song I vaguely recall the lyrics for, but I wouldn't trust it with the success of my megacorporation.

Finally, I was sad to see the end of, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." It was hilarious he popped-up a day later on Michigan Public Access and CBS is apparently already trying to ignore the fact he ever existed at their network. Honestly, with his show gone and the unending rumors of Gayle King being fired or demoted in the future, I could have basically zero reason to even watch CBS until the premiere of, "Big Brother," in July. I hope whatever gig Colbert lands in the future he find happiness!

Robert Kirman and Friends Announce, "Terminal," from Skybound

Robert Kirkman is a notable name at Image and the head of its imprint, Skybound. When he announces a new comic it tends to be a big deal because while some have gotten barely any buzz ("Firepower"), others have been huge hits that spawned multimedia empires ("The Walking Dead," "Invincible," and such). Therefore, it is newsworthy that Kirkman and a number of talents are bringing us, "Terminal," this Summer. It involves, "There is a secret war being waged across the world by two violent forces with superhuman abilities who blur the lines between good and evil. When Marilyn Howe’s search for her missing sister Alessandra puts her in the center of this conflict, she’ll learn that the power to save the world comes from unlocking your genetic code and giving up everything you thought you knew about yourself…if you survive the experience." Sounds fun!

Kirman and Joe Casey will be co-writing this new series with Andy Kubert, David Finch, and Arthur Adams on art, plus colorist Dave McCaig, and letterer Rus Wooten.  That's an impressive lineup, and the first issue is set to hit shops this July with this mash-up of ideas evoking, "Invincible," and, "X-Men," in a new Universe. Oh, and yes, there will be blind bag variant covers because you know that trend has turned into a metaphorical dead horse the industry can't stop beating. Kirkman knows how to write a good comic, blind bag or not, and Joe Casey does too. Plus, with such artistic talent involved, I imagine whether this becomes a hit or is, "Just," a lovely read, it'll be fun.