Bleeding Hearts #2
(W) Deniz Camp (A) Stipan Morian
THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT FROM DENIZ CAMP, WRITER OF ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER!
A world overrun by flesh-eating zombies is the only world young Rabbit has ever known… and her mother, Cara, has done everything she can to get her ready to survive in it. But she never expected to meet a zombie who seemed to want to help her with this goal!
Start February with a curated bundle of adult-themed titles from Vertigo by DC Comics! Dive into deep thinking and hard-hitting themes like V for Vendetta: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition and Ex Machina: Book One that don’t dance around the sexuality, addiction, profanity, and horrific brutality of real life. Get all the amazing writing, character development, and art direction you know and expect from DC Comics—all for a price you choose. Pay what you want and help support The BINC Foundation with your purchase!
The titles in this bundle are available through Neon Ichiban. To access the content, create or log in to your Neon Ichiban account. Specific titles called out above are available for highest purchase tier, not all titles are included in lower tiers.
The Nice House by the Sea #8
(W) James Tynion IV (A) Álvaro Martínez Bueno
THE HOUSE, INVADED! The invasion of the Nice House on the Lake has begun! Shots have been fired, the walls have been breached… and for some reason, the stars have gone missing from the night sky…
Bleeding Hearts #1, the chilling new comic book series from DC Vertigo by Deniz Camp, Stipan Morian and Matt Hollingsworth has prompted DC to send the issue back to press for a Second Printing. A Second Printing of Bleeding Hearts #1 is now underway, ensuring continued availability as more readers discover the series. The Second Printing will arrive in stores on March 18.
In Bleeding Hearts, DC Vertigo returns to the kind of intimate, character-driven horror that defined some of its most memorable titles. The series follows two damaged souls bound by a shared trauma they cannot outrun, drawing them into a slow-burn descent where love, obsession, and monstrosity blur together. As their lives unravel, the story exposes the terrifying truths people hide behind their closest relationships, delivering a haunting, atmospheric debut that lingers long after the final page.
Fans can find the first printing ofBleeding Hearts #1 on shelves now, while supplies remain available, and are encouraged to reach out to their local comic book shops to add the series and the upcomingBleeding Hearts #1 Second Printing to their pull list so they do not miss what comes next after that jaw-dropping final page of Bleeding Hearts #1. As more readers discover the series and anticipation builds for Bleeding Hearts #2 on March 11, momentum will continue to build. Don’t lose your head (or anything vital) as you rush to jump into this new DC Vertigo series!
Bleeding Hearts #1 Second Printing will feature the original main cover art by Stipan Morian, updated with new logo coloring for this edition. DC Vertigo will also offer a Second Printing variant cover, presenting an inks-only version of Nick Dragotta’s variant artwork from the first printing.
End of Life #1, the sharp-edged new thriller from DC Vertigo by Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh, is being sent back to press for a Second Printing. The Second Printing will arrive in stores on April 15, 2026. End of Life #2 arrives to shops on March 18.
Eddie Stallion, a man-child hitman with very grown-up problems, makes a catastrophic mistake when he accidentally robs the Raven, a high‑ranking boss in the Menagerie assassin cabal. With a price on his head, he retreats to the last place anyone would look: Pluto, the small Midwestern town he once fled and where his estranged father is now dying. Instead of safety, Eddie runs straight into old friends eager to claim the bounty, Menagerie killers closing in, a cancelled newspaper‑strip creator turned local crime lord, and the childhood first love he never got over. As he’s pulled back into the town he abandoned, Eddie has no choice but to clean up the mess he’s made… the only way a hitman knows how.
End of Life #1 Second Printing will feature the original main cover art by Gerald Parel, updated with new logo coloring for this edition. DC Vertigo will also offer a Second Printing variant cover, featuring an inks-only version of Rafa Sandoval’s variant cover from the first printing:
The Peril of the Brutal Dark #1 reads like a prologue and first chapter of a series thriller starring a protagonist with a three syllable name like Jack Reacher, Alex Cross, or in this case, Ezra Cain. Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips show Cain in action, set up a tantalizing MacGuffin, and probably the best part of this comic is its setting during the early days of World War II as Americans scramble to join the European war effort against Hitler, Mussolini, and Imperial Japan. On a micro-level, some of the scenes in The Peril of the Brutal Dark don’t really flow well, but by the time, Cain is meeting with a museum curator connected to his past as an anthropology student and especially when you reach the final page cliffhanger, the book remembers it’s a damn good crime yarn.
I’ll lead with the shortcomings. The cold open The Peril of the Brutal Dark takes place on the Greek isle of Lemnos where a mysterious group of men discover the anvil of Hephaestus featuring Indiana Jones style traps and a heavy red veil of mystery. I like the purposeful vagueness, and that Condon uses actual Greek words in his script, but the fight with the automatons is anticlimactic as the men flash some flame and the statues stand stiff. There’s no peril or suspense, and it just ends up being a fetch quest that connects to the book’s present day plot. Or I could be wrong, and these automatons’ activities could be vital to the overarching story. Let’s just say that I have a feeling that The Peril of the Brutal Dark will read better in trade paperback.
My other issue with The Peril of the Brutal Dark #1 is how one-dimensional its protagonist seems in the action scene where he tries to retrieve a briefcase and get paid. Later, through conversations with police officers, other citizens, and some press clippings on the last few pages, we learn that Ezra Cain is a community man, who is willing to go the extra mile that the police won’t even if that means using his gun. But this scene is just a basic shoot ’em up like something out of Grand Theft Auto. (Hell, I felt like I had a better handle on the characters in L.A. Noire before the shooting started so that’s why I didn’t use that reference.) Phillips is also better at drawing static and establishing scenes than fast moving action as he and Condon introduce new characters and figures will nilly before ending up with a bloodstained suitcase. Jacob Phillips’ color palettes are vibrant and emotion evoking from the reds of the discovery of Hephaestus’ anvil to the yellow lowlights of Cain’s office when something suspicious about to happen.
That being said, I would say that I liked The Peril of the Brutal Dark as a comic although it isn’t one of the best crime comics I’ve read recently. It combines noir elements with pulp adventure fiction, and Chris Condon has a good handle on the class, race, and political dynamics of the time period. There are elements of codeswitching in Ezra Cain’s behavior from playfulness with cops to wary intelligence with the museum creator and finally open love and protection with a character that appears towards the end of the book. Early on, he looks like a generic white guy, but once we get to see him in action and especially conversation, he seems like an interesting enough fellow to follow down a Greek mythology conspiracy rabbit hole.
Although, it features whispers of a labyrinth of conflict and violence and one and is centered around a genuinely cool artifact, The Peril of the Brutal Dark isn’t a knock it out of the park first issue, both storywise and visually. However, it finds its sea legs in the third act, and the cliffhanger and supplemental material are what make it a “Read” and not a “Pass” for me. I personally am giving issue two a shot, but if you’re not a big crime comic person, it might be worth sitting this one out or waiting for the trade.
Story: Chris Condon Art: Jacob Phillips Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 6.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.8 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Professional hitman Eddie Stallion has messed up. He’s accidentally robbed the Raven, a high-ranking boss of the international cabal of assassins the Menagerie, of which Eddie is a member…or he was. Now with a price on his head, Eddie chooses to hide in the one place everyone knows he’d never go…the small midwestern town of Pluto, home of his estranged father and known hard-ass George Stallion. Looking for safe harbor, Eddie instead finds his resentful father dying of cancer, old friends looking to collect that bounty, Menagerie assassins who have wandered into town, a cancelled newspaper comic-strip creator turned local crime lord, and oh yeah, his childhood first love, too. Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh, the team behind Peacemaker Tries Hard!, present the story of a man-child assassin with some very grown-up problems. As Eddie grows more attached to the people of Pluto, he’ll have to step in to solve those problems the only way a hitman knows how!
Story: Kyle Starks
Art: Steve Pugh
Color: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Becca Carey
Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
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The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1
(W) Chris Condon (A) Jacob Phillips
New York City, 1941. Ezra Cain is a private investigator with a reputation for taking it on the chin if it means solving a case. But it’s his former life as an archaeology student that makes him the only man to track down an artifact that’s gone missing from the Museum of Natural History… an ancient anvil said to hold the power of the Greek god Hephaestus. If someone could harness that power, they could bend nations to their will. Science fiction quickly becomes Cain’s reality when a shadowy sect calling themselves the Brutal Dark appears in the city wielding resources that defy human logic. Now Ezra is the only thing that stands between them and their plot to overthrow America!
Writer Chris Condon and artist Jacob Phillips, creators of the hit series That Texas Blood and The Enfield Gang Massacre , introduce us to a private eye whose business is exposing our deepest secrets… but on this job, he’ll learn that some mysteries are better off buried!
Vertigo is back! After the announcement of its return last year, the first titles of DC’s relaunched Vertigo line have started to hit shelves. During ComicsPRO 2026, DC gave an update on the rollout.
Following the successful launch of Bleeding Hearts, End of Life, and The Nice House by the Sea—with The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery launching February 25—DC shared updates on the forthcoming slate of DC Vertigo titles arriving throughout 2026.
Beginning this summer, Vertigo will publish 100 Bullets: The US of ANGER and Fanatic, followed in the fall by Necretatious and Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy.
Winter 2026 will see the arrival of The Crying Doll and A Walking Shadow, rounding out the imprint’s first full year of its return.
As revealed during New York Comic Con 2025:
Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.
These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.
Logan
Spider-Man Noir #5 (Marvel) – Erik Larsen, Andrea Broccardo, and Rachelle Rosenberg mix a little bit of Clone saga and a Spider-Man “No More” with a lot of Nazi punching and the pulpy action that is Spider-Man Noir’s signature in the final issue of this miniseries. This could very well be the *last* Spider-Man Noir story as Larsen and Broccardo show the cost that Peter Parker’s alter ego has taken on both his relationships and life in general as he’s caught in the crossfire between Nazis and old school American gangsters. I love the level of maturity that Erik Larsen writes Peter and Gwen’s relationship with as she struggles with the father who she worshiped and idolized being a Nazi. Maybe, Peter Parker will live a relatively quiet life as a 1930s P.I., but a final panel leaves the door open for more masked man adventures. Overall: 8 Verdict: Buy
Die Loaded #4 (Image) – Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans introduce a new party member in Die Loaded #4. It’s Chuck’s son, Callum, who is a Fool like his father and probably a bigger one with access to the right wing landscapes of online gaming and anime porn as Sophie resignedly observes. Sophie must balance trying to put Callum in his place and getting the quest started and realizing that one day her son, Stuart, will be a teenager and hopefully won’t be like this misogynist. It’s really fun watching Sophie grow into the role of Godbinder and interface with the world of Die while Gillen and Hans take potshots at Chosen One tropes and Gen Z. There’s a frosted glass flashback that particularly shows her growth as a leader as the new quest begins. Overall: 8.6 Verdict: Buy
Bleeding Hearts #1 (DC/Vertigo) – Vertigo is back with a bang thanks to the reunion of 20th Century Men‘s Deniz Camp and Stipan Morian on the tale of sensitive, ethical zombie Poke in a world that is very much the opposite. Usually, mindless cannon fodder, Camp and Morian humanize the living dead while not giving them the Warm Bodies relationship and much of this issue is dedicated to world-building and a worm’s eye view of zombie society, how their names are constructed, and different cliques and relationships. Fititng the tone of the story, Morian and colorist Matt Hollingsworth’s visuals are gruesome, yet lovable like its protagonist Poke, who is easy to latch onto in a very deep, tortured everyzombie way. Overall: 8.5 Verdict: Buy
The Crown: A Tale of Hell #1 (Dark Horse) – Brother writers Mike and Todd Mignola and artist Warwick Johnson-Cadwell craft a tale of sibling rivalry and literally hellish political wrangling centuries before Hellboy’s birth. It’s a rare peek at the twisted destiny Hellboy was born into and rejected to become a hero. I love how Johnson-Cadwell draws his figures like chess pieces on a board while still imbuing them with a physicality that drives home their arguments about who is worthy to wear the titular crown. However, The Crown #1 isn’t all bitching and moaning, but has some juicy twists towards the end. Let’s say Hellboy had more siblings than two. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy
Star Wars: Jar Jar #1 (Marvel) – Jar Jar Binks (and Beq) actor Ahmed Best, Marc Guggenheim and artists Kieran McKeown, Laura Braga, and Mike Atiyeh complete the Jar Jar redemption in this engaging and socially relevant one-shot. Best and Guggenheim use the metaphor of the mining planet Urubai and the caste of the Unseen to draw attention to the plight of exploited workers like cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s all filtered through a pulpy lens, but it’s in the same vein as the Andor television show or the Rebel Alliance being a stand-in for South Vietnam’s National Liberation Front. There’s definitely some silly moments, and Ahmed Best and Marc Guggenheim have Jar Jar’s speaking patterns down to a tee, but it’s offset by showcasing him as a complex figure whose innocence was preyed upon by powerful interests. It’s cool to see Jar Jar, Beq, and Mira Bridger push back against the moment in Episode II that made Jar Jar such a despised character. Also, a cameo from badass bounty hunter Aura Sing doesn’t hurt either. Even if your opinions about Jar Jar Binks have stayed static since 1999, this is the comic to change your mind. Overall: 9.7 Verdict: Buy
