Years have passed since Samantha Strong left Woodbrook, but her legend has only grown. Now that the cat is out of the bag, more and more horrific murders have been tied back to her. Some are her doing…others mere folklore…but all absolutely gripping stories featuring everyone’s favorite cuddly serial killer. Gather around the campfire on Halloween night with some of the best creators working today and listen as the citizens of Woodbrook spill the beans on Samantha Strong’s most terrifying deeds.
Story: Patrick Horvath, Che Grayson, Jared Cullum, Tony Fleecs, James Tynion IV Art: Patrick Horvath, Matt Emmons, Jared Cullum, Dave Wachter, Tyler Boss Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Jared Cullum
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Halloween Special #1
(W) Patrick Horvath, James Tynion IV, Tony Fleecs, Che Grayson, Jared Cullum (A) Patrick Horvath, Tyler Boss, Dave Wachter, Matt Emmons, Jared Cullum
Patrick Horvath joins forces with James Tynion IV, Tony Fleecs, Dave Wachter, Che Grayson, Jared Cullum, and more for an original one-shot set in the world of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees!
Years have passed since Samantha Strong left Woodbrook, but her legend has only grown. Now that the cat is out of the bag, more and more horrific murders have been tied back to her. Some are her doing… others mere folklore… but all absolutely gripping stories featuring everyone’s favorite cuddly serial killer. Gather around the campfire on Halloween night with some of the best creators working today and listen as the citizens of Woodbrook spill the beans on Samantha Strong’s most terrifying deeds.
Dark Horse Comics and Dogu Publishing offer fans of the legendary rabbit ronin a winter special unlike anything before. The Usagi Yojimbo Winter Special One-Shotis a collection of three all-new stories from three creative teams including Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai and colorist Emi Fujii, Chibi Usagi creatorJulie Sakai,and the creative team behind Usagi Yojimbo: Kaitō ’84,Zack Rosenberg and Jared Cullum. These three stories arrive in January 2027.
While learning to shape decorative Dorodango spheres according to ancient tradition, Usagi learns a lesson about patience, practice, and purpose, a reminder that simple beauty can take a lifetime to perfect.
For Kaitō and Yu, the holidays deliver more than they bargained for when an orphanage’s Christmas Eve dinner is hijacked by a local street gang. It’s a high-speed, high-calorie chase through the snowy streets of Osaka that leads to a messy conclusion.
Elsewhere, chibi woodcutters struggle to prepare for the New Year celebration dinner. But one snowy night, an act of kindness leads to an extraordinary surprise.
Celebrate the many shapes the legends and stories of Usagi take in Usagi Yojimbo Winter Special One-Shot when the comic arrives in comic shops on January 27, 2027, for $5.99.
Stunning watercolor artwork, a headstrong young girl, and a huge bear with a gentle heart — all return for an emotional new adventure in this stunning sequel!
After being reunited, Katya and Kodi are settling into their fast-paced new life together in the city. But as Katya starts to fall behind in school and Kodi struggles to find his place in this noisy new world, everything is put at risk by a greedy zookeeper who aims to break them up for good. Now, Katya and her unusual family must venture back into the wild, face their fears, and learn to trust new friends, as they fight to find a place to belong.
In Kodi 2, painter/cartoonist Jared Cullum returns to his award-winning graphic novel series for an incredible new adventure, full of gorgeous outdoor vistas, amazing animals, lovable and hateable new characters, roaring rivers, thrilling dangers, and tender moments.
Top Shelf provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
The gorgeous story of two friends separated by everything in the world — except love. Readers and animal-lovers of every age will want to relive this journey over and over again.
Katya and her Meema are spending another summer at their cottage in Alaska, when a chance accident leaves Katya face-to-face with the biggest creature she’s ever seen… an enormous kodiak bear with a gentle heart and a knack for fishing. But when Katya must suddenly return home to Seattle, the two are torn apart, leaving Kodi to do whatever it takes to reunite with his fragile human friend. It’s a wild journey packed with breathtaking views, brave new companions, and adventure around every turn.
Top Shelf provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Stunning watercolor artwork, a headstrong young girl, and a huge bear with a gentle heart — all return for an emotional new adventure in this stunning sequel!
After being reunited, Katya and Kodi are settling into their fast-paced new life together in the city. But as Katya starts to fall behind in school and Kodi struggles to find his place in this noisy new world, everything is put at risk by a greedy zookeeper who aims to break them up for good. Now, Katya and her unusual family must venture back into the wild, face their fears, and learn to trust new friends, as they fight to find a place to belong.
The final showdown is here! It’s Kaito’s crew versus the reborn demon Jei in a climactic battle across the rooftops of Osaka Castle. But even if they win, can an ancient evil be truly defeated? In the thrilling conclusion to Kait?’s first adventure, victory leads to an impossible choice, and a horrifying twist reveals that evil isn’t gone . . . it’s just getting started.
Story: Zack Rosenberg, Jared Cullum Script: Zack Rosenberg Art: Jared Cullum Letterer: Jared Cullum
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.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Writer: Zack Rosenberg Artist: Jared Cullum Cover artist: Zack Rosenberg · Jared Cullum
The final showdown is here! It’s Kaitō’s crew versus the reborn demon Jei in a climactic battle across the rooftops of Osaka Castle. But even if they win, can an ancient evil be truly defeated? In the thrilling conclusion to Kaitō’s first adventure, victory leads to an impossible choice, and a horrifying twist reveals that evil isn’t gone . . . it’s just getting started.
What happens when two friends get separated by everything in the world…except love! Top Shelf Productions brings this gorgeous story to life in Kodi (Book 2): A Place to Call Home available September 1, 2026. In Kodi 2, painter/cartoonist Jared Cullum returns to his award-winning graphic novel series for an incredible new adventure, full of gorgeous outdoor vistas, amazing animals, lovable and hateable new characters, roaring rivers, thrilling dangers, and tender moments. Readers and animal-lovers of every age will want to relive this journey over and over again.
After being reunited, Katya and Kodi are settling into their fast-paced new life together in the city. But as Katya starts to fall behind in school and Kodi struggles to find his place in this noisy new world, everything is put at risk by a greedy zookeeper who aims to break them up for good. Now, Katya and her unusual family must venture back into the wild, face their fears, and learn to trust new friends, as they fight to find a place to belong.
Kodi: A Place to Call Homewill be available wherever books are sold, as a full-color softcover graphic novel (ISBN: 978-1-60309-595-2) as well as a digital edition, on September 1, 2026, for a list price of $19.99.
Small Press Expo has announced the first group of Special Guests for SPX 2026. The show takes place on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, with programming and workshops about the amazing world of independent comics as well as an exhibitor floor featuring over 450 creators.
Additional Special Guests will be announced over the next few weeks.
SPX 2026 is honored to have the following creators as Special Guests to this year’s show:
Lisa Hanawalt
I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sexmarks the long-awaited return of Tuca & Bertie creator and BoJack Horseman producer/production designer Lisa Hanawalt to comics. This is the honest, silly, horny and vulnerable memoir of a horse girl, now in her forties and reflecting back on a lifetime of obsessions.
Whether Hanawalt is confronting large life issues like whether or not to have kids, being an anxious lil freak, caring for a sick horse, revisiting childhood trauma, or dealing with a major breakup and the ensuing lustfulness—she delivers a reading experience that’s relatable, affirming, and almost always hilarious. In lush colors and kinetic lines, she charts the strange terrain of life, one bumpy, dusty horseback ride at a time.
Julia Wertz
Julia Wertz is thrilled to be coming back to SPX after over a decade of absence. The last time she attended, she was single, urban-exploring dirtbag living in NYC and she’s returning this year as a married mother living in California, but probably still kind of a dirtbag. She’ll be selling/signing copies of her newest book Bury Me Already (It’s Nice Down Here) as well as some of her older books. And maybe some hats. Come say hi!
Peter Bagge
We are so excited to announce that Peter Bagge is a special guest at SPX 2026! He is is one of the primary architects of the alternative comics genre that exploded in the 1980s and 1990s. His bestselling comic series, Hate, is arguably the Great American Grunge novel. Part screwball comedy, part soap opera, part loose autobiography, Hate is an enduring chronicle of the 1990s as well as riotously relatable to anyone bumbling through their twenties.
Frederick Nolan
Frederick Nolan is the auther of Major Taylor: The World’s Fastest Man from Drawn & Quarterly. Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor, a Black man who was one of the greatest American athletes of the early 20th century. Taylor was born in 1878 in Indianapolis and came of age during the height of the Jim Crow era, facing racism at every turn.
Cartoonist Frederick Noland is a cyclist himself and in this epic biography of America’s first Black world champion, he thrills in the records Taylor broke and the adoring public he found across around the world. Noland documents how racism inflected Black life in the post Civil War era: cyclists would collude to injure Taylor, and he faced segregationist policies even in liberal cities such as San Francisco.
Jared Cullum
Jared Cullum is a Reuben Award (Best Graphic Novel) winning | 2-time Eisner Comic Industry Award nominated Author-Cartoonist and traditional painter of things. He’s best known for his award winning graphic novel series, Kodi, and work on the spin off series Usagi Yojimbo: Kaito ’84. Top Shelf is proud to present the sequel, Kodi 2: A Place to Call Home at SPX where Jared will be signing and showing original hand-painted watercolor and gouache pages.
