Death is coming for Theo Belmont. As the heir to the throne, all of England has its eyes on him, and the pressure is enough to drive any sober man to the bottle. But it’s not the drink Theo is drowning in — it’s the shadow of something far more evil, something that’s about to take full control of the crown, and then, the world.
That is, until Buckingham Palace calls in a favor. Father Reid has come to London to end the Belmont Curse!
Theo Belmont is being dragged under — by the pressures of assuming the throne, an escalating addiction, and the all-consuming darkness of the curse that has haunted his family for generations.
As his grip on reality loosens, blackout periods now taking place at regular intervals, Theo can’t help but wonder if the political pressure is costing him his mind… just as it cost his mother hers. If he’s going to escape his inner demons, he’ll need to place his trust in a greater power. A power like the president of the United States of America.
A new terror has possessed the comic book industry. Just a week after its release, IDW Publishing’s The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 has sold out at the distributor level and a second print is being rushed to ensure it arrives the same day as the second issue (April 29), giving fans an easy opportunity to get both issues at once.
From series creator and horror superstar writer Hannah Rose May and the terrifyingly talented artist Kelsey Ramsay, the chilling demonic tale torments London’s royal residence while uncovering the spine-tingling truth behind the family’s curse.
The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 second printing – featuring new cover by Damien Worm – goes on sale April 29, the same day as The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #2.
First, it was America…now, England. It’s 5:00 a.m. at 10 Downing Street. The prime minister gets a call that bolts him upright out of bed: The royal family has been lost at sea. Parliament and Buckingham Palace explode with action in the aftermath. Some suspect the prince and his wife, the princess, were attacked. Others whisper their tragedy was the result of a long-standing family curse…Either way, playboy and recovering addict Theo Belmont is next in line to the throne. Can he step up to the role? Or will he be consumed by his demons? The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 is a tense debut full of emotion and mystery.
Written by Hannah Rose May, The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 is a fantastic debut that’ll keep you guessing as to what’s going on. At its surface level, the story involves the mysterious disappearance and fallout of some of the royal family. Did they vanish due to a curse or was another nation involved? That alone could drive a series, with a focus on an investigation and the political impact of the event. But, May dives deeper focusing on the next in line to the throne and a past that haunts him.
The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 explores trauma and addiction as Theo Belmont fights to stay sober while also clearly uneasy about his royal lineage. But, the crown that weighs is forced upon him as he’s declared the next in line for the throne and struggles with his addiction that has afflicted other family members. It’s a story of ghosts that haunt but ones of addiction and family trauma.
The comic delivers a perfectly moody look with the art of Kelsey Ramsay. With color by Heather Breckel and lettering by Jodie Troutman, the comic has a haunted style that perfectly captures its ominous feel. I can’t say anything as far as the details of the royals and England, but the comic nails a haunting feel and the visuals add to the tension that builds throughout the issue. The art is perfect for the overall vibe, adding to every emotional moment.
The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 is the type of comic you can enjoy on the surface level or dive deeper in to. It’s a solid debut that’ll suck readers in, leaving them guessing as to where this could go. It’s a fantastic debut that delivers a haunting read as the weather warms up.
From Hannah Rose May (The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Rogues’ Gallery) and Kelsey Ramsay (Moon Dogs, Godzilla: Heist) comes the next installment in the dark series that dared to possess a nation. First, it was America… now, England.
It’s 5:00 a.m. at 10 Downing Street. The prime minister gets a call that bolts him upright out of bed: The royal family has been lost at sea. Parliament and Buckingham Palace explode with action in the aftermath. Some suspect the prince and his wife, the princess, were attacked. Others whisper their tragedy was the result of a long-standing family curse…
Either way, playboy and recovering addict Theo Belmont is next in line to the throne. Can he step up to the role? Or will he be consumed by his demons?
Writer: Van Jensen Artist: Kelsey Ramsay January 13, 2026
What if you could predict when and where Godzilla would appear? What if you knew of the perfect opportunity to pull off the heist of the century?
Jai is a young man who knows two things: A heist needs a good distraction, and there’s no distraction like Godzilla. So, when Jai discovers Godzilla responds to specific energy signals he can send into the atmosphere, he creates the perfect opportunity to stage high-profile heists in the middle of Godzilla attacks. But these heists put Jai on the radar of some very dangerous people—people who want Jai to work with them to pull off the most dangerous job the world has ever seen.
2025 was a hellscape of a year so in my comics reading habits, I fell hard into the “escapism” genre, including a lot of DC Comics. I don’t know if it was residual goodwill from James Gunn’s Superman, or the fact that they hired some of my favorite writers and artists, but I enjoyed so many books from the company formerly known as National Comics this past year. I also fully embraced the one-shot format this year, and honestly, the majority of this favorite comics list could have been made up of one-shots. I’ve always been a pop single girlie (And even purchased CD singles once upon a time) so it’s natural that I would enjoy this kind of thing in comics whether it’s Archie meeting my favorite stoners from the View Askewniverse, a glorious intercompany crossover between Thor and Shazam, or the singular book that topped this list.
There’s something rewarding about struggling with a comic early on, but eventually embracing and having it become one of your favorites. That describes my relationship with Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijingaard‘s The Power Fantasy to a tee. I always enjoyed Wijingaard’s approach to fashion, layout, and color palette, but the book’s narrative started to draw me in during year two as he and Gillen toppled dominoes and showed just how frightening a world with godlike heroes could be. This concept has been explored in more juvenile ways in the past (I won’t name any names). However, Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijingaard take more of a premium cable anti-hero approach in The Power Fantasy that is quite riveting and prioritize ethics and relationships over punching although this book had its fair share of pyrotechnics in 2025.
Writer Aaron Reese sadly passed away in January 2025, but they left us with a lasting legacy of Bytchcraft, a magical and fiercely queer series about a coven of witches in New York battling the apocalypse. Reese and artist Lema Carril crafted a world with a fascinating cosmology and magic system that definitely had Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, or Supernatural vibes, but its cast didn’t resemble the contents of a Duke’s Mayo bottle. Also, Carril’s eye for fashion made the characters some of the best-dressed in comics to go with a flashy color palette from Bex Glendining. Above all, Bytchcraft is a call to be queer and do magick, and I will clutch to it in the coming years.
A tense smash and grab job under the nose of a kaiju attack is one of the coolest concepts I’ve heard in a while, and Van Jensen and Kelsey Ramsay pull it off in their Godzilla : Heist miniseries with style, grace, and social commentary. Genre blends are tough to do, but Ramsay’s line art and Heather Breckel’s colors know when to go for gritty urban crime mode or pull it back for the big monster reveal. Plotwise, there’s plenty of cool gadgets, double crosses, and general mayhem, but it’s all grounded by protagonist Jai, who wants to get back at the British government for being imperialist losers and screwing over his mother. And the King of Monsters ends up being the perfect partner for this vengeance quest.
In its second and unfortunately final year, Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, and Phil Noto’s The Ultimatescontinues to be revolutionary pop art. Camp and Frigeri turn corporate mascots into avatars of resistance infusing them with leftist, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist ideologies while simultaneously making us care about them larger-than-life human beings. The Ultimates also gives each single issues its own unique identity whether that’s a commentary on the school-to-prison pipeline courtesy of Luke Cage, an epic poem set in Asgard, a kung-fu epic, or the wonderful Noto-drawnissues with Doom aka Earth-6160 Reed Richards trying to recreate the Fantastic Four that can be read in five different ways. It’s one of the best Marvel runs in recent memory, and I bittersweetly look forward to seeing how it all wraps and then going back and following the threads Deniz Camp seeded in early issues.
The combination of Hayden Sherman being a layout deity, Jordie Bellaire unleashing a color palette that is part Gothic nightmare and part ancient Greek pottery-inspired, and Kelly Thompson giving Diana a proper heroic-in-the-face-of-darkness character arc made Absolute Wonder Woman one of my favorite reads of 2025. Even the fill-in arcs drawn by Mattia De Iulis and Matias Bergara reveal important information about the cost of Wonder Woman using her abilities and her literally hellish past. But the real highlight is we got an honest to Hera Minotaur/labyrinth plotline featuring the return of some favorites from Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman run as well as Sherman nailing the claustrophobic feel with their visuals. Also, Absolute Zatanna and the end-of-year crossover with Absolute Batman cemented this book as a proper blockbuster title.
Ryan North, Mike Norton, and Ian Herring’sKrypto : The Last Dog of Kryptonwas the one comic in 2025 that made ugly cry. Structured by seasons, Krypto explored tough topics like death and pet abuse in an honest, yet empathetic way and was also filled with a multitude of wholesome moments establishing its protagonist as the ultimate good boy. (Who can sometimes be naughty.) North and Norton drop the Silver Age concept of Krypto being able to talk and instead rely on body language and gestures to move the story forward. He also provides a listening ear and insight into characters like Lex Luthor and Superboy as well as the ordinary folks who cross his paths. Krypto : The Last Dog of Krypton isn’t just *the* definitive Krypto comic, but an evergreen for DC in general.
Al Ewing, Steve Lieber, and Lee Loughridge’s beyond sadly cut short six issue Metamorpho, The Element Manseries (Right before its lead’s triumphant big screen debut.) was the funniest and most clever comic of 2025. On the surface, Metamorpho is a send-up of Silver Age comics with Ewing channeling the late Stan Lee in his omniscient, mock-Beat, fourth wall leaning narration. However, as the series progressed and revealed its Big Bad, Metamorpho revealed itself as a love letter to the weird and wacky side of superhero comics, which is something I feel like DC has over Marvel. (See the Brotherhood of Dada and Brother Power the Geek, for example.) To name a few things, we had a Mod-themed antagonist, a supervillainous skewering of generative AI, and an emotional arc for Simon Stagg’s Neanderthal servant, Java. Finally, this book wouldn’t have succeeded without Lieber’s period-perfect visuals and impeccable comedic timing, especially during the more espionage-tinged issues where he pulls off Jim Steranko-esque layouts without being a weird racist.
3. Flip (First Second)
Cartoonist Ngozi Ukazu puts an original spin on the body swap genre in her graphic novel, Flip. In the book, a Black working class nerdy girl named Chi-Chi swamps bodies with a wealthy white jock named Flip Henderson, who she has a crush on and accidentally asks to the school dance via Power Point in an engaging, embarrassing opening scene. Flip showcases Ukazu’s skills with character acting, and it’s rewarding to slow down and see how Flip and Chi-Chi move differently in each other’s bodies. The story also has poignant commentary on race, class, and mental health, but also fun K-Pop dances and fandom. Seriously, every time Chi-Chi, her friends, and eventually Flip chat about their favorite K-Pop group and their biases, the comic takes on a sparkling energy. In a world of full of division, Flip makes the bold call to empathize with folks, who have different experiences, in an entertaining way.
After a strong launch in 2024, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta,Marcos Martin, Clay Mann, and Jock’sAbsolute Batman reached masterpiece status this year finishing especially strong with the conclusion of the horrific “Abomination” arc and even more horrifying stand-alone story that introduced Absolute Joker. Toxic, working class, and incredibly jacked Batman just works in our day and age, and Snyder and company aren’t afraid to take big swings and put truly original spins on iconic heroes, villains, and all the folks in-between. Reading this comic is like taking both a physical and psychological beating, and there is real power in the punches and moves Dragotta draws and in Martin’s flat colors. And the lobster to this juicy steak of a comic is the Absolute Batman Annual where skilled cartoonists like Daniel Warren Johnson, James Harren, and Meredith McClaren put their own stamp on this grimdark universe and also draw Batman breaking Nazis’ limbs and doing cool wrestling moves.
My favorite comic was Adventure Time : The Bubbline College Special aka the cutest sapphic romance ever between a STEM princess and a humanities vampire queen. This one-shot from one of the most hilarious cartoonists in the game, Caroline Cash, is a love letter to slow burn romances, fan fiction, unexpected LGBTQ+ representation in pop culture, and finding someone you connect with even if you start out on the wrong foot. Cash’s color palette revels in the trippy weirdness of the Adventure Time universe while still making room for tender glances and shoulder brushes. It hits the right balance between indie and mainstream, which is about perfect for my own personal comics-enjoying aesthetic.
Honorable mentions: Giant-Size Criminal (Image), Street Sharks (Oni Press), Exquisite Corpses (Image), DC x Sonic the Hedgehog (DC/IDW), Thor/Shazam (Marvel/DC)
Don’t read these comics before going to sleep. From silent terrors to sinister hauntings, IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW Dark is expanding with four new comic book series that are guaranteed to slither under your skin and give you nightmares. Coming in 2026 are: Smile, A Quiet Place, Operation: Iron Coffin, and The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace.
Unleashing psychological supernatural scares in comic shops next February is Smile: For the Camera #1. From horror writer Hannah Rose May and artist Miriana Puglia, the frightening tale brings readers back to the year 2005 to follow a group of international models as they kick off Fashion Month in New York. They’re dying to smile for the camera, but paranoia quickly creeps in as the mysterious Smile Entity begins to stalk the group.
Invading comic stores next March is A Quiet Place: Storm Warning #1from the blockbuster creative duo of writer and layout artist Phil Hester and artist Ryan Kelly. As spine-chilling creatures create chaos around the globe and slaughter anything that makes a sound, a small island town in the midwest will struggle to survive in silence as the ferocious and seemingly unstoppable extraterrestrial terrors lurk all around them.
Spooking shops next March is The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace#1, the sequel to the hit IDW original horror series The Exorcism at 1600 Penn. Writer Hannah Rose May returns to craft a new demonic saga and is joined by artist Kelsey Ramsay to torment London’s royal residence and reveal its shocking family curse.
Crashing into comic shops next July is Operation: Iron Coffin #1, a new IDW original horror from writer Kenny Porter and artist Tyrell Cannon. Based on Dracula by Bram Stoker, this action-packed thriller transports readers to World War II as a British bomber drops an iron coffin onto a heavily fortified Nazi train full of superweapons. Dracula emerges, ready to tear through hordes of enemies and stop Hitler from creating an army of vampires to win the war.
Story: Jack Mulqueen Artists (in order of appearance) : Len Gogou, Kelsey Ramsay, Marianna Ignazzi, Filya Bratyukhin, Nil Vendrell, David Still, Abylay Kussainov, Brian Level, Edison Neo, Artyom Toppling, Liana Kangas, Paul Azaceta, Amalas Rosas, Marc Garreta Colorists: Kurt Michael Russell, Jason Wordie, Michael Woods, Jason Finestone Cover Art: Adam Gorham Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou Design: Joe Stone Purchase
A 46-page one-shot occurring over one wild night (and morning) in New York City.
(W) Van Jensen (A) Kelsey Ramsay (CA) Bob Eggleton In Shops: Jul 02, 2025 SRP: $4.99
The crew made it to London, infiltrated the base, dealt with the double-crossers, and stole Mechagodzilla! Now, all they have to do is get this 200-foot mechanical monstrosity out of London… and avoid the King of the Monsters as they do it. Unfortunately for them, Godzilla is already angry, and nothing gets it worked up more than an artificial imposter. What began as a heist will end as the fight of the century.
