ComicCollx Weekly — Week of September 21–26, 2026

Q&A and Comics Talk! (9/26/26) | Omnibus | DC Finest | Absolute | Epic Collections | DC Compact — Near Mint Condition (@NearMintCondition)

MON · 2026-09-21

01. Gil Kane's story in Murder Incorporated #1 depicts a real 1926 airplane bombing of gangster Charlie Birger's headquarters in Southern Illinois.

The lead story in Fox Feature Syndicate's Murder Incorporated #1, published in 1948 and drawn by Gil Kane, dramatizes the gang war of Charlie Birger, including an attack on his roadhouse Shady Rest that actually happened on November 12, 1926. A United Press report from the following day described a plane circling the trees before descending, dropping one bomb that exploded about 100 yards away while Birger's men opened fire with machine guns. Two more bombs were dropped but did not explode, and the pilot escaped with no casualties. Authorities suspected a rival Shelton gang member had arranged the attack, and Birger was reportedly considering his own airplane and pilot in retaliation.

Kane's story, titled "The Short Bloody Life of Charlie Birger," weaves this bombing into a broader narrative of gang warfare involving armored cars, fortified hideouts, and the murder of West City, IL mayor Joe Adams. The Illinois Supreme Court's 1928 opinion in People v. Birger describes testimony about a forged message used to lure Adams to his death, matching the comic's depiction. The ending, however, deviates from history: the story dates Birger's execution to October 26, 1927, while the Illinois State Museum records the actual date as April 19, 1928. Another story in the issue, "Hate Blazes a Bloody Trail," acknowledges upfront that names have been changed and events condensed, following a Santa Maria truck driver case that closely parallels the Thomas Hilton case described by the California Supreme Court in 1946.

A CGC FN+ 6.5 copy of Murder Incorporated #1 with cream to off-white pages sold at Heritage's September 24-26, 2026 Comic Books Signature Auction. The CGC census lists 40 Universal copies, with four at 6.5 and 11 graded higher. John Forte provided the cover for this debut issue of a popular Fox pre-Code crime comic that mixed fact and fiction in ways both wild and surprisingly faithful to the source material.

Bleeding Cool →

TUE · 2026-09-22

02. Original Spider-Man: The Animated Series showrunner John Semper Jr. will resolve the 1998 series finale cliffhanger in a new Spider-Man '94 Annual written by him.

Semper's Spider-Man '94 Annual, illustrated by Alessio Cammardella and scheduled for release later this year, will show how Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson finally reunite after the Season 5 finale cliffhanger that aired on January 31, 1998. In that episode, titled "Chapter II: Farewell, Spider-Man," Madame Web promised Spider-Man she would help him find his way back to Mary Jane, and the two took a deep dive into the Multiverse. The annual is set between that finale and the separate five-issue Spider-Man '94 series by J.M. DeMatteis and Jim Towe that Marvel announced last summer, which Semper was not involved with and which does not represent his vision for the series.

Speaking with CBR, Semper confirmed his story builds on ideas and a draft script he had been working on for nearly a decade. He explained that when he ended the series, he was focused on Peter's personal growth in the Joseph Campbell monomyth tradition, and the reunion with Mary Jane was an afterthought—a small door left open in case Fox wanted 13 more episodes. He did not anticipate the trauma the unresolved ending would cause millions of young viewers. The annual is his gift to those fans, giving them the closure they had wanted for years. Semper made it clear, however, that he would love to continue working with these characters beyond this one-shot story.

Bleeding Cool →

WED · 2026-09-23

03. Joshua Cassara, the Marvel artist best known for his work on X-Force and X-Men during the Krakoa era, died on September 22, 2026, from heart complications at age 46.

Cassara's wife Martha announced his death on Instagram on Tuesday, September 22. A self-taught artist who graduated from La Mirada High School in California in 1998, Cassara made his Marvel debut with New Avengers #7 in 2016, written by Al Ewing. He subsequently penciled the 2017 Falcon run by Rodney Barnes, contributed to Jeff Lemire and Kim Jacinto's Sentry miniseries, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's Venom run, and Marvel Comics #1000 in 2019. He was named a Stormbreaker by Marvel in 2020, part of the company's program recognizing their best new artists.

His X-Force run, written by Benjamin Percy, launched as part of the Krakoa era in 2019 and continued through issue #21. He then took on Percy's 2022 crossover X Lives of Wolverine before joining the rotating team of artists on Gerry Duggan's X-Men run, which ended with issue #700 in 2024. He reunited with Percy on the 2025 Deadpool / Wolverine series and contributed covers to X-Force, the 2023 Planet of the Apes series, and interiors for the Marvel 85th Anniversary Special in 2024. In a 2020 Marvel feature, Cassara listed Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X," The 'Nam (1986), Astonishing X-Men (2004-08), and "Old Man Logan" (2008) among his favorite comics from the company.

Cassara is survived by his wife and children. Martha asked that people not share condolences but instead share any happiness he brought through his art, friendship, or brief encounters. Russell Dauterman called Cassara "THE artist of the Krakoa era for me," singling out his big headdress Havok design. Tini Howard recalled giggling on the Dragon Con couches with Josh and Martha, calling him "Krakoa family." Marvel's statement described him as "a gifted artist" who "brought energy, detail and emotion to his work" and "a wonderful friend and collaborator with a kind heart."

The Comics Beat →

THU · 2026-09-24

04. Thirteen publishers reached a settlement with the Diamond estate and Sparkle Pop on September 24, 2026, to recover their consigned inventory, with Sparkle Pop receiving 4% of the inventory or 2% of its wholesale value as payment.

The settlement, filed on Thursday, includes Aspen, Black Mask Studios, DSTLRY, Heavy Metal International, Magnetic Press, Massive Publishing, Oni-Lion Forge Publishing, Panini UK, Alien Books, Graphic Mundi, Titan Publishing Group, Vault Comics, and Dark Horse Comics, collectively known as the "Palik Consignment Group." Unlike a previous settlement involving 14 other publishers, this agreement includes Sparkle Pop—the warehouse operator that controls the physical inventory—avoiding the kind of objection Sparkle Pop filed to the earlier deal. Sparkle Pop will receive either 4% of the inventory or 2% of the wholesale value as payment for picking, packing, and palletizing the inventory.

Under the settlement's terms, if all agreements are approved, the trustee will disburse $308,890 from the Court Registry Escrow to Sparkle Pop and assign the estate's rights to the Palik Consignment Group portion of the SP Escrow ($105,856) to Sparkle Pop as well. Tariff refunds will be split 50/50 between Sparkle Pop and the trustee. Once approved, all adversary proceedings will be dropped, and all claims on the inventory by the trustee and Sparkle Pop will be released. Sparkle Pop will also receive inventory from default judgments against Digital Manga, Net Comics, Valiant, and remaining inventory covered in the Image Comics settlement.

Trustee Morgan W. Fisher described the disputes as "intractable" and pleaded for a global resolution, noting the settlement is intended to work in tandem with the Ad Hoc Consignment Group agreement for which approval was sought on August 5, 2026. The settlement gives Sparkle Pop significant leverage because it controls the physical inventory, and while the Palik group appeared to concede to that reality, the outcome is contingent on approval of the Ad Hoc settlement, which Sparkle Pop has objected to. The inventory at stake is nearly two years old but still worth millions according to the filing, and the publishers sought to avoid liquidation by Sparkle Pop.

The Comics Beat →

FRI · 2026-09-25

05. Lily Renée's Señorita Rio story in Fight Comics #50, published in June 1947, dramatizes a rigged election in a South American republic, drawing on post-WWII concerns about Nazi influence and the U.S. State Department's 1946 Blue Book on Argentina.

In the story, Nazi conspirators led by Herr Obler have imprisoned the sitting president of the fictional Republic of El Greco and are using intimidation and the country's army to install their candidate, Juan Esteban, in power. Señorita Rio is brought in by the American consul to disrupt the coerced vote, eventually freeing President Garcia and ensuring a free and fair election will be held. The plot echoes real post-WWII anxieties about Nazi activity in South America, particularly events in Argentina surrounding the February 24, 1946 election.

In February 1946, the U.S. State Department released its Blue Book on Argentina, alleging Nazi complicity and conspiracy to seize power. A February 9 diplomatic telegram arranged the Blue Book's public release in time to make its contents known before the Argentine election, and Associated Press coverage reached American readers by February 12. The story's Juan Esteban serves as a stand-in for Juan Perón, though the comic takes liberties with history. In a March 7, 1946 telegram, American diplomat John Cabot acknowledged Perón had won through the voters' choice, noting that while "violence and oppression before elections prevented them from being wholly clean, there is no reason to doubt that Perón has been chosen by will of Argentine people." Assuming conventional production timelines, the Fight Comics #50 story was likely created about six months after the election was decided.

A CGC NM 9.4 copy of Fight Comics #50 with off-white pages sold at Heritage's September 24-26, 2026 Comic Books Signature Auction. The CGC census lists 37 Universal certifications, with two at 9.4 and none higher. The issue also features a Tiger Girl story by Matt Baker and a cover by Joe Doolin. As with Gil Kane's Murder Incorporated #1 story earlier in the week, Renée's work demonstrates how Golden Age creators mined recent history and State Department archives to lend their crime and adventure comics a patina of real-world urgency.

Bleeding Cool →

SAT · 2026-09-26

06. Marvel announced a new Jessica Jones: Alias miniseries by original creators Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, launching December 23, 2026, to celebrate the character's 25th anniversary.

The series, with cover art by David Mack, sends the private investigator on what Marvel describes as her "strangest case yet," one that pulls her far beyond her Hell's Kitchen stomping ground and into "the most obscure and bizarre corners of the Marvel Universe." Jessica is looking to return to basics after a turbulent tenure as First Lady of New York, but a simple abduction case drags her into territory where she finds herself "tested like never before." Preview interior pages showcase Gaydos's art style, though the text has not been released.

Jessica Jones first appeared in Alias #1 in November 2001 as part of Marvel's MAX imprint for mature readers. She has since led three ongoing series: Alias, The Pulse, and a titular Jessica Jones book that tied into the Netflix television series. Her comic tenure has included becoming a member of the New Avengers alongside her husband Luke Cage and serving as first lady of New York City after the events of Devil's Reign. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Bendis said Jessica has always been "something very different" in his life, noting that readers see themselves in her and the conversations he has about the character are "the best kind you could ever hope to have with readers." The new series returns her to her roots while positioning her for the next chapter of her story.

CBR →

A Torchic Card From a 2004 Pokémon Set Just Sold for $2.7 Million at Auction, and Only 19 Copies on the Planet Share Its Perfect PSA Grade - CPG Click Oil and Gas — Google News - Pokemon Sales

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