The Comic Source Podcast

Jace and Rocky break down all 9 DC releases for the week of September 9, 2026. Clayface: Celebrity Dirt #3 deepens the mystery around the two Basil Karlos, with Rocky praising the timely body-horror angle behind Lossomix while Jace finds the dual identities increasingly difficult to track. In Supergirl #17, Kara begins to understand Ursa's desire to save Krypton, while the time-travel mechanics leave Jace questioning how much damage their very presence in the past may cause. Action Comics #1102 pushes the dilemma further as Ursa tries to convince a younger Zod that Jor-El was right, while Kara wrestles with whether saving Krypton—and billions of lives—could erase Superman and all the good he would do. Batman and Robin: Year One — Dynamic Duos Chapter Two leans into Dick Grayson's banter with Alfred and his undercover infiltration of the juvenile gang, building toward an initiation that puts Catwoman directly in his path. Emperor Aquaman #21 sees Aquaman's enemies overwhelm his allies in Atlantis while his disrupted return through the Blue brings him unexpectedly face-to-face with the avatars of the Red and the Green, Maxine Baker and Swamp Thing. Barbara Gordon: Breakout #5 continues to improve, but both hosts remain unconvinced by Barbara's original undercover-prison plan as the mission to protect Vandal Savage's enemies continues to unravel. Green Lantern Corps #20 juggles shore leave, the returning Darkstars, Katma's unexpected connection to them and Guy Gardner's search for the Predator while continuing to add depth to Guy beyond his old macho stereotype. Fury of Firestorm #6 brings Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein to an emotional reckoning as they reunite to stop the Firestorm Matrix, with both hosts responding to the complicated father-son dynamic and the questions raised by the issue's final transformation. Batman: Bad Seeds — Gotham Central #1 gives Jim Gordon real agency in a Batman-free Gotham mystery, while Christopher Cantwell's take on Anarky turns the contradictions in his anti-system worldview into a compelling part of the character rather than a weakness. Jace and Rocky also cover this week's collected editions before ranking all 9 books and revealing their Books of the Week.
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00:00 Intro / Firestorm News & Opening Discussion
09:32 Clayface: Celebrity Dirt #3
20:55 Supergirl #17 — Kingdom of Zod Part 5
37:30 Action Comics #1102 — Kingdom of Zod Part 6
59:06 Batman and Robin: Year One — Dynamic Duos Chapter Two
1:03:25 Emperor Aquaman #21
1:16:13 Barbara Gordon: Breakout #5
1:21:43 Green Lantern Corps #20
1:35:18 Fury of Firestorm #6
1:50:28 Batman: Bad Seeds — Gotham Central #1
2:04:37 Collected Editions
2:06:28 Rankings & Books of the Week

Jace catches up with Patrick Horvath at San Diego Comic-Con to talk about how Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees unexpectedly transformed his career and where Samantha Strong goes next. Patrick reflects on the runaway success of the series, using Samantha's story to process different periods of his own life, and the surreal experience of seeing Samantha enter the wider comics world. He also discusses growing as a sequential storyteller, collaborating with creators whose work he has admired for years, and stretching new creative muscles with Archie in Hell. Finally, Patrick gives an early tease of Samantha Strong's third story, which jumps ahead another ten years and explores a world fascinated by her crimes through law enforcement, true crime and a disturbing kind of fandom. Follow The Comic Source on all social media with our Linktree - https://linktr.ee/thecomicsource Patrick Horvath: PatrickHorvath.com

Jace sits down at San Diego Comic-Con with writers Susan and Tilly Bridges to talk about Star Trek: Voyager — Homecoming and what it meant to essentially create a new ending for one of Star Trek's most beloved series. Susan and Tilly discuss meeting through Star Trek fan fiction, how their very different personalities shape their writing partnership, why Star Trek's hopeful and inclusive worldview remains fundamental to the franchise, and the challenges marginalized writers still face within the entertainment industry. They also break down the decision to bring Species 8472 back for Homecoming, expanding the species and its culture beyond what Voyager could show on television, the fan response to finally seeing the Voyager crew return home, and why five issues of reunions and hugs probably wasn't going to satisfy IDW. Plus, they talk about writing for Star Trek Adventures, the unpredictable creativity of tabletop players, and their graphic novel Just Another Summer.
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00:00 Voyager's New Ending — Hook
00:08 Meet Susan & Tilly Bridges
00:38 Writing Together as a Married Couple
02:30 Meeting Through Star Trek Fan Fiction
03:28 Hope, Inclusion & What Defines Star Trek
05:55 Being Put in the "Queer Writer" Box
07:42 Why Sci-Fi Can Tell Any Kind of Story
10:24 Giving Voyager One More Roadblock
11:38 Why Species 8472 Was the Perfect Choice
13:00 Expanding Species 8472 & the Creative Process
13:24 Fan Reaction to Voyager: Homecoming
14:33 Writing Star Trek Adventures
16:07 Homecoming Collection & Just Another Summer
17:13 Closing

Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins' LOIS LANE series was acclaimed when it originally released, but rereading it today makes its questions about journalism, truth, power and accountability feel more relevant than ever. Jace is joined by writer Richard Ashley Hamilton, creator of SCOOP, to revisit all 12 issues and examine one major idea from each chapter of the series. They discuss the difference between journalists and investigators, whether the truth should always be published, what keeps reporters honest, the danger of becoming part of the story, maintaining objectivity when a story becomes personal, Lois Lane's relationship with Superman, the series' complicated connections to DC continuity and the multiverse, and what success in journalism actually means when exposing the truth doesn't necessarily lead to justice. Richard also discusses how Greg Rucka influenced his own work on SCOOP, Sophie's evolution as a journalist, and what a dream crossover between Sophie and Lois Lane might look like.
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0:00 Why Lois Lane Feels More Relevant Today
4:31 Issue #1 — Asking the Question
7:27 Issue #2 — Journalist vs. Detective
15:49 Issue #3 — Lois Lane Without Superman
21:18 Issue #4 — Can We Handle the Truth?
28:37 Issue #5 — Who Keeps Journalists Honest?
32:19 Issue #6 — When the Reporter Becomes the Story
38:37 Issue #7 — Knowing Something Isn't Enough
43:11 Issue #8 — Journalism, Celebrity & Superman's Identity
45:24 Issue #9 — Getting Too Close to the Story
46:33 Issue #10 — Lois Lane Meets the Multiverse
50:08 Issue #11 — When the Truth Causes Harm
53:06 Issue #12 — What Does Journalistic Success Mean?
56:09 Scoop, Sophie & the Influence of Lois Lane
61:41 Could Sophie and Lois Lane Work Together?
65:23 Why Asking Questions Still Matters

The biggest comic-industry story of the week centers on serious allegations against Ed Brubaker stemming from the production of Amazon's Criminal, with Jace breaking down what has been alleged, what is actually known, and why judgment needs to wait for more facts. Also this week, Absolute Batman #24 reportedly approaches an extraordinary 487,000 orders as Barbara Gordon becomes The Bat, DC reveals Batman Day 2026, Marvel transforms Inglourious X-Force into Fugitive X-Force, Indiana Jones discovers Marvel artifacts, and Jace looks at Disney's Marvel acquisition 17 years later. Image and Ghost Machine bring updates for Ice Cream Man, Red Roots, Rook: Exodus, Geiger, Creature Corps, the Energon Universe, Spawn 77, Savage Dragon and Crowbound. BAD IDEA adds Seth Green to It Demands Sacrifice, launches Warbird, and unveils new The Detective covers, while Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil, the Soulfire Timeline Omnibus and Netflix's six newly optioned comic properties round out the news. Jace then makes eight What Hit predictions, counts down the Prana Top 10, goes 7-for-8 on last week's predictions, and finishes with Final Order Cutoff—including the highly unusual fact that there are no Marvel single issues on FOC this week. That absence is explicitly called out in the finished recording as something Jace cannot remember seeing before.
 
Prelaunch pledge for Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil - https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/pcb-entertainment/danny-trejo-s-year-of-the-devil/pre-launch
 
Sources:
https://deadline.com/2026/09/ed-brubaker-sued-sex-harassment-criminal-1237067742/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ed-brubaker-amazon-mgm-sued-hostile-work-environment-1236690268/
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/criminal-lawsuit-assistant-sues-ed-brubaker-sexual-harassment-1236851708/
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/absolute-batman-24-gets-487000-orders-what-will-25-get/
https://www.dc.com/blog/2026-09-02/batman-day-2026
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/inglorious-x-force-relaunches-as-fugitive-x-force-with-boom-boom/
https://www.comicsbeat.com/netflix-2026/
https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflix-indie-comic-graphic-novel-adaptations-geiger/
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Hook 0:23 Comic Source Weekly Intro 1:09 Ed Brubaker Sued Over Criminal 6:54 Absolute Batman #24 Hits 487K Orders 8:37 Batman Day 2026 11:39 X-Force Goes Fugitive 12:39 Indiana Jones Finds Marvel Artifacts 13:48 Disney's Marvel Deal Turns 17 16:47 Image & Ghost Machine News 18:40 Rook: Exodus & Geiger 21:29 Creature Corps, Energon Universe & Whatnot 25:05 Savage Dragon & Crowbound 26:36 BAD IDEA News 30:49 Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil 34:11 Soulfire Timeline Omnibus 34:49 Netflix Options Six Comics 36:16 What Hit 41:55 Prana Top 10 Introduction 43:49 Prana Top 10 Countdown 48:51 Prana Summary & What Hit Results 52:15 Final Order Cutoff 59:54 Closing