The Comic Source Podcast

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

Jace and Rocky break down all 13 DC releases for the week of September 2, 2026. Batgirl #23 finds Cassandra Cain racing through a Gotham overrun by the Parliament of Trees while badly injured herself, determined to get a poisoned girl to the antidote that can save her life. Rather than advancing the larger Bad Seeds plot, the tie-in keeps the focus on Cassandra and her supporting cast, making the event feel more like the backdrop for a Batgirl story than an interruption of one. Batman #13 has Batman fighting his way through the GCPD to confront Vandal Savage, but the detour into Bad Seeds largely puts Matt Fraction's ongoing Batman story on hold. There are entertaining moments of Batman tearing through corrupt officers and demanding they do better for Gotham, but very little actually happens and the momentum from the previous issue's mystery is left waiting for the crossover to get out of the way. JSA #23 jumps into the largely unexplored years after the Justice Society was forced out of public life, with Wildcat, Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite recruited for a secret Cold War mission behind enemy lines. The period setting and espionage premise immediately feel like a natural fit for the JSA, delivering one of the strongest issues of the run just as the series is approaching its end. 100 Bullets: The U.S. of Anger #3 remains frustratingly difficult to decipher three issues in, even for Rocky as a reader of the original 100 Bullets. The anger and division suggested by the title are certainly present, and the two hate-spewing podcasters provide one of the issue's more recognizable ideas, but neither Jace nor Rocky can determine what Brian Azzarello ultimately wants the story to say. Absolute Green Lantern #18 sees Simon Baz and Agent Zero finally escape the strange space where they have both been trapped and emerge in front of Cameron Chase, who appears to know exactly what has been happening. After eighteen issues of deliberately opaque mythology surrounding the Absolute Spectrum, Manhunters and its different colors and concepts, Chase's promise that "now we get the answers" offers the clearest indication yet that the series may finally start bringing its mysteries together. Absolute Superman #23 brings Superman's relentless pursuit of Brainiac into conflict with Toyman and forces his absolute belief in the sanctity of life into one of its most difficult tests yet. Jason Aaron continues pushing a young Superman who believes he must save absolutely everyone, suggesting that his refusal to accept his own limitations may eventually become as dangerous to him as any villain he faces. Batman/Superman: World's Finest — World's Weirdest #1 pulls Batman and Superman into the wonderfully bizarre world of Weird Al Yankovic in a whimsical story built around a surprisingly sincere message: be yourself, be true to yourself and embrace whatever makes you weird. It's far more fantastical than the type of story Jace usually gravitates toward, but the humor, artwork and genuine Weird Al sensibility make the concept work. Legion of Super-Heroes #1 begins with R.J. Brande's dream of bringing young heroes from across the galaxy together surviving his apparent murder as Brainiac 5 and Matter-Eater Lad investigate what happened to him. Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman reinvent the Legion from the ground up while retaining recognizable pieces of its history, including Lightning Lad's love of ancient Superboy comics, and use the mystery surrounding Brande to begin bringing this new generation together. Supergirl: Survived #4 has Kara and a young Kal-El spending much of the issue discovering what their Kryptonian powers can do beneath a yellow sun before encountering Brainiac 5, who may provide the means to finally continue their journey toward Earth. The story is heavily decompressed, but the relationship between Kara and Kal remains its strength while the increasingly unexpected assortment of DC concepts continues giving the series its own identity. Teen Titans #1 finds Jason Todd's search for a child missing for nine days colliding with a group of young heroes conducting their own investigation into their missing friend. Proximity, Fair Play, Cheshire Cat, Wild Card and Eugene Choi aren't actually a superhero team yet—the name Teen Titans began as little more than their online group chat—but their unlikely connection with Jason creates a distinctly modern starting point for Kyle Higgins' new take on the concept. Deadman #4 sends Boston Brand toward Heaven demanding answers about why the souls he has been helping aren't necessarily destined to stay there, only to receive an unexpected lesson about the value of giving someone even a brief moment of hope. The idea gives Deadman a renewed sense of purpose, but neither Jace nor Rocky feels the philosophical detour has enough to say to justify how far the series has moved from the character they know. Doom Patrol #1 introduces a broke Doom Patrol wandering from place to place taking whatever work they can get, including a seemingly mundane job searching for a missing cat. The bizarre visuals certainly fit the team's reputation for weirdness, but the story offers little sense of direction or connection to the previous Doom Patrol run, leaving both Jace and Rocky disappointed by an opening issue that feels far less interesting than its characters should be. Finally, Superman: The Stranger #1 drops Superman into a Black Label world reminiscent of Depression-era America, delivering a visually striking reinterpretation whose gritty setting immediately distinguishes it from the main DC Universe. The artwork is the issue's greatest strength, while the story itself feels familiar enough that Jace is waiting to see whether Wes Craig can push the concept somewhere more original as the series develops. Jace and Rocky also cover this week's collected editions before ranking all 13 books and revealing their Books of the Week.
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00:00 — Opening / Week Overview 17:09 — Batgirl #23 25:44 — Batman #13 30:39 — JSA #23 37:33 — 100 Bullets: The U.S. of Anger #3 43:11 — Absolute Green Lantern #18 57:57 — Absolute Superman #23 1:14:10 — Batman/Superman: World's Finest — World's Weirdest #1 1:23:55 — Legion of Super-Heroes #1 1:37:48 — Supergirl: Survived #4 1:42:42 — Teen Titans #1 1:55:05 — Deadman #4 2:03:59 — Doom Patrol #1 2:12:12 — Superman: The Stranger #1 2:19:12 — Collected Editions 2:21:38 — Rankings & Books of the Week

DC's September schedule is getting increasingly messy as Absolute Flash, Bleeding Hearts, Zatanna and Gotham General all move, while Marvel's X-Men: DNX event slips two weeks and creates scheduling problems of its own.
Jace also covers Rick Remender and Steve Epting's Hammerfist #1 selling out immediately, the future of Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey's Terminal, Savage Dragon going back for third printings, the return of That Texas Blood, a Geiger McFarlane Toys figure, Jerome Opeña joining Lancer, Danny Elfman joining Krysten Ritter for BAD IDEA's It Demands Sacrifice Record Read-A-Long, Mark Buckingham's secret It Demands Sacrifice cover, Dark Horse expanding its Marvel archival line, Beast Mode 510 Day in Oakland, and the growing October 7 midnight comic release event.
Plus, Jace makes this week's What Hit predictions, checks last week's picks against the newest Prana Bestseller Top 10 after going 9-for-10, and runs through a huge Final Order Cutoff featuring Marvel's Midnight books, Absolute Batman #24, That Texas Blood, Kill All Immortals III, Last Driver #2 and more.
NEWS SOURCES
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/late-absolute-flash-bleeding-hearts-zatanna-delayed-for-september/
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/gotham-general-is-now-coming-out-only-after-batman-bad-seeds-is-over/
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/late-x-men-dnx-slips-two-weeks-but-where-is-this-heading-spoilers/
https://imagecomics.com/press-releases/high-orders-knock-out-entirety-of-hammerfist-inventory-rushed-back-to-print-this-week
https://imagecomics.com/press-releases/savage-dragon-180-181-fast-tracked-for-reprint-this-week
https://www.darkhorse.com/newsfeed/dark-horse-announces-three-new-marvel-books-coming-in-2027/
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/new-avengers-logo-hiding-a-major-marvel-spoiler-spoilers-obviously/
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00:00 — DC Delays, DNX, Danny Elfman & Hammerfist Hook 00:42 — Welcome to Comic Source Weekly 01:17 — DC Books Delayed 02:35 — Gotham General Falls Out of Sync With Bad Seeds 09:26 — X-Men: DNX Delayed 11:33 — Hammerfist #1 Sells Out 13:13 — Terminal #3 First Look / Can Terminal Last? 19:23 — Corpse Knight #6 Finale 20:28 — Savage Dragon Goes to Third Printings 22:57 — That Texas Blood Returns 24:22 — The Rocketfellers: Invaders, Y'all 25:10 — Geiger Gets a McFarlane Toys Figure 26:07 — Jerome Opeña Joins Lancer 27:16 — Danny Elfman Joins Krysten Ritter 28:48 — Mark Buckingham's Secret Cover 29:46 — The Hab Director's Cut 30:43 — Dark Horse Expands Marvel Archive Line 32:39 — Kill All Immortals III Begins Final Arc 33:53 — Beast Mode 510 Day 35:25 — Archie & Sabrina Join the Midnight Release 36:30 — RUMOR: Miracleman Joining the Avengers? 37:46 — What Hit Predictions 42:59 — Prana Top 10 Bestsellers 50:01 — Final Order Cutoff 50:45 — Marvel Midnight Books 51:28 — More Marvel FOC Picks 52:14 — DC FOC Picks 52:57 — Image FOC Picks 54:22 — Dark Horse FOC Picks 55:11 — IDW & Mad Cave FOC Picks 56:14 — BAD IDEA & Ignition FOC Picks 57:27 — Final Thoughts / Outro