Red Dragon In 2000 AD, Forever Smurfette, New Manga and Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher
From Rebellion, Papercutz, Tokyopop and Mad Cave Studios
Here is the latest comics news and preview including:
Red Dragon returns to the pages of 2000 AD.
Just in time for the upcoming film, a new story from Papercutz.
Tokyopop announces new manga licences.
And Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher.
Red Dragon Soars for 2000 AD In September
It took me a minute to recall the character, from the pages of 2000 AD and the adventures of Zenith, Rebellion has announced the return of Red Dragon.
Bore da! This September 2000 AD welcomes back a Welsh legend for an all-new story spinning from the pages of the classic series Zenith!
Originally appearing in 1987 in Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell's much-loved Zenith, Welsh superhero Red Dragon is returning in 2025 for a new series which looks back at the character's origins, marking a major new series for The Galaxy's Greatest Comic!
Original Zenith artist Yeowell returns with writer Rob Williams and artist Patrick Goddard for a new story set across two ages, exploring the beating heart of Welsh courage.
Red Dragon first debuted in the very first Zenith series in issue #535 in 1987: a Welsh superhero recruited by the bratty young superhero to take on the danger of Nazi super-soldier Masterman. Red Dragon, real name Siadwel Rhys, was a pyrokinetic hero who had found fame in the 1960s – but by the 1980s, Zenith found this once-mighty hero had become disillusioned and lost his heart for battle.
Rob Williams explains: "Reading Red Dragon's story arc in Zenith in 1987 broke my heart, and I wasn't alone in that. Grant and Steve created this vibrant, deeply flawed, extremely human character and, what's more - he was a Welsh superhero. Red Dragon sounded and felt like quite a few people I've known over the years growing up in South Wales, just they didn't have the ability to fly (although there were a few alcoholics and arsonists)."
Siadwel's only appearance to date was in the first "phase" of Zenith, although he's long been a fan-favourite character – as Yeowell knows all too well, noting that Siadwel has become "one of the mainstays of my sketching repertoire. My first encounter with him was when he appeared in Zenith phase one, more than thirty years ago: a broken and disillusioned figure, fated for a tragic end. So I’m really excited at the opportunity to work with 2000 AD writing veteran Rob Williams and fellow artist Patrick Goddard on this dual timeline story, to show him as a super hero in his 1960s prime – charismatic, confident and principled".
This new series heads back in time to explore the young and powerful Welsh pyrokinetic in his glory days during the swingin' Sixties. Yeowell and Goddard will split artistic duties, with Yeowell joined by colourist Dylan Teague to explore the 1960s-set sequence, while Goddard remains in the present day, pencilling events as a documentary crew head to post-Brexit Wales to look at the legacy left by their greatest hero.To celebrate that legacy, Williams and Goddard will both be heading to Forbidden Planet in Cardiff on Saturday 27th September from 3pm-4pm for a very special Red Dragon signing. To make things even better, they'll be joined by Rogue Trooper: Ghost Patrol artist – and fellow Welsh hero – Neil Edwards, making this a can't-miss event for 2000 AD fans!
For the creative team this is an opportunity to explore Welsh heritage and culture, as Williams notes: "When I was asked if I would be interested in telling a Red Dragon story, I started to think about the idea of a Welsh superhero. Of where the UK and Wales was in the 1960s of Red Dragon's heyday, of showing some of that optimism and bright colour, and then telling a story about where Wales, and Britain, is now.”
Red Dragon starts in 2000 AD Prog 2451, a special bumper issue releasing on 24 September! Subscribe to 2000 AD today to reserve your copy!
Papercutz to publish The Smurfs: Forever Smurfette timed to New Smurfs Movie!
With a new movie coming out, fans of The Smurfs can check out this new comic out next week from Papercutz, with The Smurfs: Forever Smurfett.
SMURFETTE IN LOVE! Can Smurfette and Bombollino the Elf find true happiness? Just in time for Smurfette’s silver screen debut this summer in the SMURFS movie!
Has Smurfette met the love of her life? Are the rest of the Smurfs jealous? And will Bombollino betray Smurfette in order to save himself from Gargamel? The answers to these questions and more can be found in “Bombollino Visits the Smurfs.”
PLUS: Fairy Aurora tricks Smurfette and turns her into a frog, in “A Kiss for Smurfette,” and three more all-new Smurfette stories!
The book is available for preorder now wherever books are sold, including Indigo, Amazon, and your local bookstore.
Tokyopop Highlights New And Notable Manga Licenses at 2025 Anime Expo Panel
New manga announced from Tokyopop coming in print and digital formats.
Publisher TOKYOPOP highlighted a diverse range of notable manga licenses during its panel at Anime Expo this past weekend. The presentation spotlighted 9 new titles set for print and digital release that will join the LoveLove imprint in 2026.
The new additions include IN SO DEEP, IT’S ALREADY LOVE, AYAKA IS IN LOVE WITH HIROKO, WALKING IN YOUR TRACKS, THE TALE OF LUVELIA, BRIDE OF IGNAT, APPRENTICE NAIL ARTIST IN A FOREIGN LAND, and I PICKED UP A NO-GOOD USELESS PRINCE. TOKYOPOP also announced that it has licensed miHoYo Comics' Honkai Impact 3rd: Second Eruption manga in full-color and Chinese creator Guo Si Te's She Is Still Cute Today comic.
The First Martyr for Thought—Socrates Comes to Mad Cave Studios
An interesting new comic from Mad Cave Studios, with some philosophy thrown in, check out Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher.
Accused of corrupting the youth and defying the gods, Socrates stood trial in 399 BC not with fear, but with clarity…
Mad Cave Studios is proud to present SOCRATES: THE TRIAL OF A PHILOSOPHER, a powerful graphic novel that reimagines the final days of one of history’s greatest minds, from acclaimed writer Francesco Barilli (Stalag-X, The Red Line) and artist Alessandro Ranghiasci (Zenobia, Refugees).This timely and timeless work is brought to vivid life with elegant, classically inspired illustrations by Ranghiasci and a resonant color and lettering approach that grounds readers in both the era and the urgency of its message.
Athens, 399 BC. In what may be remembered as the first trial for crimes of opinion, Socrates is sentenced to death. Accused of corrupting youth with atheistic doctrines, the philosopher's line of defense is uncompromising and defiant. He is thus sentenced to drink hemlock by an even larger majority of jurors, and once in prison, awaiting execution, he refuses to flee lest he violate those laws to which he has always been devoted. Socrates was not only one of the best known and most influential philosophers in human history, but also the first martyr for his own ideas. His trial tells how the greatest democracy of the time could have sentenced the best of its citizens to death.
“Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher is a thought-provoking reimagining of the life and conversations of one of the world's greatest philosophers,” said Mad Cave Studios
editor Sarah Brunstad. “Through Socrates' story, we wrestle with questions as relevant today as they were upon his death in 399 B.C.—questions of the value of truth and knowledge in a world where ignorance is encouraged because it is manipulable. This volume is another inspiring and eye-opening historical reframing by the masters of the craft at BeccoGiallo."
With moral weight and intellectual fire, Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher, offers readers a powerful meditation on the cost of truth and the enduring courage of conviction. For fans of Logicomix, They Called Us Enemy, and The Trial of the Chicago 7, this is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy, history, and justice.
This thought-provoking OGN arrives in comic shops, bookstores, and digital platforms on November 11, 2025. Preorder now online or at your favorite local comic shop.
