Is Archie Comics done with digests? DC Comics has released all the details about their upcoming Batman/Deadpool #1. Doctor Strange gets a new, ongoing series from Marvel.
SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.
Powered by RedCircle
Episode Transcript:
Is Archie done with digests?
DC reveals Batman/Deadpool deets.
Doctor Strange gets new ongoing series.
This is Comic Book Club News for August 15, 2025.
Is Archie Comics Done With Digests?
Is it curtains for the classic Archie Comics digests? The staple of newsstands and supermarket check-out lines for decades seems to be going the way of the dinosaurs — though the format won’t be going away entirely… At least not yet.
The kerfuffle started with 13th Dimension posting about a new digest line in a bi-monthly format that focuses on seasonal topics to make the books more evergreen on stands. However, thanks to reporting from The Beat, it seems these less frequent digests are replacing the current line entirely.
That means that instead of your regular array of Archie Digest, Betty & Veronica Digest, etc., coming out nearly weekly, Archie Comics will instead be putting out six books a year. This, bundled with the fact that the publisher doesn’t have any regularly running monthly comics, and only sporadic specials like the recent Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob crossover and the currently running Archie vs. Minor Threats miniseries, certainly raises the question of what’s next for the nearly 85-year-old Archie characters.
Our suggestion? Have the Riverdale kids put on a show to raise money to save Archie Comics. That always works! More on this as it develops.
DC Comics Reveals Details For Batman/Deadpool #1:
What comes after Marvel’s Deadpool/Batman #1? Why, DC Comics‘ Batman/Deadpool #1, of course. With the first issue in the crossover hitting in September, DC has revealed a slew of details about their own crossover issue, which is hitting in November. And you know with writer Grant Morrison at the wheel, things are about to get the full Grant Morrison treatment.
Written by Morrison with art by Dan Mora, the main story in the 64-page issue finds Batman meeting Deadpool, of course… But based on PR provided to Comic Book Club, there’s so much more to unpack. Here, let’s turn it over to DC for a second:
DC’s Batman/Deadpool #1 isn’t just a comic book crossover between iconic publishers, it’s a metaphysical car crash between two storytelling philosophies. One character broods in the shadows of trauma and justice. The other cartwheels through chaos, breaking the fourth wall and occasionally the laws of physics. Together, they’re forced to confront a threat that doesn’t just endanger their worlds—it questions their very existence as fictional constructs.
With a main story by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, Batman/Deadpool #1 launches a reality-bending saga that’s equal parts cosmic horror, slapstick noir, and metafictional therapy session. It’s the kind of comic book that knows it’s a comic book, revels in being a comic book, weaponizes its comic bookiness—and dares you to keep reading anyway!
Later in the provided release, DC teases that, “There will be owls. There will be blades. There will be blood. There will be a giant typewriter!” So yeah, you’re getting the full Morrison experience here, which is, to editorialize, exciting. Let’s get weird, man!
However, Morrison and Mora’s story isn’t the only event in the issue. Alongside the title bout, DC has also revealed the back-up stories that will accompany it:
- Writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson and artist Hayden Sherman on a Constantine meets Doctor Strange story.
- Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, the team from the recent lauded run on Nightwing, are on a story of Nightwing meeting Laura Kinney Wolverine — another character Taylor wrote a critically acclaimed run for.
- Probably the most unexpected matchup, Mariko Tamaki and Amanda Conner bring on a showdown between Harley Quinn and the Hulk.
- And G. Willow Wilson returns to the character she helped create at Marvel, Ms. Marvel, alongside artist Denys Cowan, who brings Static (of Static Shock) into the mix.
…and of course, there are also an insane amount of covers. Some highlights include a Joker/Doctor Doom variant by Lee Bermejo, Hayden Sherman’s cover for Constantine and Doctor Strange, and Ryan Sook’s packed cover, which homages Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, and features a delighted Batman holding a dead Deadpool while everyone cheers.
Batman/Deadpool #1 hits stores on November 19, 2025, and DC promises there are more DC and Marvel crossovers to come…
Doctor Strange Gets New Ongoing Series:
Doctor Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme — at least of Earth. But after the conclusion of Doctor Strange of Asgard, Little Stevie will be hanging around Thor’s home for a while longer in the new, ongoing Doctor Strange series by Derek Landy and Ivan Fiorelli.
Following up on the events of next month’s Doctor Strange #450 one-shot, and Al Ewing and Pasqual Ferry’s run on Thor, the connection between Earth and Asgard has been shattered, leaving Strange stranded. So he does what anyone would do, and looks to an angel — specifically Angela — and the two of them take a “Journey Into Mystery across the other realms.”
The first issue finds Strange heading to Alfheim, the home of ALF, to “investigate an emerging crisis. But in an unfamiliar land, can Strange prevent elves and angels from going to war over a mysterious coffin? Maybe, with some help from Heven’s own Angela!”
Doctor Strange #1 hits stores on December 3.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And I sure hope Doctor Strange stops ALF from eating all those cats! Ha! I kill me!
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
Listen early and ad-free on Patreon.com/comicbookclub.
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.