Jim Lee has revealed the health struggles that led to Batman delays. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have another new graphic novel, Unfinished Tales. Absolute Wonder Woman and The Power Fantasy nominated in Hugo Awards.
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Episode Transcript:
Jim Lee reveals health struggles.
Brubaker and Phillips tease new book.
Hugo Awards announces nominees.
This is Comic Book Club News for April 29, 2026.
Jim Lee Reveals Health Struggles That Led To Batman Delays:
It’s no secret that DC Comics‘ H2SH, the sequel to Batman: Hush, by Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb, is way behind schedule. But now Lee has revealed why — and the answer is health struggles due to getting older that have forced him to change his schedule.
In a post on Facebook, Lee explained that he’s been “reluctant to share personal health matters publicly,” then added that, “Last summer 1 was diagnosed prediabetic-the result of a decades of poor decisions and work habits: way too little sleep, way too much stress, and way too many late-night carbs under deadline.”
As a result, he’s had to completely change his diet, exercise, and sleep habits, including losing the “5th gear” that would find him working 10 PM to 4 AM. He now finishes drawing at 1 AM and works only during the day on weekends, something that has cut his productivity 25-40%, and has caused the multi-hyphenate to beat himself up because “you’re not deliver[ing] the speed and results you expect from yourself made drawing particularly frustrating and at my lowest moments-profoundly depressing. But I shouldn’t be too surprised by this. Getting older is a constant for us all, and it’s probably more naive to have thought that this day would have never come.”
Currently, Batman #163, the final chapter of H2SH, will hit stores on May 27. And shout out to Lee for speaking out about how the grind has ground him down, though even his slowed down pace is probably more intense than most of us can hit.
Brubaker And Phillips Tease Unfinished Tales:
Sadly not part of the DuckTales and TaleSpin extended universe, Unfinished Tales is instead a brand new graphic novel from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips coming to Image Comics. And this time, things are getting meta in a book that Image teases is “Stephen King’s Misery meets The Talented Mr Ripley.”
In a not-so-subtle riff on George R.R. Martin, the book follows the story of Finnegan Blake, one of the most successful authors in the world, whose books have been adapted for TV; yet he’s “ten years past his deadline on the last book in his epic fantasy series, and has no hope of ever finishing it. Until an old friend shows up with the perfect solution to his writer’s block. But as their secret pact turns dark and these writers’ egos clash, Finn will see how far he’s willing to go to get this final book onto the bestseller list.”
Unfinished Tales is available in hardcover on November 11 at comic book stores, and December 8 at bookstores.
Hugo Awards Announces Nominees:
The Hugo Awards has announced its 2026 nominees, including in the category “Best Graphic Story or Comic.” And those nominees include Absolute Wonder Woman and The Power Fantasy.
Per The Beat, other nominees include The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio, an adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, First Second’s The Space Cat, and A Girl and Her Fed by KB Spangler and Ale Presser.
Last year’s winner was Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way, while frequent nominee Monstress was absent in this year’s nominations for only the second time in its 10 volume run.
This year’s winners will be announced during a ceremony held in Anaheim on August 30.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And all respect to Lee, I’m glad he’s taking care of his issues, but I also wonder about an industry where cutting back to working until 1am every weekday instead of until 4am, and “only” during daylight hours on every weekend day is considered healthy.
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