Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Netflix released the teaser trailer for One Piece season two, arriving on the streamer Tuesday, March 10. Officially titled One Piece: Into the Grand Line, the second season of the live-action take on the manga sees Luffy and the Straw Hats “set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line — a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn.” You can also check out first-look stills from the season at Netflix’s website Tudum.
§ Apple TV dropped the trailer for Drops of God season two, premiering Wednesday, January 21. The eight-part season of the French/Japanese manga adaptation, which arrives nearly three years after the first, will be released weekly.
§ Furthermore, Paramount+ released a full trailer for School Spirits season three. The latest season of the show, based on the unpublished graphic novel of the same name, premieres with three (of eight) episodes on Wednesday, January 28.
§ Tripwire announced Mad Cave will publish a collection of Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders: The Gene Genie. The book, by Joel Meadows and Andy Bennett, was originally serialized in Tripwire magazine, and offers an alternate history reimagining of 221B Baker Street, where Watson “leaves Holmes to help [Francis] Crick unravel the DNA helix, and finds himself in the employ of England’s most evil man.” Mad Cave’s release, due out on April 21, will feature a new cover by Laurence Campbell, and an introduction by J.M. DeMatteis.
§ Dark Horse will release a print version of their monthly catalogs to help mark their 40th anniversary. Stuart Schreck, Director of Sales, Direct Market, states, “We are making it easier for everyone to know what Dark Horse has to offer.” The first print catalog, due out March 25, will be available to pre-order until February 2, and solicit comics going on sale in July, as well as bookstore releases for August.
Thank you to the Hollywood Creative Alliance for naming #Superman best action / Sci-Fi movie of 2025!
— James Gunn (@jamesgunn.bsky.social) 2026-01-10T17:27:18.998Z
§ At the ninth annual Astra Film Awards on Friday, January 9, Superman won Best Action or Sci-Fiction Feature, while losing Best Book to Screen Adaptation to The Housemaid. Sinners was the big winner of the evening, taking six, including Best Picture (Drama), while KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature, Best Voice Over Performance (for Arden Cho as Rumi), and Best Original Song for “Golden.” In the meantime, at the Astra Creative Arts Awards’ TV categories on December 11, Wednesday won Best Choreography and Best Costume Design, Gen V won Best Stunts, and Stranger Things won Best Score and Best Visual Effects; you can check out its full list of winners here.
§ Finally, infamous Swiss author Erich von Däniken died on Saturday, January 10, at a hospital in Unterseen, Switzerland, aged 90. Von Däniken popularized the idea aliens made contact with ancient and prehistoric humans in his pseudoscientific 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?, inspiring multiple works of pop culture, including Jack Kirby‘s Eternals, and the 1978-1982 German comics series The Gods from Outer Space, which featured his name and photo on the covers. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth Skaja, his daughter Cornelia, and two grandchildren.