Keenspot’s January 2027 slate puts horror, superhero adventure, magical conflict and strange genre mash-ups on the same schedule. The most collector-facing item is a fourth printing of Mark Spears’ Monsters #2 in its Black, White & Dead Edition, while the most substantial entry is The Crying Boy Vol. 1, a trade paperback collecting the full four-issue horror story. The month also introduces the new superhero series Glopple Force and continues five established titles.
The schedule begins with Mark Spears’ Monsters #2 4th Printing Black, White & Dead Edition on January 6, followed by The Crying Boy Vol. 1 and Strength & Ash #5 on January 13. Glopple Force #1 arrives January 20. The final week brings Asha Idols #2, Jade Warriors #4 and Otter Squad #7 on January 27.
Mark Spears’ Monsters #2 returns in monochrome
Mark Spears’ Monsters #2 4th Printing Black, White & Dead Edition is priced at $5.99 and dated January 6. Mark Spears writes, draws and supplies the cover for the issue. It follows the Black, White & Dead treatment previously used for the first issue, presenting the second chapter in bloody monochrome with a matte cardstock cover.
A fourth printing is not a new second issue or a continuation beyond the original story. It is another production run of the same numbered comic, typically made when earlier copies have sold through or demand remains high. Here, the distinguishing element is the Black, White & Dead presentation: a format that changes the visual treatment rather than advancing the series’ plot.
The issue’s story has The Overmen, described as a terrorist group, breach a heavily guarded military complex to retrieve the Witch Stone, an ancient artifact of considerable power. Elsewhere, the Monster Slayer seeks out an old enemy in hopes of learning what happened to a missing friend. Those two threads give the installment both its artifact-driven action premise and a more personal investigation.
For readers who missed the original release, the reprint offers a route into the second issue without suggesting that it is required reading for everyone who already owns it. For collectors, the monochrome treatment and cardstock cover are the material differences to weigh against an existing copy. As with any alternate-format printing, it is best understood as a distinct edition of the same comic rather than a separate story.
The Crying Boy collects a complete horror arc
The Crying Boy Vol. 1 arrives January 13 for $19.99. Written by Niall O’Rourke, illustrated by Rob Moran and featuring a cover by Carlos Villas, the paperback collects all four issues of the series. It has also received a Ringo Award nomination in the Best Single Issue or Short Story category.
The premise follows a widow in Queens who is attempting to rebuild her life after her husband’s violent death. Her young son forms an unsettling bond with a painting of a crying child. That painting proves to house an ancient demon that has hunted children over millennia, leaving the mother to protect her son from a threat far worse than the grief and upheaval already facing the family.
The collection is also being released while a film adaptation is in development. Carter Swan, whose producing credits include HBO’s The Last of Us and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, is attached as a producer. Development should not be confused with a confirmed release date, cast, production start or completed film; the supplied information establishes only that the project is being developed.
For prospective readers, a trade paperback is the simplest entry point in this lineup because it gathers the entire four-issue run in one volume. That matters especially for a horror narrative built around an escalating supernatural danger: the book offers the start, middle and conclusion together, rather than asking readers to locate four individual issues. The film news may draw additional attention, but the comic collection stands on its own as the complete original arc described here.
Glopple Force starts with a crowded, goo-powered fight
Glopple Force #1, on sale January 20 for $5.99, is a new series written by Matt Cole with art and cover work by Johnny J. Flores. Cole is also identified as the Ringo-nominated creator of Pooh Bear Adventures.
The debut assembles its team in Dallas: Glopple, Glopple Girl, Rasp, Bash and their dog Cookie. Their immediate opponent is the toxic monster Toxiglop, but the larger problem is another scheme by Dr. Vinel. Once the heroes believe the crisis is contained, Vinel deploys still more foes, including Anti-Glopple, Metal Mary and Sleep-Hopper. The issue ends with Dallas facing a larger threat.
The setup signals a deliberately colorful superhero book, emphasizing action, humor, heart and its central goopy aesthetic. A first issue has the job of establishing the heroes, the city they protect and the villains capable of testing them; this one appears to do that at speed by introducing both a monster fight and a growing roster of adversaries. Readers looking for an all-new series can begin here without needing prior issue knowledge.
January’s continuing comics
Keenspot’s remaining January releases span several very different tones, from anime-car-show-inspired team action to occult heroics and a near-finale street battle.
Asha Idols #2
Mike White writes, draws and covers Asha Idols #2, priced at $5.99 and scheduled for January 27. The first half of a two-part storyline begins when a meteor lands near a snowy mountain pass during a winter anime car show. The Itasha Idols respond, but an avalanche puts local cosplayers in danger while a magnetic anomaly prevents the team’s vehicles from combining into Itasha O.N.E.
That combination problem is the key tactical complication. Rather than simply deploying their expected combined form, the team must devise another way to confront a mysterious nearby threat. The situation combines disaster response, a mechanical limitation and a creature-or-object mystery, all within the series’ car-show setting.
Jade Warriors #4
Jade Warriors #4 is due January 27 for $5.99. David Campiti and Michael Buckley write “Oyabun Triumphant,” while Mike Deodato provides the art and cover. The issue finds Ramthar punished after failing to kill Deathkiss. Deathkiss continues her assault against the Yakuza, but she, Bob and Naomi are eventually captured by the Jade Warriors. The Oyabun’s transformative secrets are set to emerge during the conflict.
Deodato is identified as an Eisner Award winner, and the solicitation frames this chapter around reversals of control: Ramthar is punished, Deathkiss pursues her offensive, and the apparent attackers become captives. Readers following the book should expect the Oyabun revelation to be the issue’s central story movement.
For more current comic-book coverage on the site, see the latest on Absolute Wonder Woman #25.
Otter Squad #7
January 27 also brings Otter Squad #7 from writer Matt Fife and artist/cover creator Matt Rodgers. At $6.99, it is the highest-priced individual issue in this group. It is explicitly billed as the penultimate installment, meaning one issue remains before the series reaches its ending.
The main conflict places Otter Squad against SILVERDOME on blood-soaked Manhattan streets, while an unrevealed figure manipulates events from the United Nations headquarters. The issue also contains the continuing Battle Duck feature by J Hammond. Calling an issue penultimate is a clear signal for existing readers: plotlines are approaching their resolution, even if the final confrontation is not yet complete.
Strength & Ash #5
Finally, Strength & Ash #5 arrives January 13 for $5.99. Evan K Pozios writes, with Stefano Cardoselli and Francesca Perillo handling art and cover duties. Ash is emotionally conflicted and weakened by magical attacks, yet must rescue Penny from the sorcerer Ephialtes. The issue positions voodoo magic alongside a conflict involving heroism and brotherly tension.
January’s list is notably broad even within a compact set of releases. The horror side ranges from the demonic painting at the center of The Crying Boy to the artifact-and-monster conflict of Mark Spears’ Monsters. Glopple Force supplies a new, lighter-toned superhero launch, while the continuing books each advance a specific crisis. For readers selecting only one book, the full Crying Boy collection is the self-contained option; for single-issue buyers, the choice comes down to a stylized reprint, a clean #1 entry point, or a chapter in an ongoing story.
