IDW will publish four new horror comics in 2026, including an exorcism at Buckingham Palace and a Dracula in World War II
The most terrifying silences and the most disturbing smiles are about to invade the world of comics. IDW Publishingthrough his seal IDW Darkannounced that the universes of A quiet place Yes Smile They will continue his legacy in comic book form. And they won’t arrive alone: with them will come two original proposals, The exorcism at Buckingham Palace Yes Operation: Iron Coffin. Four titles that promise to transform 2026 into an unforgettable year for horror lovers.
After conquering the cinema, the creatures that hunt with sound and the feared Smile entity search now new victims between the pages of a comic. IDW seems determined to prove that horror doesn’t need to scream to make the blood run cold.
A Quiet Place and Smile jumps from cinema to comics
The first of the proposals A quiet place: storm warningwill arrive in March 2026 signed by Phil Hester (script) e Ryan Kelly (drawing). The story will take us to Pearl, a small town in Iowawhere a group of inhabitants tries to survive a storm that risks unleashing chaos even greater than the silence itself.
Hester explained what the challenge was transfer visual language without dialogue from cinema to comics: “Each film is an avalanche of suspense with a powerful emotional background. We wanted to preserve that spirit, but adapt it to a medium that can rely on images more than words.” A description that promises tension, drama and that suffocating pace that made the franchise created by John Krasinski so popular.
In parallel, IDW will launch in February 2026 Smile: for the camerawritten by Hannah Rose May and illustrated by MERIANA FOTERA. Set in 2005, the plot delves into the world of New York fashion during fashion weekwhere a group of models begin to be haunted by the feared Entity. “We wanted to bring the curse into the unforgiving world of beauty and appearances,” Rose May said. Pugli added, laughing, “Drawing the panic of someone trying not to ruin their makeup while possessed… is a delightful challenge.”
Terror in the palace and on the war trains
The universe of political exorcism is also expanding. After The exorcism at 1600 PennIDW Dark now takes us to Londonagainst The exorcism at Buckingham Palacealso written by Hannah Rose May with the artist Kelsey Ramsay. The comic promises to explore a ancient royal curse and a brood of ghosts haunting the UK’s most famous family. “It was incredible to return to this world and expand it with a new setting, new characters and its own mythology,” said the screenwriter, ensuring that it will be a perfect entry point for both new readers and those who have followed the previous saga.
And if that’s not enough, in July 2026 it will be released Operation: Iron Coffina story of action and horror set in World War II. Written by Kenny Porter and designed by Tyrell Cannonthe plot addresses nothing less than Dracula against the Nazis. “A British bomber drops an iron coffin onto a train full of secret Third Reich weapons. From within emerges Dracula, determined to stop Hitler from creating an army of vampires,” Porter summarizes. Cannon, excited, promises a bloody, dark and epic comic: “Drawing Dracula fighting against the supreme evil is a dream… or a nightmare come true.”
IDW Dark’s commitment to more elegant terror
IDW Dark Editor, Heather Antoshe sums it up with a devastating sentence: “We love keeping readers up at night. And with these titles we will do it four times more.” From British royalty to New York catwalks, passing through Nazi trains and silent cities, look for the publisher turning horror into something visually sophisticated and thematically different.
In a landscape where cinematic horror has become a cultural phenomenon, IDW sees an opportunity to do so expand franchises into new narratives. It’s not the first time the publisher has tried: it has already done so silent Hill or The ravenbut now it does so with a more cinematic strategy, allying itself directly with Hollywood studios and screenwriters.
The comedy makes sense. As cinema experiments with sequels, prequels and shared universes, comics offer creative freedom to explore parallel stories without the constraints of budget or box office. A quiet place: storm warning it could tell us what we have never seen on the screen, and Smile: for the camera can play with the psychological nuances of a curse that doesn’t need special effects to disturb.
The year horror became sequential art
The interesting thing is that these projects don’t just scare. In every proposal there is an attempt to do so fusing horror with other genres: the social criticism of the world of fashion, the family drama of a cursed monarchy, the war epic with supernatural tones. In short, an ambitious expansion that turns 2026 into the great year of horror in cartoons.
So now you know: next year, silence will not be enough, smiling will be dangerousYes Opening a comic might be the worst decision before going to sleep.
