The Video Game Library Newsletter - Vol. #030

An insane week for Video Game Comics! Plus translations abound, and some really really cool new announcements heading into 2026.

Welcome back to The Video Game Library Newsletter!

Whether it’s a sign of the medium’s growth, or just me becoming more scatterbrained with age, the struggle to keep up with the headlines on our site, and in this Newsletter, seems to grow each week. Today’s write-up took me 8 hours to assemble, and while rewarding (and hopefully helpful to the readers), it’s not sustainable.

As we look towards the new year, I’m looking to bring on 2 more dedicated Video Game Library volunteers to help bring this project to the next level. If you have a passion for video games and literature, and can confidently dedicate time each week, then reach out. I’d love to chat!

As for today’s Newsletter, I hope you like comic books, folks. This week’s calendar was stacked with comic and manga releases from across the globe, a tidal wave of Sonic, Street Fighter, Dark Souls and more. Pretty sure I’ve captured them all.

Also, a few new projects on the horizon between Cook and Becker and Ninty Media, and Dark Horse comes out swinging again this week with not one, not two, but three major art book launches. And just to spice things up, I’ve started folding in magazine releases into the announcements at the request of some of our readers.

If you’re here for the latest in game-related publishing, you picked a great week to tune in. Now, let’s jump into the headlines.

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📰 News & Highlights

• Kicking things off once again with Dark Horse this week, The Art of DOOM: The Dark Ages has officially landed. Ever since the game was announced during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, I remember thinking, “That art book is going to go hard.” And according to The Artbook Collector’s review, it absolutely does. That cover alone…come on! It’s like Todd McFarlane was commissioned to draw Palkia’s mega-evolution. Love it!

  

• And because Dark Horse refuses to do anything in moderation, news item number two is a big one: The Art of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has…wait for it….RELEASED!! That’s right, after a flurry of delays, this book has finally hit shelves over a year after the game’s release. But better late than never in the world of art books, and I’m very excited to check this one out myself.

  

• Pack up your garlic, because rounding out the trifecta from Dark Horse is none other than The Art of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. This game felt like such a flash in a pan. There was a ton of hype (and conversation) around its announcement, it released in October, and I don’t hear anyone talk about it. Still, I’m glad to see it get an artbook only a few weeks after hitting shelves. I’d only played the first one, but the world was stylish and wonderfully moody, and definitely one deserving of the Dark Horse treatment.

  

• Next up is a super exciting announcement from the folks at Cook and Becker. They’ve announced a new project called Print Screen: Celebrating 15 Years of Video Game Art. This 225-page book sets out as a tribute to 15 years of iconic video game art, featuring 150+ works, creator insights and essays celebrating the medium’s artistry.

  

• psst…Ninty Media just hinted at an upcoming Pokémon project. Perhaps the next entry in their Ninsights lineup? Not much more known quite yet, but I promise you’ll be able to find any updates here on our journey to announcement!

  

• And while similarly not an actual release, Game Informer has announced that starting this week, you can begin to find Game Informer at Retail Newsstands around the world. Sadly, Canada’s not on the list yet for me…. I’ve been so glad to see the comeback of this team and content though. Absolutely amazing!

• Last random piece of news, I promise! But speaking of video game magazines living on, I had the opportunity to watch the premiere of Pixels to Pages - The Story of Electronic Gaming Monthly. This was such a wonderfully well done documentary by Game Sack and My Life in Gaming, and I highly recommend checking it out.

  

• Now, back to the pages. There’s lots of comics to cover this week, so let’s kick things off with the blue blur! Sonic the Hedgehog Vol. #20: Cause & Effect has released from IDW Publishing, collecting Issues #76-#78 and the 2024 Annual. We’re almost all caught up with these! And if you read a little further down, the Polish translations aren’t too far behind!

  

• Also from IDW this week is Sonic Prime Vol. #2. Now admittedly, I actually had to ask IDW if these were legit releases (something about them just really feels…off). But alas, they’ve confirmed these are, in-fact, official. This 2nd volume from Hayden Robel adapts several Sonic Prime episodes including Escape from New Yoke, Unwelcome to the Jungle, and Barking Up The Wrong Tree.

  

• Continuing the run, Udon Entertainment has released Street Fighter Masters: Zangief #1. In this one-shot issue, Zangief and R. Mika team up for a high-stakes showdown as they battle Necro and Pietra in a powerhouse Street Fighter adventure. These issues always take so long to catalogue because of all the cover variants and artist credits, but I’m enjoying seeing this Masters series grow.

  

• Titan Comics makes some big headlines this week starting with the release Dark Souls: Mother of Mourning #1. This is the first of 4 issues, which will culminate with the graphic novel scheduled to release on June 30, 2026. It follows the Knights of Mourning in their quest to resurrect the Moth of Lillies as their champion to guide them to solace.

  

• Also from Titan Comics, this week saw the release of Runescape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #4. I didn’t realize so much of my readership were Runescape fans, but the Issue #3 release back in Newsletter #11 actually sparked a lot of great conversation which was awesome to see. This one is the fourth and final part of series, and will be collected next year in the graphic novel slated for March.

  

• Next up from Titan Comics is Little Nightmares: Descent to Nowhere #3. Myra presses on in the hunt for missing children as Hush uncovers the Jailer’s dark motives deep in the Counties’ haunting mystery.

  

• For all you Freddy-fans out there, the Five Nights at Freddy’s Ultimate Guide Version 2.0 hit shelves this week. An expanded FNAF guide with new lore, maps, strategies, and coverage of Tales from the Pizzaplex, Security Breach, RUIN, Into the Pit, Secret of the Mimic, and more.

  

• Another big week over in Europe, starting with Spain. Norma Editorial has just published Pokémon: Espada y Escudo #7, the Spanish translation of the Sword & Shield run.

• In France, Pix’n Love have released L’Art de Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Having just finished this game myself, it is one of the most-wanted art books for me. In addition to the books released, Pix’n Love has also announced a partnership with publisher Posts & Telecoms Press for the Chinese localization. So now we have a French, Spanish and Chinese translation, which is wonderful - but where’s the English one?

  

• Last week, I had a quick spotlight on volunteer Geneviève who got through cataloguing all 9 volumes of the Collection Hors-Série from Jeux Vidéo Magazine. Well, the impetus of that was because THIS week, Vol. 9 was hitting shelves. Spécial The Witcher - Jeux Vidéo Magazine Collection Hors-Serie reflects on the 40-year history of this franchise.

  

• In Italy, the next entry in the localized Videogiochi Leggendari series is NieR Automata: Una Revolución Narrativa. This entry unpacks the game’s haunting philosophy, unforgettable characters like 2B and 9S, and the existential weight behind its action-packed battles.

  

• Czech publishing house, Nakladatelství CREW, announced this week on Facebook that the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order manga will be getting a Czech translation. Star Wars Jedi: Padlý řád is scheduled to release next March.

  

• And in more great Czech news, publisher Level is wrapping up their unofficial trilogy with Velká historie českých her (The Great History of Czech Games). Scheduled to release next year, this is a sweeping 700-page history of Czech and Slovak games and their creators.

  

• If you haven’t had enough Sonic news this week… Released in Poland this week was Sonic the Hedgehog 17: Wyścigi Chao i Badników nalot 1. It collects IDW’s Sonic The Hedgehog issues #33 and #34. These collections are getting all sorts of great translations overseas. You love to see it!

  

• Also seeing a Polish release earlier this week was the Cyberpunk Edgerunners Complete Edition Blu-Ray. And that means 2 newly translated bundled books are available: The Final Storyboard from Hiroyuki Imaishi and the 48-page Illustration Booklet. While the advent of Cyberpunk 2077 has blurred the lines of what’s considered “video game IP” in the franchise, CD Projekt Red’s involvement earns this one a spot on the site and in the newsletter.

  

• Not sure if I’ll make this a habit, but been getting some nice comments on the Magazine entries, so figured I’d keep it going with a new Weekly Famitsu 週刊ファミ通 2025年12月18日号 No.1926 out now with a gorgeous Octopath Traveler 0 cover.

  

• On that note, we also saw the release this week of てれびげーむマガジン January 2026 (TV Games Magazine). This bi-monthly kids’ gaming mag issue comes bundled with a Mario power-up booklet, a 5.5-hour Switch 2 DVD, and celerbates 40 years of Super Mario Bros. with big features on Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart World, Mario Tennis and more fan favorites.

  

• The long-running Elden Ring gag manga has reached its 10th volume with ELDEN RING 黄金樹への道 10. This volume kicks off the Volcano Manor arc, featuring an unexpected reunion and revelations about Rya’s secret.

  

• And just to put a nice bow on this long list of headlines, it’s worth noting that a new manga from Kamui Fujiwara called Dragon Quest EDEN will start in January. The series will begin serialization in issues of Young Gangan.

Did I miss something cool? Want to see this laid out differently?
Drop it in the comments or swing by our Discord to share it with the community.

Let’s keep this celebration of game-inspired books going strong!

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📚 Behind the Shelves

Every week, I take you behind the scenes of The Video Game Library. From surprising discoveries to cataloguing challenges, there’s always something new as we dig deeper into this ever-expanding archive of game-related literature.

This week kicked off with a journey through the Видеоигры: глубокое погружение collection, a lineup of nine Russian titles that swing from practical advice for solo developers to psychological readings of game characters. I’d been holding off on these, as they looked (to me) like they could be AI generated. But after some deeper research, and some online help, have confirmed that these are indeed the real-deal. Been surprised at how many books have been coming out of Russia outside of Бомбора and Эксмо.

All 9 entries in the Russian series, Видеоигры: глубокое погружение

Then came the backlog of Palgrave Macmillan GameStudies books. One of my favourite sub-genres on the site is what I tag “Global Perspective”, and I’m always impressed with how well-represented these books are with Palgrave. A real focus on East Asia this week

Some awesome GameStudies titles added to the site this week

And even more time-consuming this week was the focus on getting the backlog of Springer Nature books (of course that includes Springer Cham, Springer London, Springer Gabler Wiesbaden, and all the other Springer imprints). These books skew highly niche and academic for the most part, but I love seeing them catalogued all in one place. The more edge-case topics I can accumulate on the site, the happier I’ll be!

Look at all the pretty colors! Over 30 new Springer books catalogued this week.

And finally, the Apress efforts from last week continued in full force this week as I got through another 20-ish GameDev manuals, guides, and toolkits from the backlog. I don’t know much about coding (at all), so if any more-fluent readers out there have ideas on helpful ways to sub-categorize these books, I’m all ears!

More GameDev! Love the consistency of the covers. Hate the other ones though…..

This, as usual, is only a small sample of all the things that have been happening behind the scenes, so take a peek at the site to see everything that’s been added since last week! And while you’re at it, drop your thoughts in the comments below. Your feedback helps shape how we deliver these looks behind the curtain.

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💡 Book Spotlights

Every week I like to zoom in on a few standout books from the collection. Sometimes it’s brand new releases, other times it’s older gems that deserve more love.

If you’re looking for deeper dives and not just quick headlines, check out some of these spotlights from this past month:

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🙏 THANK YOU for Reading

That’s a wrap for this week’s Newsletter. I hope you discovered something new, surprising, or just plain fun.

As always, your feedback helps shape this project - so don’t be shy! Drop a comment below, join the conversation on Discord, or just reply to this newsletter and share your thoughts.

And if you’re enjoying these weekly roundups, please consider supporting The Video Game Library with a paid subscription or forwarding this to a fellow fan. Every little bit helps us keep preserving and celebrating these incredible works - and the passionate people behind them.

Until next week — happy reading,
Dean (Founder, The Video Game Library)