This Convention Season: The Lines Are Longer, The Panels Are Wilder… Even the Ads Might Try to Kill You.
JULY 17, 2026 (PORTLAND, OR) — Con-goers, grab your badges; DREAD THE HALL H is back!
The beloved annual spin-off of the best-selling Dread the Halls returns with 48 pages of convention horror, satire, and glorious chaos from Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated writer Jordan Hart (Ripple Effects) and Syzygy Publishing founder Chris Ryall (Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis), arriving in comic shops July 22, 2026, from Image/Syzygy.
Featuring interior art by Luana Vecchio, C.P. Wilson III, Marianna Ignazzi, and Tom Williams, the oversized one-shot transforms convention spectacle into something far stranger. From collectors pushed past the brink to fandom spiraling into obsession, every story captures the excitement, anxiety, and beautiful absurdity of convention culture as the show floor slowly comes apart.
Collectors will also find plenty to hunt down with a stacked lineup of covers by Maria The Wolf, Luana Vecchio, and Jordan Hart, alongside a 1:10 sketch photo variant by Tony Fleecs and a 1:20 variant by Zach Howard, who incorporates all seven of Hall of Fame editor Carmine Infantino’s legendary “7 Things Guaranteed to Sell a Comic”—gorillas, motorcycles, dinosaurs, cities on fire, purple skies, time rifts, and “cryin’ and dyin'”—into one wonderfully over-the-top convention keepsake.
And the experience doesn’t end with the final page. Included in the back of the issue is CONLAND, a Candyland-inspired board game illustrated by Chris Anderson (American Caper) that hilariously reimagines the endurance test of convention lines. The issue also features faux product comics inspired by classic ’70s Hostess ads, delivering the kind of strange bonus material that feels like it was unearthed from an old convention program rather than intentionally included.
Fans attending San Diego Comic-Con can also celebrate the release at the Dread the Hall H 2026: More (Fictional) Comic Convention Horror Stories panel on Saturday, July 25, from 5:00–6:00 PM PDT in Room 23ABC.
Everyone has experienced the joy and anguish of trying to get into an oversold panel, and the comic spotlighting those highlights and horrors returns for its annual celebration of both. Chris Ryall and Jordan Hart, joined by cover artist Maria The Wolf and interior artist Chris Anderson, will share spirited convention stories—both real and fictional—in celebration of comic conventions and the new anthology.
Every attendee will receive a free, one-of-a-kind Dread the Hall H enamel pin while supplies last.
(W) Jordan Hart, Chris Ryall (A) Luana Vecchio, C.P. Wilson III, Marianna Ignazzi, Tom Williams (L) Jordan Hart (CA) Maria The Wolf, Luana Vecchio Jordan Hart, Tony Fleecs, Zach Howard, Carmine Infantino
It’s summer convention season again, and Dread the Hall H is back with your VIP pass to 48 pages of convention-related horror stories! Attending this show are Chris Ryall, CP Wilson III, and Tom Williams, who tell connected panel-breaking tales of the con-variant craze gone amok; along with Jordan Hart and Luana Vecchio, who reveal the true terror of A-List actors getting their on-screen characters’ powers; and Hart and Marianna Ignazzi, who introduce the world to the super-powered protector of all con-goers—the CONcluder!
Equal parts horror anthology, convention satire, and love letter to fandom, Dread the Hall H 2026 is for anyone who’s camped out for a panel, chased an exclusive, or watched convention excitement teeter into complete madness. Fans of Ice Cream Man and The Department of Truth won’t want to miss it.
Dread the Hall H 2026, a 48-page, full-color one-shot from Syzygy Publishing/Image Comics, arrives in comic shops next Wednesday, and will be available at San Diego Comic-Con (July 23-26) at the Image Booth #1915.
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States and is the #2 graphic novel publisher in America. It is the publisher of such award winning titles as, Spawn, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Saga, Monstress, Deadly Class, Chew, The Old Guard, I Kill Giants, Criminal, The Department of Truth, W0rldtr33, Geiger, Descender, Gideon Falls, It’s Lonely At The Centre of The Earth, Do A Power Bomb, and more. The company currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor, and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.
Syzygy Publishing is an imprint of Image Comics owned and operated by Ashley Wood and Chris Ryall. Its other offerings include the multiple Eisner Award-nominated Joe Hill’s Rain; Zombies vs Robots; 7174; The Hollows; Onyx, 3Keys, All Against All; Tales of Syzpense, and much more.
