Tyler Kirkham’s Final Boss hit stores last month and sold through its entire print run at the distributor level pretty much immediately. The reorders kept coming, so Image is rushing the debut issue back to print with a second printing scheduled for January 14. Ryan Ottley, known for his work on Invincible, is handling the new cover art.
The book is basically an homage to classic beat-’em-up games and over-the-top action movies. It follows Tommy Brazen, an ex-street fighter who’s now working as a powered-up mercenary. He’s trying to carve out his own path, but as he starts uncovering pieces of his past, things get complicated fast. The story pulls heavily from that arcade brawler aesthetic—high energy, lots of combat, and a mystery that unfolds as you go.
Kirkham wrote and drew the series, and the response has been pretty strong. Retailers have been reordering consistently since launch, which is what pushed Image to schedule the second printing so quickly. The book has a very specific vibe that seems to be connecting with readers who grew up on Street Fighter and Double Dragon, mixed with the kind of extreme action comics that were everywhere in the ’90s. It’s not subtle about what it’s going for, and that seems to be working in its favor.
The second printing of Final Boss #1 comes out January 14, 2026. Cover A features Ryan Ottley’s artwork (Lunar Code 1125IM8012), and there’s a virgin variant at a 1:25 ratio (Lunar Code 1125IM8013). Issue #2 drops on December 24 with six different covers, including variants by Kevin Keane, Chad Hardin, and Marc Silvestri. The book is also available digitally on Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play if you don’t want to wait for the reprint, because you know it’s going to be Stellar!
Johnny Stellar
I spend my days buried in comic books, my nights lost in music, and somewhere in between, I find time to write about both.
