Bad Idea is bringing back The Hero Trade. Writer Matt Kindt and artist David Lapham reunite for The Hero Trade: The Butler, a one-shot told entirely through splash pages, in the publisher’s January 2027 solicitations, as reported by Bleeding Cool.
The pitch is a collision of two classics. Bad Idea says the book “marries the grit and grime of Frank Miller’s SIN CITY with the psychological depth of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ WATCHMEN,” calling it “an explosive new one-shot that dares to seek justice in an unjust world.” The publisher has been playfully calling the full-page format “Splashovision,” with the story told in black-and-white, spot-colored splash pages.
The story centers on two former partners. Every night, the vigilante known as The Watch “takes out the trash,” pulling criminals off the streets and putting them into body bags, because his idea of justice is permanent. The Butler used to fight alongside him, until he realized The Watch was “no hero — just a loose-cannon psycho who takes sick pleasure in playing judge, jury and executioner, no matter the collateral damage.”
Now The Butler is done taking orders. He knows his old partner inside and out, and he plans to beat The Watch at his own game by getting criminals behind bars before they end up six feet under.
Kindt, known for Mind MGMT and BRZRKR, and Lapham, the Eisner-winning creator of Stray Bullets, previously teamed on The Hero Trade, which Bad Idea calls their “seminal series of superhero deconstruction.” The Butler returns to that world with a single, self-contained story built for maximum impact on every page.
The Hero Trade: The Butler #1 arrives Jan. 6, 2027, for $5.99, with variant covers including a Steve Ditko “Old Masters” cover and a black-and-white Lapham variant. Bad Idea’s January slate also includes It Demands Sacrifice #3, the penultimate chapter of Philip Gelatt, David Yarovesky and Adam Pollina’s goat-cult horror series, and Lancer #3, both on Jan. 20.
January is shaping up as a crowded month in comic shops, with publishers like Dynamite also rolling out their January 2027 solicits.
