It took an awfully long time to get here but now things are moving fast! Maybe... too fast?

A truck carrying a shipment of IDW's latest comic books suffered a strange fate when it crashed in the woods. Among the cargo was the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla #2, which will only move back one week from Sep 2 to Sep 9. The driver is fine, the trees and the comic books not so much.

This isn't the first unexpected stir involving our second issue, though. About a month ago, we released preview pages from SxG #2 and Sonic fans dove into a multi-day debate about Amy's complex relationship with her Fortune Cards. I was fascinated by the wide range of reactions inspired by our unlettered art.

This was on the heels of another packed San Diego Comic-Con. I traveled 100 miles south as I have for the past 12 years ever since I announced Holy F*ck in 2014, this time heading down with Oliver Ono for signings, panels, and recordings. It was a fantastic experience sharing Sonic x Godzilla with so many terrific fans, especially with tremendous art by Natalie Haines on both the publisher's booth and con exclusive cover.

A few weeks later I was back in San Diego for Sonic Boost, a joyous celebration of the beloved blue hog. I met some wonderful fans and had a soul-nourishing experience. Here's my video recapping both of my San Diego conventions...

SDCC + Sonic Boost = two incredible San Diego comic book adventures pic.twitter.com/6rI5REbfZJ

— Nick Marino (@nickmarino) August 26, 2026

Speaking of videos, here's another one I made about my comics creation process because I've been getting so many questions about it lately. I hope this helps if you're still searching for your style of writing comics...

My steps of writing a comic book, from concept to completion, using Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla #1 as an example. pic.twitter.com/UCAXVbVAdG

— Nick Marino (@nickmarino) August 23, 2026

You know, it just occurred to me that I never posted about the release of Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla #1 in July! It went great and we ranked in the top 50 comic books for the month, no easy feat considering that's typically the most packed month of the year. According to my own personal estimates, SxG #1 doubled to tripled the sales of most major Sonic or Godzilla releases that IDW has ever had with Sega and Toho's licenses.

Other people have noticed too. Screen Rant just covered our first issue's success and my buddy Dan did a video about the strong potential of a Sonic x Godzilla sequel. While my editors haven't requested a pitch yet, I have one prepared for when they call on me.

Today is the fourth anniversary of the day that I first pitched Sonic x Godzilla, and over the past month I've been sharing some looks at what could have been. Dan did another video about this recently, specifically taking a look at the combination of Silver the Hedgehog and Jet Jaguar that was in some of my earlier outlines. Keep an eye on my "sonic x godzilla" tag on Tumblr to be on the ground level of more behind-the-scenes reveals.

I've been hitting the press circuit to promote Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla, talking to some wonderful people about this exciting crossover that's been years in the making. This post was originally intended to get you totally up to speed on everything I've been doing over the past couple of months, but frankly I just don't think I can put it all into one post right now. A big reason for that is I've been going through a significant life change by getting separated from my wife Rosie. It was a tough decision that wasn't reached lightly, but we eventually felt it would be for the best. So I'm sure you can imagine that blogging hasn't been at the forefront of my mind.

I'm in my own place now, focusing on getting ready for the imminent release of Sonic x Godzilla and running a small comic shop inside of Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles, where you can find me most every weekend. But not this weekend! That's because I'll be a guest at Fan Expo Anaheim.

Speaking of conventions, my attendance was recently announced for Portland's Rose City Comic Con and San Diego's Sonic Blast. I'll also be at San Diego Comic-Con in late July, and my schedule for that show should be released soon, including signings with SxG cover artist Natalie Haines as well as a panel appearance or two.

As for other appearances, I've had the opportunity to do some great interviews recently. The best place to catch them all is on my YouTube interview playlist. I have a similar playlist for reviews of my comics, which is my way of segueing into the reviews of Sonic the Hedgehog x Godzilla #1 that've been hitting the internet for the past few weeks. I'm thrilled to say the reception for our debut issue has been strong. We're currently sitting at 8.2 on the review aggregator ComicBookRoundup.com.

Okay I'm getting tired so it's time to wrap this up! I'm doing a Sonic x Godzilla Reddit AMA when I wake up so I need my beauty sleep. I'll leave you with some fun images as I get ready to drift off to dreamland. Catch ya soon!

As the wildfires erupted in Los Angeles in January 2025, Rosie and I were focused on gathering supplies and donations for our neighbors up north who were most affected. Crafted at the Port of LA -- home to our comic shop, Cabrillo Beach Curiosities -- became an unexpected hub for donations, and we embraced the opportunity to help out.

At the same time, my pal Dev let me know that her employer was planning to publish a benefit book with proceeds going to LA comic creators in need. The publisher was looking for Angelenos to share what they were experiencing. I appreciated Dev's request but was focused on the task at hand, no intention of reaching out to Mad Cave.

But I awoke in the middle of the night shortly after her request and, frankly, I was stewing with frustration at the systems that continually let us down. Channeling those frustrations, I sent Mad Cave's editors an emotional paragraph about what was on my mind at that moment.

I received a kind response back from the editors and proceeded to forget about the interaction until the day Sarah Brunstad sent me a page of Pierre-Alexandre Comtois's gorgeous art featuring my words lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.

Along with publishing the anthology, Mad Cave coordinated a large signing at LA comic shop Revenge Of, including a charity auction to raise more funds. I was honored to have so many great friends in attendance and, although I didn't feel up to posting about it at the time, the event was a real pick-me-up following a couple of stressful months.

Rosie and I donated original art from our collection to the auction, Aquaman #2 Page 16 by Martin Egeland, Brad Vancata, Peter David, and Dan Nakrosis.

Pierre-Alexandre's fantastic original art from our page in LA Strong was also included in the auction, and it was wonderful to see this stunning piece in person.

In June, we received word that LA Strong would be honored at the 2025 Eisner Awards at San Diego Comic-Con, with Mad Cave accepting the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award. I was in attendance at the award ceremony as I have been for many years now, but it was the first time my work has been part of an Eisner-winning publication.

While I wish I could say our systems are functioning better 10 months after the LA fires, sadly it feels like we're continually living under systemic failure after systemic failure. As I state in my page from LA Strong, my hopes are parked on mutual aid being a shining light in this time when there are less and less institutions we can rely on.