The second series in Zack Kaplan’s 2026 Dark Horse slate is a modern sci-fi detective comic built on the dangers of our new A.I. generation!
Continuing the hit-filled 2026 lineup for Zack Kaplan and Dark Horse Comics, The Smart Division reunites Kaplan with Eisner-winning superstar artist John Pearson (In Bloom, Infernals, Department of Truth). This is their first series together since their fan favorite Vault Comics series Mindset, which was optioned by Boatrocker Studios and Don Cheadle’s Radicle Act for TV development. Now, Pearson and Kaplan build a world straight out of a modern-day detective’s crime files, as an artificial intelligence app offers to serve our worst instincts and assist us in evading law enforcement. How will our criminal justice system possibly stand up to the power of A.I.? And can two disparate detectives with vastly different relationships with technology come together to track down this mysterious new threat? Eisner-winning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Only the Savage are Left, Masterminds) and Eisner-nominated designer Tom Muller joins the duo for this story that’s perfect for fans of The X-Files, True Detective, and Minority Report!
Main cover art for this series by Pearson with variant covers for issue #1 from Jesse Lonergan (Miss Truesdale, Man’s Best), Jacob Phillips (Kill All Immortals, The Walking Dead Deluxe), and illustrator Matt Taylor.
“John Pearson and I have been planning our second series for years, looking for the right story and right time,” said Kaplan. “The Smart Division takes everything you loved about our first series Mindset, the playing with form, the thoughtful commentary on technology, and the tense character drama, and raises the bar, with more danger and dread. Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic of our time, but we’re exploring it like you’ve never seen – what happens when it helps us commit the perfect crimes.”
“Like the work myself and Zack have done before together, The Smart Division aims to raise a lot of questions about technology and humanity,” said Pearson. “If we continue to exploit increasingly advanced Artificial Intelligence, what are the consequences that we will have to face? The contrast of the digital and the traditional is a huge driving force for the artwork in the series, exploring the creative process through painted pages to contrast with the technological abundance the characters face.”
In The Smart Division:
When a mysterious new predictive artificial intelligence program appears responsible for assisting someone in the perfect murder, a pair of unlikely investigators, a chaotic Gen-Z savant and a veteran FBI agent, must hunt down the killer by starting the FBI’s first AI crimes division.
Get ready for the new age of crime comics when The Smart Division #1 (of 5) arrives in comic shops on August 5, 2026, for $4.99. Visit Find your comics store (FYCS) for more details and stores near you.
Look out for Kaplan’s other Dark Horse titles, including Only The Savage are Left, Masterminds and Kill All Immortals I & II in comic shops now.
