NYCC 2025: CRANIACS IS HERE TO MELT YOUR MIND!
What’s good, party people!? It’s ya boy Al Mega, coming at you from New York Comic Con 2025 the temple of nerddom, the house of hype, and the only place you’ll see Spider-Man buy a $40 pretzel!
And let me tell ya, the Comic Crusaders cameras caught pure gold this year when I sat down with the twisted dream team themselves: Joe Simko and Ira Friedman, the brilliant maniacs behind Titan Comics’ new brain-busting series, CRANIACS!
If you grew up loving Garbage Pail Kids, buckle up Joe Simko’s back to wreck your nostalgia in the best way possible.
“I think I was born with a crayon in one hand and a bucket of slime in the other,” Joe joked, laughing about his lifelong obsession with gross-out art.
After joining Topps in the early 2000s under art director Jeff Zapata and creative exec Ira Friedman, Joe helped reimagine Garbage Pail Kids for a new era. Now the duo’s latest creation takes that chaotic creativity and launches it into a full-blown comic universe.
At the heart of Craniacs lies a world torn between two extremes the ultra-futuristic Futera and the prehistoric Retrovia.
“We wanted a world that’s half futuristic, half Stone Age two societies smashed together trying to figure out how to live as one,” says Ira.
The twist? Their conflicts get settled through insane slime-soaked competitions in a skull-shaped battle arena called The Chrome Dome. The concept started as a trading card series that caught fire with collectors before Titan Comics said, “Yo, this needs to be a comic!”
Written by veteran comic scribe Sholly Fisch (Superman, Scooby-Doo, Madballs), Craniacs gives fans a two-for-one experience.
Each issue is a flip comic one side follows the Futera kids, the other follows their Retrovian rivals, both stories meeting at the world’s explosive midpoint. Add in the wild, candy-colored art by Simko and Italian colorist Francesca Zambon, and you’ve got a visual trip that’s both chaotic and nostalgic.
When asked how many cups of coffee fuel such a fever dream, Joe laughed:
“Can you believe I don’t drink coffee? Candy is my energy source, bro!”
He describes his style as “happy horror” part Fright Night, part Nickelodeon Slime Time, a blend of cartoon fun and spooky nostalgia that hits just right for both kids and collectors.
“It’s that 80s energy gross but safe, weird but wonderful,” Joe said.
The Craniacs takeover doesn’t stop with comics. Joe and Ira are building a full-on merch universe:
Enamel Pins from Pin Club with glitter and attitude
Exclusive Poster Art by Simko available at the ReedPop Store
Vinyl Figure “Hal” unveiled at Toy Tokyo’s NYCC booth
“We’re not just doing cards or comics,” Ira said. “This is a full brand a lifestyle of slime and style.”
BREAKING NEWS: CRANIACS Animated Series in Development
Hold onto your skulls Craniacs isn’t just for comic shelves.
“We’ve got a development deal with one of the hottest animation studios on the planet Titmouse,” Ira revealed.
That’s right, the same team behind Beavis and Butt-Head, Venture Bros, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is developing Craniacs as their first original IP from the ground up.
The future (and Retrovia) just got a lot brighter.
Where to Find CRANIACS
Release Date: October 15, 2025
Publisher: Titan Comics
Available: Comic shops worldwide and digital platforms
Collectors get it on your pull list, grab every cover, and experience the chaos twice by flipping that book like your brain depends on it.
Big WEPA shoutout to Joe Simko, Ira Friedman, and Titan Comics for delivering a book that proves comics can still be fun, freaky, and full of fire.
“Craniacs is out here melting faces, cracking skulls, and proving that comics can be hilarious, weird, and brilliant all at once.”
I’m your boy Al Mega, the voice of pop culture. Stay loud, stay proud, and as always keep it geeky, keep it funky, and keep crusadin’, baby! WEPA!
Author Profile
- I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!
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