Mega Man's Dr. Wily is getting his own comic this June

UDON Entertainment and Capcom have announced Dr. Wily #1, a standalone one-shot comic focusing on the central antagonist of the classic Mega Man series. Written by Tavis Maiden with artwork by Ryan Jampole, the comic is scheduled to hit store shelves on June 17, 2026.

I love the Mega Man games, but I often think the comics are actually more enjoyable. The 8-bit platformers are great for tight jumping mechanics and memorable boss fights. The comics have historically fleshed out the lore, turning Dr. Albert W. Wily from a pixelated sprite who wiggles his eyebrows into a deeply insecure, egomaniacal genius. Giving him a dedicated issue to monologue about his ultimate scheme is exactly the kind of character work these adaptations do best.

A 25-year partnership

UDON Entertainment is a natural fit for this project. The Canadian art studio and publisher was founded in 2000 and has spent the last two decades building a massive portfolio of Capcom adaptations. They are best known for their extensive Street Fighter and Darkstalkers comic series. They even provided official artwork for actual Capcom video games like Capcom Fighting Evolution.

Their handling of the Mega Man license is a newer development. Archie Comics previously published a beloved Mega Man ongoing series that ran for over 50 issues. That run was famous for exploring the psychological toll on Rock, a pacifist helper robot forced to destroy his own kind. When Archie discontinued its video game adaptations, the Blue Bomber's comic future was left in limbo. UDON eventually acquired the licenses and began reprinting the Archie run in oversized hardcovers. Now they are publishing brand new stories to continue the narrative.

Set after Timelines #1

The new one-shot is a direct prelude to a currently unannounced classic Mega Man mini-series. The plot takes place after the events of Mega Man Timelines #1, a recent UDON release that explored different eras of the franchise's history.

Both Maiden and Jampole are veterans of the Blue Bomber's comic universe. They both worked on the Archie Comics run before it was canceled. Jampole is a Harvey Award-nominated artist who has also drawn Sonic the Hedgehog for Archie and Dexter's Laboratory for IDW. Maiden is known for his webcomic The Konamis and his previous writing on the Mega Man property. Bringing back these specific creators for new material keeps the tone consistent with the stories fans already know.

Dr. Wily himself has plenty of history to draw from. He debuted in 1987 in the original Mega Man for the Nintendo Entertainment System. He was originally a colleague of Dr. Light who grew jealous of Light's success. Wily stole and reprogrammed six of Light's industrial Robot Masters to conquer the world. This theft kicked off a conflict that has spanned over 50 video games.

Four covers for $4.99

The 32-page one-shot will cost $4.99 and launch with four different cover variants. Jampole provides the standard Cover A. Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz and Maiden handle Covers B and C.

The fourth variant is Cover D by Andrew Dickman. UDON calls this their first-ever Mega Man swimsuit cover. I am not entirely sure what a Dr. Wily swimsuit cover entails, and I am slightly afraid to find out. We will all see exactly what that means when the book arrives this summer.