Posted in: Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Dynamite | Tagged: little mermaid, Sherri L Smith, Ursula

Dynamite Rescues The Little Mermaid's Ursula In 2026

Dynamite rescues Disney Villains: Ursula by Sherri L Smith and Gabriele Bagnoli in 2026 originally planned for Dark Horse over five years ago

Dynamite Entertainment has continued their line in Disney Villains comic in 2026, following The Lion King's Scar and Snow White's Maleficent, Hercules' Hades and 1o1 Dalmatians' Cruella De Vil, with a new series plucked from The Little Mermaid with Disney Villains: Ursula #1 by Sherri L Smith and Gabrielle Bagnoli. However, it's also one that Dark Horse Comics published back in 2020. Or at least planned to, soliciting the first issue. Then there was a lockdown, and the comic disappeared. However, five years later, it's back from a different publisher, which now holds the Disney rights.

Sherri L Smith is best known for her novel Flygirl,  selected as one of the American Library Association's 2010 Best Books for Young Adults, followed by Sparrow, Orleans and Lucy the Giant.  She also worked on stop-motion animation for Tim Burton's Mars Attacks with three years at Disney TV Animation as well as nine years working at Bongo Comics, as well as writing Avatar comics for Dark Horse, and graphic novels Pearl, and had a DC comic book starring Jennifer Pierce, daughter of Black Lightning, called Lightning: Changes, though that was two years ago, and we haven't much since there either…

Gabriele Bagnoli is an Italian somic book creator, known for his self-published Cyrano Comics, as well as illustrating children's books for Edizioni Piemme, Mondadori, Fabbri Editore, and Giunti. He has also inked RWBY at DC, Rise of Magi at Image and Chaos at Dynamite Entertainment, as well as drawing the Sacro/Profano and 4HOODS series, Steven Universe and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as Sweet Paproika with Mirka Andolfo. Here's the Dynamite February 2026 solicitation for Disney Villains: Ursula. 

DISNEY VILLAINS: URSULA #1
INTO THE BOTTOMLESS BLUE!
Writer SHERRI L. SMITH and artist GABRIELE BAGNOLI take readers back beneath the waves for an all-new tale of tentacled treachery!
Years before she would meet a young mermaid named Ariel, the formidable Ursula presided over a vast underwater kingdom as one of the Seven Sea Witches. Along with Capricia, Scylla, Charybdis, Melusine, Tiamat, and Vodyanoy, together the septet ruled the world's oceans with impunity.
So when one of Ursula's royal sisters is suddenly found broken and stripped of all her powers, Ursula takes it as an attack upon their collective authority, and sets out to find and punish the culprit — knowing that, among all the denizens of the deep, only one would dare to challenge the Sea Witches' reign!
Featuring a shimmering school of covers by MIRKA ANDOLFO, JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG, ROBERT QUINN, ELLERY, and SHATOKI SHIKI!
32pgs, Teen, $4.99
Covers: Mirka Andolfo • Jae Lee • Robert Quinn • Shatoki Shiki • Francesca Carita • Blank Authentix
Incentive: 10-copy Francesca Carita Virgin • 10-copy Robert Quinn Line Art • 15-copy Shatoki Shiki Virgin • 15-copy Robert Quinn Line Art Virgin • 20-copy Robert Quinn Virgin • 25-copy Jae Lee Virgin
Premium: Mirka Andolfo Metal ($100) • Mirka Andolfo Ltd Virgin ($50)

And here is the original Dark Horse Comics version.

Disney Villains: Ursula and the Seven Seas by Sherri L. Smith, Gabriele Bagnoli
Unveil the sordid history of the notorious sea witch Ursula in an untold story set long before the events of Disney The Little Mermaid. Ursula is one of seven sea witches, each rule one of the Seven Seas. Bestowed with power and magic, the sea witches instill in the kingdoms envy, reverence . . . and fear. To maintain peace and bounty, the merfolk must make an offering to the witch that rules their sea–a sacrifice–the souls belonging to those of their own. The tithe remains undisputed, until one day Ursula's younger sea sister is found stripped of all her powers–one by one, the sea witches are hunted. Among the merfolk, there rises a maverick, one who dares defy the reign of the sea witches. Ursula must find the culprit and reclaim control, but there's much more at stake, and revenge isn't all she's after . . . Award-winning author Sherri L. Smith (Flygirl, Sparrow, Orleans, Lucy the Giant, Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path) tells a sophisticated story of power, vengeance, and betrayal with the alluring art of Gabriele Bagnoli (Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Peer through the black ink and tentacles and witness what makes Ursula one of Disney's most infamous villains! Collects Disney Villains: Ursula and the Seven Seas #1-#3.

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