Ben 10: From Cartoon Network to Creator Files
Our Ben 10 feature this month puts the spotlight on Ben 10: Creator Files #1, Dynamite’s October 2026 behind-the-scenes special. If you remember the cartoon, it offers a look at how Ben’s latest comic adventures are made. If you’re meeting him for the first time, here’s where the watch, the aliens and the comics fit together.
A boy, a watch and ten alien possibilities
Ben Tennyson began on Cartoon Network in 2005. The original set-up is wonderfully direct: a ten-year-old on a summer trip with his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max discovers the Omnitrix, an alien device that attaches to his wrist and lets him transform into different alien species.
The useful twist is that each form has different abilities. Being powerful is only half the problem; Ben still has to work out which transformation will help, and how to use it. Meanwhile, the family road trip keeps the story grounded in squabbles, bad decisions and a grandfather who knows rather more than he initially lets on.
Ben was created by Man of Action, the collective of Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle. Their background in comics matters here: Dynamite’s new series brings the property back to the people who devised it.
Ben had a comics life before Dynamite
One early stop was DC’s Cartoon Network Action Pack #2, on sale in June 2006. Ben shared the anthology with other Cartoon Network characters, and Man of Action was among the credited writers. These were short comic adventures alongside the television series.
In 2013, IDW launched a Ben 10 series using the Omniverse setting, written by Jason Henderson with art by Gordon Purcell. Ben also moved into original graphic novels: BOOM! Studios’ The Truth Is Out There, by CB Lee and Lidan Chen, arrived in 2019.
That history is useful when browsing back issues. “Ben 10 comic” can mean an anthology appearance, an adventure tied to a particular television incarnation, a graphic novel or the current Dynamite run. The publisher and year help tell you which one you’re holding.
What’s different about the 2026 series?
Dynamite’s Ben 10 #1 launched in May 2026, with Joe Casey writing and Robert Carey drawing. It revisits Ben’s discovery of the Omnitrix as a fresh version of the origin. You can approach this run without treating every earlier television series as required homework.
There is a practical distinction for newcomers, though: the numbered Ben 10 series carries the adventure, while Creator Files opens up the process behind it.
Inside Creator Files #1
Dynamite describes the special as a look at the making of an issue, following its development through writing, preliminary drawings, inked artwork and completed pages. It also includes creator interviews about the series’ direction and a preview of a familiar villain’s forthcoming reinvention.
That makes it an interesting choice for readers who like seeing the decisions underneath the finished artwork. It’s a companion to the story run rather than its opening chapter, and the publisher rates it Teen.
Ben 10 at Comic Moon
Explore the two Creator Files covers below, or follow Ben’s 2026 adventure through our listings for issues #2 and #3. Those story issues continue the opening arc, so #1 is the starting point for reading the run in order.
Creator Files #1
Robert Carey cover
Creator Files #1, Cover B
Duncan Rouleau cover
Ben 10 #2
Dynamite’s 2026 story series
Ben 10 #3
Dynamite’s 2026 story series
For us, the appeal of this month’s feature is the chance to put the finished comic beside the work that built it. Ben’s transformations are the spectacle; the scripts, drawings and creative choices are another part of the story worth looking at.
Further reading: The original television series and its first episode; the original creators’ return for Dynamite’s 2026 series. Publisher and contemporary reporting links throughout this article provide more detail on the earlier comics.
Shop photographs show the listed editions. Check each product page for its current price and availability.