Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
– Warner Bros and DC are working on a new film that will tell the Joker’s origin. In what will come as a relief to fans turned off by the current Snyder-verse and unfortunate face tattoos, the film will be part of a new line of movies separate from the main universe. In it, Warner Bros wants to “expand the canon of DC properties and create unique storylines with different actors playing the iconic characters.” At the helm will be Todd Phillips (The Hangover), who also co-wrote the script with 8-Mile writer Scott Silver. Phillips will produce the film, along with Martin Scorsese. Scorsese’s involvement is significant, because the film will be set in an early-80’s Gotham that’s meant to feel like something out of Taxi Driver or Raging Bull. Let’s just hope this isn’t another ill-fated attempt at adapting “The Killing Joke.”
– In a press release sent to Multiversity, LA-based graphic novel publisher Humanoids Inc. announced that they are launching two new imprints. The first, HumanoidsKids, will feature books for children and Young Adults. It’s launching with a 2nd printing of “The Magical Twins” by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Georges Bess, the first part of a “Gregory & the Gargoyles” trilogy by Denis-Pierre Filippi, and “Halloween Tales” by Denis-Pierre Filippi & Olivier Boiscommun. Slice of Life, the second aptly named imprint, will have books with “a wide variety of subjects, from travelogues and personal journeys, to LGBTQ themes and coming to terms with bereavement.” It will launch with “The Retreat” by Pierre Wazem and Tom Tirabosco, and “Adrift” by Gregory Mardon.
– The Jack Kirby Museum in New York has announced its plan for Kirby’s 100th birthday celebration. They will host a “special, limited-engagement event, celebrating the life, legacy, and boundless creativity of the King of Comics,” from August 27-30. Along with special presentations by museum president Tom Kraft and others, the four-day event will feature a silent auction, oversized reproductions of Kirby’s work, access to the museum’s digital archive featuring thousands of pages of scanned art, and a gift shop featuring limited edition prints.
– Fantagraphics has bought the debut graphic novel from actor Jim Broadbent, who’s known for many roles, including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and the current season of Game of Thrones. The book is titled “Dull Margaret,” and will feature art from Dix. The story was inspired by ‘Dulle Griet,’ a painting by Bruegel, and started out as a film script before making the transition to graphic novel.
– ComiXology’s next exclusive Marvel series will be “Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe,” by writer Jeremy Whitley and artists Simone Buonfantino and Alti Firmasyah. Whitley describes the series saying, “Every issue is a new world, a new task, and new trials for the God of Thunder and the Great Green Goliath.” “Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe” #1 will be available on September 6 for $2.99, or free for ComiXology Unlimited subscribers.
– Telltale Games has announced that the second episode of Batman: The Enemy Within is called “The Pact,” and will be released on September 26. The episode will feature the series debut of Harley Quinn. In addition to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, Android and iOS will also get both episodes the same day.
– Marvel has teamed up with ESPN to release comic book covers for six of the biggest matchups happening in the 2017 college football kickoff weekend. The covers are all homages to past Marvel issues and feature art by Wellington Alves, Tom Raney, Christian Duce, Andrea Di Vito, Jose Luis, and Paco Diaz.
– Apparently, Omar’s not comin’. Michael K. Williams (The Wire) has dropped out of the Han Solo standalone film due to scheduling conflicts. He had already shot several scenes before Ron Howard took over, but isn’t available for reshoots because of his commitments to the upcoming film The Red Sea Diving Resort.
– New photos from the set of Avengers 4 have confirmed that Gwyneth Paltrow will be appearing in the film. Before appearing earlier this year in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Paltrow’s Pepper Potts had not been in an MCU film since 2013’s Iron Man 3.
– Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, V for Vendetta) revealed on Twitter that he is in the upcoming Deadpool 2, in an unspecified role. The film just resumed filming after taking a short hiatus following the death of stuntwoman Joi Harris.
– And lastly, in honor of Wildstorm’s 25th anniversary, DC Comics has put 200 of the imprint’s issues on sale for $0.99 each, 150 of which have never been available digitally. The sale is available on all the regular digital stores, and will run through August 29.
