[Header image by Garry Brown]
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.
-Justin Lin (Fast Five, Star Trek Beyond) and Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, Nerdland) are reportedly set to direct and write, respectively, an adaptation of the legendary manga “Lone Wolf and Cub.” The original series about a shogun’s executioner on a hunt for revenge after his entire family is killed except his infant son was written by Kazuo Koike (“Path of the Assassin,” “Samurai Executioner”) and drawn by Goseki Kojima (“Path of the Assassin,” “Samurai Executioner”). The series is lauded, loved and cited as a direct inspiration for the likes of Frank Miller (“The Dark Knight Returns,” “Ronin”), Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Labratory) and countless others. The film has been in production purgatory at Paramount since it’s their purchase of the rights in 2003, with Justin Lin having been attached since 2012 as an executive producer.
-Every year the American Civil Liberty Union publishes a report concerning which books have been banned by schools across the country, this years report from Texas shows that “Drama” the graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier (“X-Men: Misfits,” “Smile”) has once again been banned in several schools. The ban in some part is due to a subplot involving a crush between two boys close to the protagonist Callie featured in the book about a middle school theatre company. It should be noted that only 44% of schools responded to the ACLU’s request for information on challenges to reading materials so it is possible that some banned books were not recorded in the report.
-Speaking of the law, Malaysian cartoonist Zunar remains grounded in his home country awaiting a trial for charges of sedition regarding comments he made on Twitter in 2015. The cartoonist was blocked from traveling despite having made numerous trips to speaking engagements and cartoon exhibitions throughout 2015 and most of 2016. The 9 tweets in question, each one warranting a separate count of sedition, could land Zunar a total of 43 years in prison. The trial is currently scheduled for November 1; however, his trial has been delayed several times since it was originally scheduled in 2015.
-On a lighter note the upcoming Big Hero 6 television show on Disney XD will begin with a special hour-long tv movie titled “Baymax Returns.” The Big Hero 6 were originally featured in an issue of Alpha Flight written by Steven T. Seagle (“Sandman Mystery Theatre,” “Uncanny X-Men”) and drawn by Duncan Rouleau (“Alpha Flight,” “The Metal Men”) and then featured in a solo title starring the X-Men’s Sunfire. The TV show and TV movie will feature the voices of many of the actors from the film, including Marvel Generalissimo Stan “The Man” Lee. The TV movie premieres November 20 at 8 pm and will be broadcast simultaneously on Disney Channel and Disney XD.
-San Diego Comic Con, or Comic-Con International if you prefer, has plans in the works for a brand new pop culture museum and has hired Adam Smith to design, fundraise and construct the new museum. Smith, who previously provided the same services to the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Dallas, Texas, was chosen from a wide pool of talented and enthusiastic candidates according to David Glanzer, SDCC’s Chief Communications & Strategy Officer.
-Joe Quesada (“Daredevil,” “Batman; Sword of Azrael”) in a post asked for fans, collectors, and dealers help in finding some original comic art that was stolen from his home in Sparta, New Jersey. A man whom Quesada had been employing stole the 185 pages and sold them to an undetermined individual to be sold at auction. Among the piece’s were many 50’s and 60’s “Archie” pages, Quesada says that he specifically is offering to purchase the cover to “Archie” #322 by Dan DeCarlo (“Archie,” “Betty & Veronica”). The art also included many of Quesada’s own personal pages, including some which he had drawn as a young man going back to elementary school left to him by his father. If you have any information on any of the stolen art you can contact the police here.
Continued below-Gail Simone (“Secret Six,” “Clean Room”) and Cat Staggs (“Smallville Season 11,” “Wonder Woman ’77”)’s new Image Comics series “Crosswinds” is being adapted as a television show by Piazza Entertainment. The series revolves around a housewife and hitman who are mysteriously mind-swapped resulting in a story which is one part Freaky Friday and one part brutal assassinations. Simone will be executive producing and be writing the show’s pilot while Staggs will be helping capture the dark and brutal nature of her pages as a consulting producer.
-Alterna Comics has published an open letter to retailers in regards to changing the system of deciding what comics will be featured as part of the annual Free Comic Book Day. Currently, a secret panel of retailers along with the event’s founder Joe Field, who runs Flying Comics in California, decide what books are and are not part of the event. Publisher Peter Simiti in the letter suggested that rather than have a small group of retailers decide the entire consortium of retailers selections for Free Comic Book Day to have a simple multi-selection form with the highest vote-getters being chosen for the event. In years past several other publishers have also gone public with their rejections for Free Comic Book Day with similar complaints.
-If you love scantily clad men holding large weapons is standing operatically in well lit epic situations have I got some great news for you. A new Kickstarter aims to bring five pieces from the legendary art of Frank Frazetta (“Conan,” “White Indian”) back into print. The print’s, which will run you $125 for one of the prints and $325 for all four, will all be printed using a silkscreen printing process called Serigraphy which apparently creates a “rich, deep, and vibrant colors that just are not available through any other process.” If you wish to support this endeavor and snag yourself a piece of sweet Frazetta art you can go here.
