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.
In case you missed it, longtime Archie Comics artist Tim Kennedy passed away last month.
– Fantagraphics will publish “Hogbook and Lazer Eyes,” a graphic memoir by comedian Maria Bamford and painter Scott Marvel Cassidy, telling the story of how they became a couple, albeit “through the prism of their pug housemates.” The book, which marks the graphic novel debut of both of them, is named after the usernames they respectively had when they met on OkCupid. It will be released in June 2023.
– Stranger Comics announced “Niobe: She-Tribe,” a one-shot written by actress Thuso Mbedu (The Woman King) with company president Sebastian A. Jones, due out Spring 2023. Jones was also announced as developing — via Payback Entertainment, the company he founded with Prentice Penny — “Naija Vamp,” a Nigerian vampire story conceived by Yetide Badaki (American Gods) into a comic and TV series. Badaki and Jones will write the comic, which will be published in Summer 2023. (No interior artists were revealed for either book.)
– Chispa Comics, the Latine imprint owned by Mucho Mas Media and Scout Comics, will launch ‘The Thirteen,’ a shared universe of Mesoamerican-inspired superheroes, beginning with 13 character spotlights. The first six will be released at San Diego Comic-Con in July, while the rest will debut at New York Comic Con in October. An ongoing series with all the characters will begin in 2024, as will three spin-off series starring smaller teams. According to the announcement, the superheroes of this world are called Chispas (“sparks”), and they derive their powers from the day signs of the Mesoamerican calendar.
– Marvel unleashed the second trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, featuring much more of Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, more insight into his offer to Scott Lang, and the first shots of a very comic book accurate MODOK, seen with and without his mask. The movie kicks off the MCU’s Phase 5 on February 17. The studio also announced Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released digitally on February 1 (the same day as its addition to Disney+), and on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 7.
– Graphix acquired publication rights to “Saachi’s Stories,” a middle-grade graphic novel by Maia Kobabe (“Gender Queer”) and Lucky Srikumar, that tells the story of Saachi, an aspiring author in junior high, who struggles with seeing her friends form romantic relationships. Kobabe stressed the book is a safer alternative to the controversial “Gender Queer,” tackling the same themes but for a younger audience. It will be released in 2025.
– First Second Books will publish “The Masked Princess,” a YA OGN by writer Ted Anderson (“Moth & Whisper”) and artist Ollie Roswell (“Steven Universe”), also due out in 2025. The book follows Noel, a high school cosplayer who becomes a celebrity after coming to another cosplayer’s rescue at a convention, causing him to have a reckoning about his gender identity.
– izneo, the comics reading service based in France, announced they are closing down, stating, “As we are restructuring to provide you with an even better reading experience, you will no longer have access to the English store.” The store and membership will be closed on January 31. “On that date, the publishers’ catalogues will no longer be available for consultation or purchase except for Europe Comics and Cinebook,” they explained. “These two [publishers] will have a section in the French store for you to continue reading in English. The interface you will have access to when you log in, few weeks after closure, will be in French. Your purchases will obviously keep their original language.”
– Over in France itself, cartoonist Bastien Vives (“Lastman,” “Olympia”) and two of his publishers are being investigated by authorities over complaints that some of his books can be considered child pornography. Vives has been under fire for the past month over portrayals of incest and pedophilia in his work, as well as for abusive comments towards cartoonist Emma, causing the Angoulême International Comics Festival to remove him as a guest of honor from this month’s event. Vives, 38, has responded to the controversy with a statement condemning pedophilia, rape culture, and violence toward women, and apologizing to Emma. You can read more on the events preceding the investigation at ARTnews, although please be aware the report contains descriptions of genuinely graphic and disturbing content.
