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, we said goodbye to Holocaust survivor Estelle Nadel. We also had an exclusive preview of next week’s ”Star Wars: Bounty Hunters” #42.
– DC will reprint Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell’s 2016 “Prez” series as a single YA graphic novel this summer. Retitled “Prez: Setting a Dangerous President,” the OGN will include all six issues of the original run, the DC You sneak peek of the series, and the short story from the “Catwoman: Election Night,” plus a new, original story from Russell and Caldwell. The series adapted the original 1973 “Prez” series, updated for modern sensibilities. It will be available Tuesday, June 4.
– Dark Horse unveiled their Free Comic Book Day Silver comic, featuring new Star Wars and Plants vs. Zombies stories. The Star Wars entry, written by Daniel José Older, with art from Andy Dugan, is titled ‘Sky Parade Rescue,’ and follows the younglings from Disney+’s Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, as well as Dark Horse’s own “High Republic Adventures.” ‘Plants vs. Zombies: The Origin of Zomboss’ will reveal the origins of the zombie army leader. Paul Tobin writes, with art from Luisa Russo. Free Comic Book Day 2024 will be held May 4, 2024.
– Writer Tyrone Finch and artist Sebastián Píriz will team up on AHOY’s latest miniseries, “Deadweights,” about two down-on-their-luck henchmen trying to go straight. The book follows two mutant villains (Jerry “Cannonbulk” Patton and Clarence “Bounder” Barrett), who were unceremoniously fired from their job serving Count Dingo and the Marauders, and are now trying to make a new life for themselves, away from supervillains – and finding the transition more difficult than they originally believed. Issue #1 (of 6) drops on April Fools Day (April 1) of this year.
– We have our first look at Top Cow Productions and EP1T0Me Studios’s latest entry in the “St. Mercy” series, “St. Mercy: Godlands.” Continuing the story of the immortal Mercedes Oro, who was cursed by ancient Incan gold, and struggles against the Incan gods, the series moves the action from the old west to 1930s Hollywood. John Zuur Platten and Atillo Rojo return on creative duties. Issue #1 hits shelves on March 18, 2024.
– Skybound revealed Jorge Corona will take over the art on “Transformers” with issue #7. Daniel Warren Johnson will continue to write and provide cover art for the series, which will begin its second arc with the issue. The seventh issue’s cover also reveals Optimus Prime’s female counterpart, Elita One, will be joining the book’s ever-expanding cast of Autobots. “Transformers” #7 will be released on April 10, 2024.
– Sam Beck’s fantasy webcomic “Verse” has resumed serialization online, ahead of the third and final volume of the print edition’s release in August 2024. Beck states, “I started ‘Verse’ off as a webcomic, so you can’t imagine how thrilled I am that it’s finally returning to the web! It’s always been important to me to bring it back to its original form, and I hope it gets everyone excited for the final book in the series. In ‘Verse Book Three,’ everyone is going to be in for an emotional ride!”
– The latest ‘Fall of X’ story arc has begun on the Marvel Unlimited app. “X-Men Unlimited” #121, the latest issue of the app-based Marvel Infinity Comics formatted series, kicks off a 20-chapter arc, which sees John and James Proudstar (Thunderbird and Warpath respectively) return to Camp Gozhoo, only to find Orchis on their trail. The series will update weekly (every Monday), and feature the work of creators such as Steve Orlando, Steve Foxe, Nick Roche, Yen Nitro, and more.
– The Spirit of Vengeance will abandon Johnny Blaze in this spring’s “Ghost Rider: Final Vengence,” and Marvel have revealed its new host will be none other than Parker Robbins, aka the Hood. Robbins immediately begins a brutal take over the criminal underworld, and Johnny Blaze must recapture the spirit while he still can. Benjamin Percy writes the new series, with art from Danny Kim. Issue #1 will be available on March 13, 2024.
– An animated series based on Wendy and Richard Pini’s “Elfquest” is currently in the works at Fox. The series is being developed by Rodney Rothman and Adam Rosenberg’s Modern Magic, along with Bento Box Entertainment. “Elfquest,” created in 1978 and published by Dark Horse, follows a group of elves and other fictional species on a world with two moons. The Last Amazon showrunner and executive producer Susan Hurwitz Arneson will handle those duties for this show as well, in addition to writing the series.
– Finally, Netflix’s Nimona picked up nine Annie Award nominations, with nods in categories such as best feature, director, character animation, character design, production design, storyboarding, voice acting, writing, and editorial. While Nimona leads the number of nominations, it finds itself positioned against Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Suzume, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron (fresh off its Golden Globe victory) for best feature. Blue Eye Samurai (another Netflix production) topped the television categories, with seven noms, with Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Star Wars: Visions trailing with six each. The 51st annual Annie Awards will be presented at UCLA’s Royce Hall, on Saturday, February 17 at 7pm, with a pre-show beginning at 4:30pm.
