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, Image announced a six-part “The Old Guard: Tales Through Time” anthology, AfterShock’s “Girls of Dimension 13” hits shelves this April, and Marvel is reinventing the ‘What If’ brand with “Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow.” We also have a look at April’s Mignolaverse books, and spoke to Andrew Constant and Nicola Scott about “Future State: Nightwing.”
– Doctor Who villain Missy will be getting her own series from Titan Comics this April. The series will see Michelle Gomez’s incarnation of classic Who villain the Master battle the Third and Twelfth Doctors, as she searches for a secret weapon that would put all the universe in peril. Handling creative duties on the book are Eisner-nominated writer Jody Houser, artist Roberta Ingranata, and colorist Enrica Angiolini, reuniting after their tenure on the “Doctor Who” comic. “Missy” #1’s release will coincide with the 50th anniversary of The Master first appearing on TV in 1971’s “Terror of the Autons.” The book is available for preorder at shops, from Forbidden Planet, and on comiXology.
– When DC Universe Infinite launches tomorrow, its library will include titles from DC’s mature reader Vertigo and Black Label imprints, as well as the Milestone line. According to a press release on the publisher’s website, titles such as “Preacher” and “Icon” will be added to the digital platform, as will a number of requested mainline titles, such as Tom King and Mitch Gerads’s “Miracle Man.” New titles will be added to the service six months after their release, and digital-first titles will be added after three.
– Legendary Comics’s long-gestating graphic novel “Championess,” about 18th-century bare-knuckle boxer Elizabeth Wilkinson, will be released on April 13. The book, written by Kelly Zekas and Tarun Shanker, with art by Amanda Perez Puentes, will follow the real-life figure as she fights to clear her sister’s debt. A television series is already in development from UK production company Watford & Essex.
– The Hero Initiative is joining forces with the Book Industry Charitable Foundation for the Double Visions art auctions on February 2. Just as The Hero Initiative is teaming with BINC Foundation, the auction will bring together two artists to create a single piece to be sold on Hero’s eBay. Teams contributing pieces to the auction include Spider-Man and Venom by Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman, Bishop and X-Factor by Larry Stroman and Whilce Portacio, and two Spider-Man/Green Goblin pieces by Matt Wagner and Tim Sale. Proceeds will go to the Hero Initiative and the BINC Foundation’s Comicbook United Fund, for creators and retailers affected by COVID-19.
– With season two set to premiere on Monday, Variety has revealed that TNT’s Snowpiercer has been renewed for a third season. Based on the 2013 film by Parasite director Bong John-ho, itself based on 1982 French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige” created by writer Jacques Lob and artist Jean-Marc Rochette, the show follows a society surviving a frozen wasteland on a massive 1001 car train. The series debuted last year.
– Actress and singer Savanna Welch (Tree of Life, Boyhood) has been cast as Barbara Gordon on season three of HBO Max’s Titans. The season will portray Gordon as Gotham Police Commissioner, and explore her complicated relationship with Brenton Thwaites’s Dick Grayson and Iain Glen’s Bruce Wayne. The series will also reference 1988’s “The Killing Joke,” depicting Gordon as wheelchair bound after being paralyzed by the Joker. Welch has been a spokesperson for the disabled community since 2016, after an automobile accident forced doctors to amputate her right leg. She has used her platform to raise awareness, portrayed wounded marine Dawn in the first season of The History Channel’s SIX.
– “M.F.K.” writer and artist Nilak Magruder announced on Twitter that she is offering a six-month mentorship for new creators. This mentorship will be aimed at helping develop a graphic novel pitch that includes everything from sample pages to a plot synopsis. The mentorship is open to anyone over the age of 18, though Black and Indigenous applications will be prioritized. Applications can be found here, and are due on January 31. Mentees will be notified starting February 15.
Continued below– Marvel has announced a new documentary that will premiere on Disney+. Hitting the streaming service on February 15, Marvel’s Behind the Mask will explore the secret identities of many of the publisher’s greatest heroes, and how identities have been used to explore issues of equal rights, staying true to Marvel’s vision of “the world outside your window.” The documentary is directed by Michael Jacobs, and will feature interviews with creators from every era of the company.
– IDW is teaming up the six beloved equines of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with the heroes of Cybertron… again! The company has announced their newest crossover, “My Little Pony/Transformers II.” Written by James Asmus and Sam Maggs, with art from Jack Lawrence and Casey W. Coller, this four-part miniseries will see Twilight Sparkle and pals aid the Autobots against the Decepticons yet again, this time on the Transformers’ homeworld, instead of the ponies’ home of Equestria. Issue #1 is set to hit stands this April.
– Finally, as Marvel’s “King in Black” storyline comes to a close, “Venom” will celebrate its 200th issue. Hitting shelves in April, after “King in Black” #5 closes the event that March, “Venom” #200 is not only a milestone in terms of issue number, but will also be the finale of writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman’s acclaimed run on the book. Cates hints that there are still plenty of twists left in the epic storyline they’ve crafted, hinting that God of Light may exist, much like the God of Darkness Knull. “Our ‘Venom’ run is one big, long arc,” Cates told IGN. “It just lined up that ‘Venom’ #200 was the completion of that story.”
