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, Marvel announced new “Black Widow” and “Werewolf by Night” series, and Valiant announced “The Final Witness.” We also have exclusive previews of tomorrow’s “Afterlift” #4, and March’s “Heavy Metal” #298.
– Humanoids’ Life Drawn imprint announced “MPLS Sound,” a musical graphic novel written by Joe Illidge and Hannibal Tabu with art by Meredith Laxton. Loosely based on Prince’s band The Revolution, the book is set in 1983 and tells the story of Starchild, a funk and rock band created to play with the legendary star in Minneapolis. “Through Starchild’s journey, ‘MPLS Sound’ chronicles, from a distance, the rise of a musical genius, and the rebirth of a city.” The comic will be released in October 2020 with a cover by Jen Bartel.
– Dark Horse announced “The World of Black Hammer Library Edition” Volume 1, an oversized hardcover collection reprinting the spin-offs “Sherlock Frankenstein & the Legion of Evil,” and “Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows.” The $49.99 book will be available in comics shops on June 10, 2020, and in bookstores on June 23, 2020.
– Drawn & Quarterly unveiled their Fall 2020 schedule, which include the previously announced print editions of Sophie Yanow’s autobiographical webcomic “The Contradictions,” and the early Lisa Hanawalt minicomic collection “I Want You.” Other titles include Michel Rabagliati’s “Paul at Home,” Ancco’s “Nineteen,” and paperback reissues of Jason Lutes’s “Berlin” and Seth’s “George Sprott: 1894-1975.”
– SelfMadeHero also revealed their Spring 2020 releases, featuring books coming out from March until May. Titles include graphic histories of “Medicine” and “Wine,” and “Altitude,” an autobiography by “Snowpiercer” artist Jean-Marc Rochette (co-written by Olivier Bocquet and translated by Edward Gauvin), chronicling Rochette’s early life as a mountain climber.
– Netflix announced it has acquired the international rights to the films of Studio Ghibli, which will be added to the service outside the United States, Canada and Japan over the next two months (eg. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind will stream from March 1, and The Wind Rises will be added on April 1). The US streaming rights for Studio Ghibli’s films are held by HBO Max, which launches May 2020.
– Meanwhile, the launch date for Disney+ in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland has been brought forward a week to March 24. The European price will cost £5.99/€6.99 a month, or £59.99/€69.99 for an annual subscription.
– Lastly, Empire magazine recently unveiled the results of its survey to name the 100 greatest films of the 21st century. Both The Dark Knight and Avengers: Infinity War made the top 10, while Mad Max: Fury Road (which was co-written by British comics artist Brendan McCarthy) was voted the best film of the past 20 years. You can read the full results online and in the next print issue (on shelves January 23).
