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, IDW announced spooky miniseries “Ghost Tree,” while Dynamite unveiled “Bettie Page: Unbound.” We also interviewed Jordie Bellaire about writing BOOM!’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot.
– Dark Horse imprint Berger Books announced writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Martin Morazzo will return for “She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot.” The five-issue follow-up to last year’s original miniseries will continue the story of troubled teenager Luna, who is now in a mental institution. The first issue is out April 10.
– Scholastic Graphix will publish Molly Knox Ostertag’s “The Midwinter Witch” on November 5, 2019. The third in Ostertag’s “Witch Boy” series will be set during the Midwinter Festival, “when a powerful and sinister force invades the reunion, threatening to destroy everything the young witches [Aster and Ariel] have fought for, can they find the courage to fight it together? Or will dark magic tear them apart?”
– BOOM! Studios imprint Archaia announced “Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens,” the latest miniseries based on the classic television series. This time the theme is mermaids, and the creators on each respective issue will be Jakub Rebelka (“Judas”) with Sztybor Bartosz, Chan Chau (“Elements: Fire”), Sarah Webb (“Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell”), and Aud Koch (“The Wicked + The Divine”). Issue #1 is out April 3.
– According to The Hollywood Reporter, DC Entertainment has laid off seven staff members as part of a restructuring. The reorganization was intended to have DC return to focus on publishing, with DC Collectibles, the merchandising arm of the company, now under the oversight of Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ Toy team instead. John Cunningham, VP of consumer marketing, Eddie Scannell, VP of Consumer Marketing, and senior VP art director Mark Chiarello, are among those who have left the company.
– Meanwhile, the Arizona Republic has laid off Steve Benson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who had been with the paper since 1981. And in more cartooning news, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s newsroom union have criticized the editors for publishing “three misogynistic editorial cartoons within a week.” Current Post-Gazette cartoonist Steve Kelley was hired by the paper last year to replace Rob Rogers, who was fired after drawing several anti-Trump cartoons.
– Director Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) and producer Sandra Bullock have signed on for Netflix’s film adaptation of Mark Millar and Greg Capullo’s “Reborn.” The 2016 comic told the story of an 80-year old woman, Bonnie Black, who dies and finds herself in the high fantasy afterlife of Adystria. As she becomes embroiled in its ongoing conflict between good and evil, she sets off to find her late husband. Bullock, who recently starred in Netflix’s Bird Box, is also considering playing Bonnie.
– The CW has ordered a pilot for Katy Keene, a show starring Archie Comics’ aspiring model. Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina showrunner Robert Aguirre-Sacasa and Michael Grassi will write and executive produce the musical dramedy, with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater also executive producing. The series will follow Katy and three other Archie characters as they try to make it in on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio. Katy Keene was created in 1945 by Bill Woggon, and has been a relatively minor Archie staple ever since.
– Finally, Bryan Singer was subject of an Atlantic exposé, detailing years of alleged sexual abuse and statutory rape from the X-Men and Superman Returns director. Singer has responded to the article, accusing it of being a “homophobic smear piece.” Singer’s latest film, Bohemian Rhapsody, has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (though he himself was not nominated), and he is currently planning a Red Sonja reboot at Millennium Films.
