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, Humanoids have announced “RetroActive,” and Image Comics have announced the return of “Farmhand” with issue #16.
– Marvel have announced that “Daredevil” will relaunch with a new #1, and will continue the current run by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto. Picking up after the events of “Devil’s Reign,” Marvel says “fans can expect the series to tackle both Matt AND Elektra’s journeys as they deal with the brutal cost of taking on the Daredevil mantle. With new enemies and radical changes to the fabric of Daredevil’s mythos, ‘Daredevil’ #1 is set to usher in the darkest Hell’s Kitchen to date.” Zdarsky adds “This is the start of our fourth year on the title! And the plan for it is about as big a swing as we could possibly take. I’m super excited for readers to see where we’re taking our Daredevils!” “Daredevil” #1 arrives in June.
– Via ICv2, Marvel have announced “Spider-Man: The Wedding Album Gallery Edition,” an oversized hardcover Gallery Edition collecting the original wedding story from 1987, but also the version that ran in the Spider-Man newspaper comic, as well as an alternate wedding story. The collected stories include “Amazing Spider-Man” #290-292, “What If” #20-21, “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #21, “Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #7, “Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe” #22, and “Not Brand Echh” #6. “Spider-Man: The Wedding Album Gallery Edition” will be released on August 31 with an MSRP of $44.99.
– Via Publishers Weekly, HarperCollins Children’s Books announced that it will be the master trade publisher in the U.S. and Canada for the Smurfs, under a licensing agreement with the property’s Belgian licensor, IMPS. The two companies have been in talks for the last few years through trade shows and during the Smurfs team’s visits to New York. The publishing effort will include the original comics created by Peyo, previously published titles, TV tie-ins, and brand new concepts aimed at people ages ranging from PreK to Adult. Harper, however, does not hold rights to the coloring and activity book or most comic book categories, but it will be publishing some titles in its new ‘I Can Read! Comics’ series. The first thing launching is a picture book, How Much Farther, Papa Smurf?, which will release in the U.S. on April 26 followed by a Level One I Can Read! reader, Meet the Smurfs, which will be available in May.
– Via ICv2, Drawn & Quarterly have revealed its Fall 2022 publication list which includes “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands,” by Kate Beaton. The book will follow “Katie” after she graduated university in 2005, when she worked at an oil sands mining project in Fort McMurray, Alberta. “Ducks” will be published in September as a 448-page, four-color hardcover with an MSRP of $39.95. Another title of note is “Artist” by Korean creator Yeong-Shin Ma. “Artist” follows three artists who are known collectively as Arcade. The trio have yet to garner much success, but as one of them starts to rise above the others, their friendship becomes unstable. “Artist” is translated by Janet Hong. The 636-page, four-color paperback is scheduled for release in October with an MSRP of $44.95. Head on over to ICv2 for more Drawn & Quarterly fall 2022 releases.
– Via IGN, Z2 Comics have announced they will be teaming with heavy metal band GWAR for a new graphic novel called “GWAR: The Duoverse of Absurdity.” The book is co-written by Michael Derks and GWAR singer Matt Maguire, with art by Andy MacDonald and Shane White. The premise follows the band as they encounter twisted versions of themselves from an alternate dimension, forcing the rock group to defend their universe from their doppelgangers. “GWAR: The Duoverse of Absurdity” will be available in May 2022. You can check out a preview here.
– Via ComicBook.com, Rosario Dawson announced she was teaming with writer Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez on “La Borinqueña Guest Starring Rosario Dawson,” a new graphic novel that is being produced with support from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education and action. The book will feature an original story written by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez and illustrated by Will Rosado, colored by Chris Sotomayor, and have original cover art by Rita Fei, as well as variant covers by Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor, ChrisCross, Andrew Crossley, Leila Del Duca, Luciano Vecchio, Gustavo Vazquez, Edgar Delgado, Rafael Albuqueque, Alvaro Jimenez, and Richard Ortíz. “La Borinqueña Guest Starring Rosario Dawson” will be released on April 6, 2022. In a statement, Miranda-Rodriguez said the graphic novel will also help raise money for philanthropic work in Puerto Rico.
Continued below– Via Newsarama, 2018’s historical action role-playing video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance is getting a four-issue prequel series from Behemoth Comics. Written by Brett Murphy with art by Wilson Gandolpho (“Paranormal Hitmen”), “Kingdom Come: Deliverance — Death Upon Us” sees Bohemia (the modern day west Czech Republic)’s 15th century king Wenceslaus IV being captured by his half-brother, Sigismund, King of Hungary and Croatia. Sigismund, his Cuman mercenaries, and his general Istvan Toth now raid the villages of Bohemia, seeking and stamping out Wenceslaus’s loyalists. Issue #1 releases in June.
– Crunchyroll has announced Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the anime film based on Gege Akutami’s prequel manga, would be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on March 18, 2022. In addition to the screenings at 1500 theaters nationwide, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will be screened at select IMAX theaters in the U.S. Tickets go on sale starting February 25, and will be available in both the original Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English. Beyond the United States and Canada, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will also be released in theaters in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, French-speaking Africa and Latin America. You can check out a trailer here.
– EA have announced a slew of new games set within the Star Wars universe from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order developer Respawn Entertainment. Upcoming titles include the next game in the Star Wars Jedi franchise, a first person shooter from original Medal of Honor producer Peter Hirschmann, and a strategy game developed in collaboration with the newly formed studio Bit Reactor, helmed by games industry veteran Greg Foertsch (XCOM.) For more info, head on over to EA. Other upcoming Star Wars console games include April’s LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse, Aspyr Media’s Knights of the Old Republic remake, and an unnamed project from Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment.
– Finally, Fox 5 San Diego reports Peter Robbins, the first actor to voice Charlie Brown in the Peanuts TV specials, has died aged 65. Robbins first voiced Charlie in 1963’s A Boy Named Charlie Brown, and retired from the role in 1969, although his recording of the character’s trademark “AUGH!!” would continue to be used in subsequent specials. He also starred in the 1968 TV series Blondie, based on the comic strip of the same name, and appeared on Rawhide, The Munsters, and Get Smart. His later life was marked by struggles with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia, and drug and alcohol abuse, leading him to spend four years in prison, and then a psychiatric hospital, from 2015 to 2019. Robbins’s family states the cause of death was suicide.
If you have been affected by this report, please remember that organizations like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or Crisis Text Line offer free, 24/7 hour support in the United States. If you’re outside the US, Lifeline and Beyond Blue can offer assistance in Australia, as will Samaritans in the UK.
