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.
– Scholastic and Marvel have announced a new graphic novel based on Into the Spider-Verse’s breakout star, Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham. “Spider-Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility,” written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Shadia Amin, will see the cartoon hero be awarded… then immediately lose… the key to the city. The OGN will be available on October 5 and is aimed at children ages 6-8.
– Dark Horse Comics has announced a new partnership with YouNeek Studios, and will republish their entire line of graphic novels. The publisher, founded by Nigerian-born creator Roye Okupe, seeks to create an interconnected universe of superheroes inspired by African stories, and created by African talent. Volume 1 of “Malika: Warrior Queen” and “Iyanu: Child of Wonder” are due out in September of this year (on the 7th and 21st respectively), with “E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams” dropping October 19.
– Anyone Comics is releasing a guide for anyone who wants to support Black creators and Black-owned businesses in the comics community. Written by comics shop owner Dimitrios Fragiskatos, editor Joseph Illidge, and journalist George Carmona 3rd, The Access Guide to the Black Comic Book Community 2020-2021 will detail not only Black artists and writers working in the industry, but also publishers and retailers, such as YouNeek Studios, and Philadelphia’s Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse. The book is available for pre-order now and will hit shelves on February 17. Proceeds will benefit The Dwayne McDuffie Fund.
– The trailer for the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World has been released. The doc, set to screen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows the discovery and life of then 15-year old Death in Venice star Björn Andrésen. The film would find worldwide success, including in Japan, where Andrésen would stay for an extended period of time, and inspire bishōnen artists for decades.
– The second half of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead’s sixth season will air beginning April 11. The show’s seventh season is expected to go into production and air this year. AMC teased that Season 6B “reveals the impact of what living under Virginia’s control has done to each person in this group, who once saw themselves as a family.” Despite both The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond airing their final seasons this year, showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg have no intention of ending Fear anytime soon. “We have our own ideas about how we think the show should conclude,” Chambliss says. “But for right now, we’re just going to keep telling the stories and do it for as long as AMC says to keep doing it.”
– Plough Publishing House is releasing “Freiheit!: The White Rose Graphic Novel” on February 16, and The Beat has posted the official book trailer. The graphic novel, written and illustrated by Andrea Grosso Ciponte, follows the real life World War II resistance fighters The White Rose, from their anti-Nazi propaganda efforts, up to their eventual executions at the hand as of the Gestapo. You can read a preview at The Hollywood Reporter has here.
– The nominees for the 44th annual Japan Academy Film Prize were announced by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association. Nominated for the Animation of the Year are Violet Evergarden the Movie; Stand By Me Doraemon 2; Josee, the Tiger and the Fish; Poupelle of Chimney Town; and the record-breaking Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. The Association also announced the winner of their Special Award would be 73-year-old illustrator/manga artist Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the original character designer for Mobile Suit Gundam. The awards will be presented on March 19.
– Finally, Paramount Animation have delayed the monster wrestling movie Rumble again to February 18, 2022. The film, loosely based on “Monster on the Hill” by Rob Harrell, was first set for release on July 31, 2020, before being delayed twice by the pandemic.
