Welcome 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.
– Last Friday, Moscow police raided an arthouse cinema showing The Death of Stalin, the movie based on Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin’s French graphic novel. According to the Guardian, six uniformed officers and a number of plainclothes officials arrived at the Pioner cinema after a midday screening. Afterward, the theater announced it would no longer be screening the film. Pioner’s screenings defied a ban Russia’s culture ministry put in place last week, as they work to examine the film for “extremism.”
– Egyptian muralist Ganzeer is set to complete his environmentally focused sci-fi graphic novel, titled “The Solar Grid,” by 2019. Ganzeer, whose work became famous in the wake of 2011’s Egyptian uprising, says “The Solar Grid” is a universal story about the “consequence of environmental connotations,” based in part on Egypt’s ecological struggles with the Aswan High Dam. You can read more, and see page details and cover art, over at Slate.
– Upcoming “The Brave and the Bold” artist Liam Sharp joined the growing ranks of comics creators who are done with social media. Sharp says fans have been deriding him for writing a comic in which Wonder Woman teams up with Batman, and for mentioning that there would be “a nod to Batman/Wonder Woman shippers.” Sharp had already decided to go mostly dark on social media prior to these latest comments; this has only reinforced his decision.
– Marvel Comics held its annual writers’ summit last week, the first attended by newly Marvel-exclusive writers such as Kelly Thompson (“Hawkeye”) and Matthew Rosenberg (“Phoenix: Resurrection”). However, Bleeding Cool also reports that photos showed Jonathan Hickman (“Fantastic Four”) and Christopher Priest (“Black Panther”) in attendance, a sign those authors may have more Marvel books coming.
– As we noted in updates to our article on DMG Entertainment’s buyout of Valiant Entertainment, Valiant confirmed they’ve finalized a deal to air a live-action Doctor Mirage television series on The CW. Additionally, Valiant Entertainment execs Peter Cuneo, Dinesh Shamdasani, and Gavin Cuneo are resigning as part of the buyout, though Shamdasani and Gavin Cuneo will continue working with Valiant as consultants.
– ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be going on hiatus this February, according to reports from ComicBook.com. Agents was previously delayed to give Inhumans some breathing room on ABC’s schedule, and may be delayed now due to the Winter Olympics. This change means Agents will air its 100th episode, which executive producer Jeph Loeb called a “significant event,” on March 9.
– Jérémie Moreau’s “La Saga De Grimr” took top prize at the Fauve Awards, part of this weekend’s Angoulême International Comics Festival. The Beat have a (roughly translated) list of all the event’s winners, including two English language books. American artist Richard Corben was previously awarded the Grand Prix earlier last week.
– Syfy’s Happy!, based on the graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, has been picked up for a second season, according to Variety.
– Image Comics imprint Skybound announced that Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan’s “Birthright,” the critically-acclaimed fantasy series, has been picked up by Universal Studios. “Birthright” joins “Invincible” and “Kill the Minotaur” as part of Universal’s Skybound-related film slate.
– Creators, looking to get your work exposed to librarians and libraries? The American Library Association’s Annual Conference, due to be held this year in New Orleans from June 21 – 26, will feature an Artist Alley in their exhibit hall. Artist Alley includes the best from all genres. Past exhibitors have included many of today’s leading artists, illustrators and creators of comics, games, graphic novels, and books, showcasing original artwork to the nearly 20,000 attendees from all types of libraries. Applications can be completed online at the ALA Artist Alley Application Site, and are due by March 30.
