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, James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled ten film & HBO Max projects from DC Studios’ upcoming Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.
– Dark Horse Comics announced “Project Monarch,” a satirical action graphic novel by writer/artist Michael Avon Oeming and artist/colorist Victor Santos. Inspired by the conspiracy theory that Stanley Kubrick faked the Moon landing, the book follows Stanley Bowman, a filmmaker working for the Illuminati, whose “loyalty gets called into question when he is forced to create an occult film so powerful the public will fall under complete control. Only his adopted child-star assassins can save him, his family, and expose the truth.” It will be released in bookstores on September 26, 2023, and in comics shops the following day.
– Dark Horse also revealed “The Horror,” a prequel to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, exploring the origin of the antagonist Mr. Kurtz. Written by Lars Jacobson (in his comics debut) with art by Eduardo Francisco (“Aliens: Defiance”), the book will follow Kurtz and his family as they travel to the Congo, to open a trading post on behalf of the Belgian Empire. “Deep in the jungle, they encounter a primordial evil, the origins of which date back to the womb of civilization, perverting minds and corrupting souls while preying on the worst instincts of mankind. The locals speak of this insidious evil in fearful whispers, calling it, ‘The Horror.'” It will retail for $19.99 in bookstores October 24, 2023, and comics shops the next day.
– Marvel announced the candidates for this year’s annual X-Men vote, letting fans choose a member of the team’s next line-up. This year’s candidates are Cannonball, Dazzler, Frenzy, Jubilee, Juggernaut, and Prodigy. Voting closes Friday, February 3, at 11:59pm EST, and the winner will be announced at the next Hellfire Gala in the comics this July.
– Speaking of the mutants, “X-Men” scribe Gerry Duggan and artist Scott Koblish’s Substack series “The Giant Kokjü” (formerly “The Ginormous Kokjü”) will be released in print by Image Comics. The three-issue series follows a giant, horny monster as it rampages across the city, and the scientists tasked with its… satisfaction. Issue #1 of what Duggan confesses is a “cornucopia of low hanging fruit” releases April 12.
– “Hagar the Horrible” is turning 50 on Saturday, February 4, and to mark the anniversary of the Viking comic strip, creator Dik Browne’s family and King Features have announced they will rerun the very first week of strips next week. This will culminate in the republication of the very first strip, which has never been rerun until now, on Sunday, February 12.
– The release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has been delayed by about six weeks, from March 17, to April 28. Developer Respawn Entertainment said the delay was necessary to “for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, provide the team the time they need, and achieve the level of polish our fans deserve.” Set in 9 BBY, Jedi: Survivor will continue the story of Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) five years after the events of Jedi: Fallen Order. A novel, Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs, will be released in the meantime on March 7.
– Finally, AI company Metaphysic has revealed Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming film adaptation of the graphic novel “Here” will employ their technology to deage lead actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. The company claims their tech will provide Zemeckis with “high-resolution, photorealistic face-swaps and de-ageing effects on top of actors’ performances, live and in real-time, without the need for further compositing or VFX work.” Created by Richard McGuire, “Here” depicts all of the events that have unfolded in a single location in New England over the centuries, such as the lives of Hanks and Wright’s characters. The film, distributed by Sony, does not have a release date at the time of writing.
