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.
– Ahsoka will be adapted into an eight-issue Marvel Comics series (simply titled “Star Wars: Ahsoka”), scripted by Rodney Barnes. Steven Cummings and Georges Jeanty will alternate on the art for each issue of the series, with Cummings penciling the first issue, due out in July. It will mark the first time Ahsoka Tano has ever headlined her own comics series. Barnes, who previously collaborated with Cummings and Jeanty on Marvel’s version of the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, commented, “It is truly an honor to be adapting Ahsoka. The character is the essence of classic Star Wars: layered, complex and fun! I hope the fans enjoy this adaptation as much as the series it’s adapted from.”
– Meanwhile, Viz Media announced the English release of two Marvel manga titles from Shueisha. The first, “Spider-Man: Octo-Girl Vol. 1,” by “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes” creators Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court, will be released on October 8. The second is “X-Men Manga Vol. 1,” by Hiroshi Higuchi, a new translation of the ’90s era manga, which was an adaptation of the animated series; it will be released on November 12. Viz also confirmed the previously announced Deadpool: Samurai — The Official Coloring Book, by Hikaru Uesugi, will be released on August 13.
– Dark Horse will release “Canto: A Place Like Home,” the fifth and final volume of David M. Booher and Drew Zucker’s fantasy series. The six-part finale will follow the titular clockwork knight as he and his allies make a last stand against the evil sorcerer the Shrouded Man. Issue #1 will be released on June 5. “Canto” began at IDW in 2019, and Dark Horse will commence rereleasing the prior volumes in hardback on June 12. Booher commented, “From the very start, we’ve always known how the Shrouded Man Saga would end. We never knew if we’d get there. It’s surreal and wonderful to bring this final chapter to life with Dark Horse Comics and our incredible creative team.”
– Oni Press revealed they will release “SubZero,” a Webtoon series by creator Junepurrr, in print. A fantasy romance, “SubZero” follows Clove, princess of the Azure Dragon clan, as she marries the prince of a rival clan to end the conflict between their peoples. But “the fragile peace brokered by their marriage is threatened by those who wish to continue the war,” and Clove “discovers that achieving peace is far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.” The series began in 2018, and currently consists of 183 chapters. Vol. 1 of the print edition, which will contain the first 25 chapters, will be released on September 25.
– At the 51st annual Saturn Awards, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Last of Us, and Star Trek: Picard picked up multiple prizes, while the whole cast of The Next Generation received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Walking Dead franchise was honored with the Dan Curtis Legacy Award, while Lauren Cohan won Best Actress in a Television Series for Dead City. Other winners on the night included Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever costume designer Ruth E. Carter, Strange New Worlds guest star Paul Wesley, Superman & Lois, The Witcher, Werewolf by Night, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Andor.
As previously announced, Dave Filoni received the George Pal Memorial Award, while Keanu Reeves was the inaugural recipient of the Lance Reddick Legacy Award. Christopher Nolan was given the Visionary Award, in addition to winning Best Thriller Film for Oppenheimer. Meanwhile, at the 66th annual Grammy Awards (also held last night), Star Wars Jedi: Survivor composers Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab won Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media, while John Williams won Best Instrumental Composition for “Helena’s Theme” in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
– In Superman media news, James Gunn revealed he will reunite with John Murphy on the music for Superman: Legacy. Murphy, who composed the score for The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, has been creating temp tracks for the film since Gunn completed the first draft. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. finalized the acquisition of the documentary film Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The film, which premiered at Sundance, will be released in theaters and on other platforms by DC, Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and Max. Gunn disclosed he and Peter Safran pushed Warner Bros. to distribute the film, stating it “emotionally floored me.”
Continued below– ICv2 have announced ICv2 Direct, a new platform for retailers to order items directly from publishers. The service will initially concentrate on board games, with catering for comics stores launching later this year. The site also shared a look at Abrams ComicArts’ spring releases, and Drawn & Quarterly’s fall 2024 offerings. Noticeable titles from both publishers include the second volume of Brian Michael Bendis and André Lima Araújo’s “Phenomena,” “Devour,” a modern take on the legend of Anansi by Jazmine Joyner and Anthony Pugh, Here Comes Charlie Brown! A Peanuts Pop-Up by Chip Kidd, and Q&A, a comics creation guide by Adrian Tomine.
– Finally, actor and director Carl Weathers died of undisclosed causes on Thursday, February 1. He was 76 years old. Originally an NFL player, Weathers was best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, and also starred in Predator, Happy Gilmore, Street Justice, and The Mandalorian (which he directed two episodes of, while earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of High Magistrate Greef Karga.)
Other projects included Arrested Development (where he played “himself”), Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Toy Story 4. He is survived by an ex-wife and two sons. Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Adam Sandler were among those who paid tribute to the great man, with Lucasfilm’s statement reading, “If he only played Apollo Creed, that would be enough to make Carl Weathers immortal for generations of moviegoers. But he gave us so much more.”
