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, Marvel announced a “Secret Invasion” sequel by Ryan North and Francesco Mobili.
– Writer Gene Luen Yang (“American Born Chinese”) and artist LeUyen Pham (“Real Friends”) are teaming up for “Lunar New Year Love Story,” a romantic graphic novel at First Second. Set for release in Winter 2024, the book will follow Val, a cynical girl whose life changes after she unexpectedly falls in love during a Lunar New Year lion dance. “Interwoven with Tết, Seol-Nal, and Xin Nian traditions, this is a love story about families, faith, and finding hope.” You can take a closer look at a sample page on Pham’s Instagram, and see more of last week’s children/YA graphic novel deals at Publishers Weekly.
– Dark Horse Comics imprint Berger Books announced “Shifting Earth,” an original graphic novel by writer Cecil Castellucci, artist Flavia Biondi, colorist Fabiana Mascolo, and letterer Steve Wands. The book follows a botanist from a climate-ravaged future, who is transported by a particle storm to a parallel Earth, which despite its more Eden-like appearance, is also facing catastrophe. Despite its subject matter, Castellucci describes “Shifting Earth” as being inspired by “ways for us to imagine hopeful futures.” It will be released in comics shops on June 8, and in bookstores on Tuesday, June 21.
– Dark Horse have also acquired the crowdfunded fantasy series “Winds of Numa Sera,” which they will begin releasing in comics shops on June 4, and bookstores on June 7. Sent in the world of Ethera, the book follows Lelia, the young, uncrowned empress of Numa Sera, whose throne becomes the target of competing forces in (and outside) the empire. The comic was created by writers Morgan Rosenblum and Jonny Handler, with artists Eduard Petrovich, Filipe Andrade, Eduardo Mello, and Alessio Moroni, as well as colorist Valentine Taddeo and letterer Ismail Nihad.
– Writer Rodney Barnes and rapper Snoop Dogg announced “Tales From the Crip,” a horror anthology book that will be published by Barnes’s imprint Zombie Love Studios in collaboration with Snoopadelic Films this fall. Snoop will introduce the stories penned by Barnes, while the artists and release date will be announced at a later date; the cover art was provided by Kyle Hotz with colorist Luis NCT. It is one of several titles from Barnes and Zombie Love Studios set to release later in 2022, including a “Blacula” revival, “Crownsville” (a ghost story set in the first African-American mental asylum), and “Florence and Normandie,” a sci-fi epic created in collaboration with rapper Xzibit.
– A Wave Blue World revealed “Young Men in Love,” a queer romance anthology edited by Joe Glass and Matt Miner. The book will feature 20 stories, all offering a queer cis or trans male spin on several genres, including pirates and superheroes. Contributors include writers Anthony Oliveira, Sina Grace, Terry Blas, and Charles Pulliam-Moore; artists Nick Robles, Hamish Steele, Daryl Toh, and Jude Vigants; cover artist Kevin Wada; and letterer Lucas Gattoni. “Young Men in Love” will be released on July 5, 2022, and you can check out a preview of five of the stories at io9.
– Image Comics will publish a new, expanded edition of writer Andi Watson and artist Simon Gane’s 2007 graphic novel “Paris.” The book, which was originally released by SLG Publishing, follows Juliet, an American art student paying her way through the French capital by painting portraits of wealthy debutantes, and she winds up falling for one of her subjects, the young English woman Deborah. “Paris” will be rereleased in comics stores on May 25, and in bookstores on May 31.
– Marvel veteran Stephen Wacker stepped down after 15 years at the company to become editor-in-chief of Mike del Mundo, Jonathan Hickman, and Mike Huddleston’s Substack newsletter Three Worlds, Three Moons. Wacker, who served as a Senior Editor and as VP – Animation, Development & Current Series during his time at Marvel, tweeted, “Over the past 15 years, I’ve been lucky to have a front row seat for the rise of a real Marvel Age that fans like me (and you) used to just dream about. But now I’ve got seats in a new section… and the view is gonna be even better.” You can read his full farewell message here.
Continued below– Aconyte Books unveiled a new Marvel series, a choose-your-own adventure line by Tim Dedopulos called Multiverse Missions. The first two books, You Are (Not) Deadpool and She-Hulk Goes to Murderworld, will be published in the US on July 5, 2022, and the UK on September 15. The books will respectively see Wade Wilson being “commanded” by Daredevil to fight a major crimewave in New York, and Jennifer Walters trying to help supervillain Ruby Thursday after she is framed for a crime she didn’t commit.
– Several comics creators, including Trung Le Nguyen, Gale Galligan, and Zac Gorman, are boycotting the self-publishing platform Gumroad after “messy and unprofessional” behavior from its Twitter account. Controversy emerged this weekend when former employee Box Brown shared screenshots of a conversation with CEO Sahil Lavingia, where he entertained selling NFTs; Brown alleged he left the company “after like 6 months of being pressured to do NFTs.” Gumroad stated they have no NFT plans, but their mixed messages have angered many users, and after one stated they would not use their site, Gumroad apparently shared his customer data. (The tweet in question was subsequently deleted.)
– Finally, “Raising Dion” artist and co-creator Jason Piperberg has spoken out about not being credited on the Netflix version of the comic. “Now, to be clear,” he said, “I have nothing but congratulations for the cast and crew, and I encourage people to check out the show. I’m glad it exists and has 2 seasons. But I would have greatly appreciated, at the very least, being given a credit on the series.” Piperberg said he had been “hesitant” to bring up the issue, but decided to for his “own peace of mind” after season two dropped on Netflix last week. Raising Dion launched on the streaming service in 2019, and has only ever credited the comic’s creation to its writer, Dennis Liu.
