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, veteran artist José Delbo has passed away, aged 90.
– Skottie Young and Jorge Corona will reteam on “Ain’t No Grave,” a dark fantasy western starting May 8. The five-issue series follows Ryder, a former outlaw who takes up her pistols again when she discovers someone is threatening her husband and daughter – and it just so happens the one behind the threat is Death itself. Colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu and letterer Nate Piekos, who worked with Young and Corona on their previous projects, “Middlewest” and “The Me You Love In The Dark,” will also return for the book.
– Mad Cave announced “Sanction,” a Soviet crime/horror series by writer Ray Fawkes, artist Antonio Fuso (“Wyrd”), colorist Emilio Lecce, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Set in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) in 1987, the book follows two detectives investigating a woman’s murder on New Year’s Day, leading them down a disturbing rabbit hole of more horrifying crimes, and bureaucratic corruption. Issue #1 will be released on May 15.
– Magdalene Visaggio unveiled “Girlmode,” a graphic novel created in collaboration with Paulina Ganucheau at HarperCollins. The book follows Phoebe, a 16-year old, newly transitioned trans girl who just moved from New York to California, as she discovers all the weight and unrealistic expectations of being a teenage girl. Visaggio adds, “It’s also about surfing and musicals and friendship and boys.” It will retail at 208 pages in paperback for $18.99 on September 3, 2024.
– Sony Pictures and Crunchyroll announced Spy x Family Code: White, the anime film based on Tatsuya Endō’s popular manga, will be released in theaters in North America on April 19. The movie, which marks the first based on the manga and anime, was released in Japan on December 22, and follows the Forger family during a weekend winter getaway gone awry. It will be available to watch in Japanese with subtitles, or an English dub. Bandai Namco also announced the western release of the spin-off game Spy x Anya: Operation Memories; it will arrive outside Japan on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch on June 28.
– Disney’s Hyperion Avenue revealed Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by British author Lisa Jewell (The Family Upstairs). The first in the adult-aimed prose line Marvel Crime, the book sees Jessica head to the UK to investigate a woman’s claims that her children have been replaced by doppelgangers. According to Jewell, it will take sometime during Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos’s original Jessica Jones series (“Alias”). It will be released on July 2, 2024, and is set be followed by a Luke Cage novel by S.A. Cosby (All the Sinners Bleed), as well as a Daredevil one by Alex Segura.
– The 2024 Kidscreen Awards were held last weekend. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur won Best Animated Series, Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie, and Best in Class in the Kids Programming categories. In the Tweens/Teens section, American Born Chinese won Best New Series, as well as Best Acting, while Netflix’s One Piece won Best in Class and Best Design, and Sweet Tooth won Best Live-Action Series. Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures also won Best New Series in Preschool Programming. For the full list of winners, head to the link.
– Finally, via Comic Book, Hasbro announced new figures of the Transformers Grimlock and Shockwave, modeled after their appearance in the original Marvel Comics series. Intended to mark the 40th anniversary of the franchise and the comic, the toys feature comic-inspired paint jobs, and accessories based on the series’ storylines, such as Grimlock’s crown, and Optimus Prime’s disembodied head; they will also feature artwork from the comic on the packaging. Transformers: Generations Comic Edition Shockwave and Grimlock will respectively retail for $39.99 and $59.99 sometime this summer.
