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, Phil Hester and Ryan Kelly launch “Stronghold” at AfterShock, Justice announced retailer exclusive graphic novel “Ultra Squad,” and Valiant revealed more on 2019’s event series “Incursion.” Plus, we have an exclusive preview of “Star Wars” #56.
– “Return of Wolverine” writer Charles Soule has unveiled more information about his new serial in “Marvel Comics Presents.” The 12-part serial will be based around Wolverine’s life, covering his past from the 1940s to the present day. Soul explained in his newsletter “it’s a twelve-part story called (tentatively) ‘Wolverine – The Vigil’ and each segment is set in a different decade, moving forward and starting during World War II in the 1940’s.” Soule also announced Paul Siqeira will draw the series stating, “[Paulo Siqeira], who is absolutely incredible. It’s dark, almost a fantasy or horror story, and I’m excited about it.” This isn’t the first time Soule and Siqeira have worked together, working on this year’s “Hunt for Wolverine” #1. “Marvel Comics Presents” #1 is out in January.
– Marvel announced they will be promoting the homecoming of “Conan the Barbarian” with “Conan Versus Marvel Heroes” variant covers on some of their titles this December and January. Marvel gained back the rights to “Conan the Barbarian” earlier this year from Dark Horse Comics. The new “Conan The Barbarian” series will be written by Jason Aaron, with art by Mahmud Asrar and covers by Esad Ribic. Check out the list of selected variant titles and artwork at Newsarama.
– Deadline has exclusively revealed actor Ewan McGregor (Star Wars) has been cast in DC Entertainment’s Birds of Prey as the villain Black Mask. Black Mask is a notorious mob boss, Roman Sionis, who controls the False Face Society gang. Birds of Prey will be directed by Cathy Yan and scripted by Christina Hodson. McGregor will be joining Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell who will respectively play Harley Quinn, the Huntress and Black Canary. Yan told audiences at the US-China Entertainment Summit earlier this week that the movie will be R-rated, and hinted that it will also feature the character of Cassandra Cain. Birds of Prey will hit movie theaters on February 7, 2020.
– According to Variety, a live-action movie adaptation of cartoonist Hugo Pratt’s “Corto Maltese” will start principal photography in January 2019. The film will star Tom Hughes (Victoria), Milla Jovovich (2019’s Hellboy), and James Thierrée (Chocolat) as Corto’s sidekick Rasputin. It will be scripted by William Schneider and directed by French director Christophe (Beauty and the Beast). “Corto Maltese,” which was created by Pratt in the 1960s, is about an adventurous sailor living in the early 20th century. The plot of the movie will see Corto Maltese being hired to hijack Russian Emperor Czar Nicolas II’s armored train transporting gold.
– According to Deadline, Virginia Madsen (Sideways) has been cast in DC Universe’s Swamp Thing as a key series regular. She will play Maria Sunderland, who has traded in her privileged upbringing for the swamps of Maris when she married local Avery Sunderland, who hasn’t been cast yet. The series will be written by Mark Verheiden and Gary Dauberman, and will be released in 2019.
– The Satanic Temple are taking legal action against Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the newly released Netflix series based off of the Archie Comic book of the same name. Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple, objected to the resemblance of the show’s statue of Satan to the one they use. He tweeted, “Would they be as understanding of a fictional show that used a real mosque as the HQ of a terrorist cell?” Greaves also tweeted a side by side between the two highlighting the similarities.
– Viz Media are launching two new series this November. The first will be “Record of Grancrest War,” which is a fantasy adventure created by Roy Mizuno, and featuring story art by Makoto Yotsuba with designs from Miyuu. The press release describes this series as “set in world where the noble elite are supposed to fend off the threat of terrifying Chaos but instead engage in pointless, petty squabbles, young mage Siluca Meletes dreams of bringing justice to the land. In the series’ opening volume, when tragedy strikes during a wedding that would bring together the Fantasia Union and the Factory Alliance, Siluca finds herself with no choice but to forge a new future for the world. With the aid of Theo, a knight errant with great potential, she will go against the world’s order to achieve peace through the magical power of crests.” “Record of Grancrest War” is an ongoing series and will be published under the Viz Signature imprint: volume #1 releases November 13, and future installments will release on a quarterly basis.
– The Second series announced by Viz Media is “Ran and the Gray World.” This will be written and illustrated by Aki Irie. The press release reads, “Ran Uruma can’t wait to grow up and and become a sorceress like her mother, so with the help of a magical pair or sneakers, she transforms into an adult and sets off!” Editor Amy Yu, commented on how excited she and Viz media are about the new series, stating “‘Ran and the Gray World’ will make a lasting impression on readers with its lush artwork and intriguing story,” and revealed it is her favorite series at Viz Media at the moment. “Ran and the Gray World” is Irie’s first full-length series and the first of her work to be released in English. The new series will begin November 20.
– Artist/writer Jillian Tamaki (“This One Summer”) has won her second Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature, for her illustrated children’s book They Say Blue. They Say Blue is about how a young girl perceives color in the world: the synopsis reads, “The Sea looks blue, yet water cupped in her hand is as clear as glass. Is a blue whale blue?” This isn’t the only award Tamaki has won, she has received two Eisner Awards, two Ignatz awards and the Caldecott Honor Book. The Governor General’s Award For English-Language Fiction is a Canadian literary award which began in 1937, and only 83 Canadians have been awarded it twice.
