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, Mignolaversity took a look at May’s releases, and spoke to “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Night of the Cyclops” artist Olivier Vatine.
– “JLA/Avengers” is being reprinted for the first time in almost twenty years thanks to the Hero Initiative. The Marvel/DC crossover is being reprinted to honor artist (and Hero Initiative board member) George Perez, who revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis in December. Only 7000 copies will be printed, but the reprints will feature 64 pages of new content, including a new afterword by writer Kurt Busiek.
– 2000 AD will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a special online con. Fans of the British anthology magazine will be able to stream “The Galaxy’s Greatest” on YouTube and publisher Rebelion’s Twitch channel on March 26 and 27. Guests will include creators such as John Wagner (“Judge Dread”) and Garth Ennis (“The Boys”), comedians like Robin Ince (The Infinite Monkey Cage) and Mitch Benn (The Now Show), and figures in British journalism such as Ian Dunt.
– AIPT has exclusive previews of both “Earth-Prime Legends of Tomorrow” #3 and “Earth-Prime Legends of Tomorrow: Stargirl” #4. The issues are the latest in the six-part “Earth-Prime” series, set within the canon of the DC/CW television series. The first five issues will focus on an individual show in the DC/CW lineup, with the sixth serving as a “crossover.” Legends of Tomorrow writer Daniel Park and script coordinator Lauren Fields will handle writing duties on issue #3, due out May 3. Stargirl series writers James Robinson (also known for DC’s “Starman” comics) and Paula Sevenbergen will handle issue #4, due out May 17.
– AIPT also has a sneak peak at the covers for the first two volumes of Dark Horse’s “B.P.R.D.” omnibus. The first volume is scheduled to hit comic shops on August 24 (bookstores September 6), with the second releasing on October 19 (bookstores November 1). Both feature covers from creator Mike Mignola.
– Taking inspiration from 2021’s animated feature My Little Pony: A New Generation, IDW is relaunching the franchise with “My Litte Pony” #1 this May. The new series will follow Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm, Pipp Petals, Hitch Trailblazer, and Cloudpuff as they search for a missing Unity Crystal in a barely familiar Equestria. Veteran MLP writer Celeste Bronfman will handle creative duties with artist and Hasbro toy designer Amy Mebberson.
– Jenny Zero is returning with a sequel to her original Dark Horse series, “Jenny Zero: Homeland Insecurities.” Dave Dwonch and Brockton McKinney return to script, as does artist Margenta King. They are joined by Arnaldo Robles, who takes over colors. “It’s Jenny and crew blasting through Japan,” McKinney promises. “Dealing with Machiavellian supervillains, tear-jerking reunions, telekinetic inanimate evil, shocking hook-ups, super powered designer drugs, and the most insane giant-creature battles this side of Toho’s Big Five.” Issue #1 (of 4) hits shelves on May 11, 2022.
– French comics series “Lastman” is coming back to English markets courtesy of Skybound. The 2013 series, created by Bastien Vivès, Yves “Balak” Bigerel, and Michaël Sanlaville, follows 12-year old Adrian Velba and his attempts to win a tournament of magicians. The first English translation was released by First Second, though that publisher only released six of the twelve volumes (or “tomes”). But the series found a fan in Skybound founder Robert Kirkman, who plans to release all twelve tomes across six graphic novels. The first volume is due out November 15, 2022.
– Marvel announced two new additions to the X-line. Writer Gerry Duggan and artist Emilio Laiso’s “X-Men Unlimited” story “X-Men Green” will be getting a print release starting this May. Originally produced digitally for the Marvel Unlimited app, “X-Men Unlimited: X-Men Green” will be released in two issues, with the first hitting shelves May 18, and the second dropping June 22. Also hitting shelves on May 18 is the return of “X-Men Legends.” Veteran X-writer Roy Thomas will helm the book, with David Wachter on art. Thomas’s story will be set after the final issue of his Silver Age run, but before “Giant-Size X-Men,” and focus on the pre-recruitment days of Wolverine (whom Thomas helped create in 1974).
Continued below– HBO Max has renewed Peacemaker for a second season. Series creator James Gunn thanked producer Peter Safran, star John Cena, and the cast and crew over Twitter. Peacemaker’s season finale is available on the streaming service as of today.
– Some of MAD Magazine’s “usual gang of idiots” are taking their unique talents to the world of advertising. Dick DeBartolo, Tom Richmond, Ian Boothby, Theresa Burns Parkhurst, and others are now the in-house creative team for the Toronto-based Idea Integration Company. Saul Colt, founder of the advertising firm, hopes to bring the classic satire magazine’s aesthetic into an marketing strategy he calls “MADvertising.” The firm states the approach has already resulted in collaborations with the Neat Company and Clearco. XPat-Pal and ServiceEcho are also said to be working with the company.
– Finally, fans of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s “The Boys” will finally get to see Simon Pegg portray Hughie Campbell. The Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star, who served as the original inspiration for the character (and played his father in the Amazon series), will voice the newest member of the team in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys: Diabolical. Diabolical, which premieres on March 4, is an animated anthology featuring a different creative team on every episode. Pegg is featured in the episode “I’m Your Pusher,” written by Ennis and featuring an art style reminiscent of Robertson’s original designs. Pegg can be heard towards the end of the series trailer.
