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.
I’m case you missed it, Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh will helm the new DC Black Label series “Peacemaker Tries Hard!” We also have an exclusive preview of next week’s “Thor” #31.
and Nathan Fairbairn
– IDW Publishing will pit the world warriors of Street Fighter against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a new five-issue miniseries, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vs. Street Fighter,” written by Paul Allor, with art by Ariel Medel (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) and colors by Sarah Myer. The book will see the four heroes in a half shell (along with Jennika) find themselves pulled into a martial arts tournament on a trip to Atlantic City, only for both sides to join forces after a series of mysterious disappearances. Allor promises we’ll see “Mikey and Chun-Li’s unlikely bond to Raph and Guile’s rivalry and mutual — but very grudging — respect.” Issue #1 is due out this May.
– BOOM! Studios announced a new one-shot following Buffy Summers as she travels to New Orleans, partially due to Spike’s poetry. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lost Summer” sees the Slayer of Sunnydale go on a “faux-supernatural goose chase” when a wish from Dawn further complicates matters. Casey Gilly (“Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer”) writes with Lauren Knight (“Golden Rage”) on art and Francesco Segala on colors. The book is due out on May 2023. Mirka Andolfo provides cover art with variants from Veronica Fish and Paulina Ganucheau.
– Image unveiled a new teen superhero series due out on May 31, “The Savage Strength of Starstorm,” which tells the story of orphaned amnesiac high school student Grant Garrison, who discovers the Starstorm artifact after a meteor destroys his school. Newcomer Drew Craig writes and draws, with Wes Craig providing a variant cover.
– In more Image news, Szymon Kudrański (“Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog,” “The Punisher”) will write and draw “Something Epic.” Due out in comic shops on May 10, the new ongoing series will follow 14-year-old Danny Dillon, an “Epic” with the ability to perceive the manifestation of creative thoughts just outside of human perception. You can watch the trailer for the series here.
– Discussing Film reports a new live-action Hellboy film is in the works at Millennium Media, which will be directed by Brian Taylor (Crank, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), and begin filming in Bulgaria in April. It has the working title Hellboy: The Crooked Man, indicating it is based on Mike Mignola and Richard Corben’s 2008 series of the same name. The news comes four years after the critically and commercially disappointing 2019 Hellboy film, directed by Neil Marshall and starring David Harbour. No distributor is attached yet to this reboot.
– Following her 50th anniversary special in 2021, a controversial Soviet era superhero will return to comics in a new two-issue miniseries. “Octobriana and the Underground: Full Tilt Boogie,” from Canadian/British indie publisher Dead Good Comics, will be available on May 3, 2023. The new series will feature two original stories: ‘Doxxing Match,” written by GameSpot and Giant Bomb’s Lucy James (in her comics debut) with art from Simone Ragazzoni, and ‘God Hates a Coward’ from Stu Taylor and N. Steven Harris. ‘Doxxing Match’ sees the Underground caught in a VR metaverse, while ‘God Hates a Coward’ finds them up against Baba Yaga, Sister Disturbia, and Mother Russia. Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn provide cover art, with retailer incentives from Flops Comics (5:1) and Michael Cho (10:1).
– Finally, in what is being called a “massive correction” by Disney, company chief Bob Iger has discussed plans to better curate “extraordinarily expensive” franchise content. This will mostly affect the Marvel branch, with Disney+ series Echo and Ironheart no longer expected to premiere in 2023, and production on Nova significantly slowed. The company’s Star Wars properties may experience the opposite, with one insider telling The Hollywood Reporter “Lucasfilm may ramp up, but it will have to abide by the same fiscal discipline as the rest of the company.” Animated features may also receive longer theatrical windows.
