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, DC revealed Juni Ba’s Damian Wayne series “The Boy Wonder,” while Top Shelf will release Alan Moore and co.’s long-gestating “The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic” this fall.
– Seminal ’90s “Deadpool” writer Joe Kelly is reteaming with artist Adam Kubert on “Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII,” a three-issue series starting May 1. The comic centers on the mysterious Delta, who “believes in change,” and sets his sights on Wade Wilson. In the press release, Kelly teases a body horror-themed adventure, saying “Deadpool and Wolverine together allow for a bloody playground of a story. A tale of self-examination and introspection as told through some seriously jaw-dropping nastiness thanks to Adam’s deft hands. It’s a dark, funny, messy ride I hope everyone enjoys as much as I do.” The series should conclude shortly before the release of the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, arriving in theaters July 26.
– Image announced “The Whisper Queen,” a new, three-part entry in the Blacksand universe of “The White Trees,” starting May 1. Chip Zdarsky, Kris Anka, and Matt Wilson will reunite on the comic, which follows Javro, a royal assassin, and a group of bounty hunters searching for the king’s murderers. They “must find the killers before [she] and the bounty hunters — including her son — are wiped out by the kingdom’s most feared specter: the Dark Whisper!” The publisher also revealed Joe Casey and Paul Fry’s “Blood Squad Seven,” a continuation of Casey and Simon Gane’s newly begun miniseries “Dutch,” that follows a group of superheroes 30 years after their heyday. It will begin on May 22.
– James Tynion IV’s imprint Tiny Onion Studios is expanding into a full-blown multimedia company, simply named Tiny Onion. The company, which was funded through an investment from producers Lyrical Media (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), will have Tynion as CEO, former BOOM! Studios editor Eric Harburn as Director of Editorial, Z2 veteran Courtney Menard as Director of Production, and Jazzlyn Stone as Director of Communications. Tynion describes the new venture as his way of helping newer creators navigate the choppy waters of getting their comics published, and turned into films or TV shows. You can check out the official website here.
– Abrams Books are launching a children’s graphic novel imprint, called Abrams Fanfare. It will launch this August with “Black Lives: Great Minds of Science,” the first in a series by Tonya Bolden and David Wilkerson, and be followed by “The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien” by John Hendrix; “A Mighty Marvel Team-Up Box Set,” collecting Mike Maihack’s three Spider-Man OGNs so far; and the latest installments of Jason Shiga’s “Adventuregame Comics,” and Eunice & Sabrina Moyle’s “Astrid & Stella.” The press release also teases new titles from Mariko Tamaki & Nicole Goux, Larry Hama, and Tom Angleberger, as well as Marvel, Paramount, and Mattel, and an adaptation of Tamora Pierce’s fantasy series Song of the Lioness.
– IDW Publishing announced “Godzilla: Skate or Die,” a five-issue series by writer/artist Louie Joyce. Set in Joyce’s native Australia, the comic follows a group of skater punks during a battle between Varan (the gliding kaiju introduced in the eponymous 1958 film) and the King of the Monsters. “What does their beloved skate spot have to do with this? And most importantly… what are these punks willing to do to save it?” Issue #1 will be released on June 12 with a main cover by Joyce, and a B cover by Juni Ba.
– A Wave Blue World will publish a five-part “Mezo” spin-off, “Mezo: The Trial of Roden.” Co-creators Tyler Chin-Tanner and Val Rodrigues will be joined by writer Jarred Luján on the latest volume of the Mesoamerican-inspired fantasy series, which follows the Tzalekuhl soldier Roden as he faces judgment for betraying the empire, and helping the heroine Kyma in the previous series. Issue #1 will be available with covers by Rodrigues, Chris Shehan, and Maria Wolf on May 1. The first two volumes of “Mezo,” “Rise of the Tzalekuhl” & “Battle at Cobán Rock,” are available now.
Continued below– At the 51st annual Annie Awards, honoring the year’s best animation, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won Best Feature, as well as Best FX, Best Character Design, Best Direction, Best Music, Best Production Design, and Best Editorial in the feature categories. Nimona won Best Writing, and Best Voice Acting for Chloë Grace Moretz, while The Boy and the Heron won Best Character Animation and Best Storyboarding, and composer Joe Hisaishi received a Winsor McCay Award. Robot Dreams won Best Independent Film, and Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie won Best Special Production.
Hilda‘s finale won Best TV/Media (Children), while Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur won in the TV/Media categories for Best Character Design (for “The Beyonder“), Best Storyboarding (“Goodnight, Moon Girl“), and Best Voice Acting for series lead Diamond White. Star Wars: Visions won Best Direction for “Screecher’s Reech,” and Best Music for “Aau’s Song,” while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 won Best Character Animation (Live Action), and Spider-Man 2 won Best Character Animation (Video Game). For more of this year’s winners and nominees, head to the link.
– After going home empty-handed at last year’s Game Awards, Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 picked up six prizes at the D.I.C.E. Awards on Thursday, February 15, namely Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design, Outstanding Achievement in Character (for Miles Morales), Outstanding Achievement in Animation, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. It won the most awards of the evening, beating Baldur’s Gate 3, which won five, including Game of the Year. You can check out the full list of the year’s winners here.
– Finally, James Gunn and Bassem Youssef have cleared up a misunderstanding over the Egyptian American comedian’s claim that he was cast in Superman: Legacy. In a Salon.com interview, Youssef said he had been written out of a part in the movie, and speculated that it had been because he criticized Israel’s misconduct in Gaza. Gunn pointed to an IGN report stating otherwise, explaining the role — which was that of Rumaan Harjavti, a Middle Eastern dictator from the comics — was written out before October 7. Both men respectively said on Threads and Twitter that they cleared the air on Friday, with Youssef saying he realized he wasn’t formally cast in the part, and the impression he got stemmed from Gunn himself not informing him of the change after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended.
