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.
– Kicking off, Valiant released info on their upcoming publishing initiative entitled Icons, which appears to spell big things for Valiant’s core heroes. Beginning with “X-O Manowar” in March, Icons will feature relaunches for “Faith,” “Bloodshot,” and “Shadowman,” all leading into “Harbinger Wars 2” in 2018.
– Dynamite announced today a new James Bond one-shot from Kieron Gillen and Antonio Fuso. “James Bond: Service” features a 007 unsure of his place in the larger geopolitical sphere of Great Britain politics. Look for the one-shot to drop in May.
– Vault Comics, just in time for President’s Day, released a free digital version of their new comic “Fissure” from Tim Daniel and Patricio Delpeche. The newest series, which hit stands earlier this month, features a tale of a small Texas town on the Texas/Mexico border swallowed by an actual fissure, and is allegorical of the proposed wall President Trump campaigned to build. Your copy can be downloaded here. Issue #2 is due out March 29.
– Diamond released their sales statistics over the weekend showing the strongest January for the comic industry ever. Marvel had the largest unit and dollar share with DC behind them. The highest selling issue was “U.S. Avengers” #1 with its 50+ variant covers.
– The Cartoon Network series, Rick and Morty, which airs on CN’s Adult Swim network entered the long-awaited third season of production today. The info was shared through producer Mike McMahan’s Twitter feed with a redacted title. The series has spawned a spinoff comic at Oni Press. No announcement of when the series will air yet has been made.
– Empire Magazine released the cover of their newest issue featuring a headshot Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The cover debuted with the caption “Now the world is ready for you.” Let’s hope that it is. Wonder Woman hits theatres June 2.
– Malaysian actress Raja Ilya has been cast in an upcoming Marvel movie in a currently undisclosed role. Ilya will fly to the states by the end of the year to begin production. CBR speculated Ilya’s role would more than likely be in Ant Man and the Wasp or Captain Marvel, both set to film after the Avengers: Infinity War year long production.
– Finally, current “Batman” writer Tom King, was asked on Twitter to rank the Batman family characters in the order of who is the most skilled fighter. King’s response, found here garnered quite the stir, eventually illciting reactions from fellow Gotham scribes, Tim Seeley, James Tynion IV, and Scott Lobdell. Do you agree with King’s ranking? Sound off in the comments below!
