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, Sierra Hahn was appointed editor-in-chief of Oni-Lion Forge, and we spoke to Christopher Sebela and Ben Hennessy about their new Vault series, “Godfall.”
– Dark Horse and 12-Gauge Comics announced “Survival,” a vampire action series by writer Sean Lewis (“King Spawn”) and artist Bryndon Everett (“Half Breeds”). Set in Alaska, the comic follows servicewoman Emma Reed as she returns to her hometown for an annual military gathering, when a plane infested with Russian vampires crashes nearby. Lewis states, “‘Survival’ was written years before Russia invaded Ukraine. Some would call it prescient, but it seemed obvious — old empires don’t like to fall. ‘Survival’ merges a social aspect with a very fun, very pulp story of vampires and machine guns, survivalists and invaders.” Issue #1 (of 5) invades the former Russian Alaska on May 3.
– Dark Horse also announced “Cyberpunk 2077 Library Edition Volume 1,” an oversized hardcover collection of the three miniseries they’ve published: “Trauma Team” (2020, by Cullen Bunn & Miguel Valderrama), “You Have My Word” (2021; Bartosz Sztybor & Jesus Hervas), and “Blackout” (2022; Sztybor & Roberto Ricci). It will be released on October 17. Furthermore, the publisher announced “Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 3,” a reprint of Jeff Lemire, Caitlin Yarsky, Malachi Ward, and Matthew Sheean’s “Black Hammer Reborn” #1-12, releasing October 10.
– Archie Comics and Webtoon launched a new season of “Big Ethel Energy,” written by Keryl Brown Ahmed with art by Siobhan Keenan. The season picks up with journalist Ethel Muggs (formerly Big Ethel), as she continues her newfound relationship with Moose Mason after returning to her hometown of Riverdale. New installments can be found every Wednesday on Webtoon. Season one of “Big Ethel Energy” began on Webtoon in the fall of 2021, and ran for 60 issues until October 2022.
– Via Deadline, CBC debuted the trailer for Essex County, the five-part drama based on Jeff Lemire’s comic book series. Starring Molly Parker, Brian J. Smith, Kevin Durand, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, and Stephen McHattie, Essex County follows two rural families as they confront problems like grief, loss, and dementia. The show will premiere in Canada on March 19, with ITV Studios currently handling the show’s international distribution.
– Via Anime News Network, a new “City Hunter” anime film, City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust, will be released in Japan sometime this fall. Billed as the beginning of “The Final Chapter,” the film will explore the past of protagonist Ryo Saeba, including the death of his original partner, Hideyuki Makimura. It is intended to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the original TV show, which ran from 1987 to 1988, and is being directed by Kenji Kodama, who has helmed most of the anime films and series in the franchise to date.
– Takeshi Furukawa announced he will compose the score for Netflix’s remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Furukawa is best known for composing the music for The Last Guardian, for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Games Award for Music – he has also worked as an orchestrator and composer on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Mythic Quest. He said he was “truly humbled to receive stewardship of the incredible themes from the original series,” which was scored by Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn. The live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is expected to premiere sometime later this year.
– Finally, actor Jansen Panettiere died on Sunday, February 19, aged only 28. The cause of death is unknown. Panettiere started his career as a child actor, aged eight, in 2002 with shows like Even Stevens and Blue’s Clues. He appeared in The Walking Dead, Everybody Hates Chris, and Blue Sky’s Robots, as well as the Nickelodeon TV movie The Last Day of Summer, which earned him a 2007 Young Artist Award nomination. He is survived by his family, including his older sister, actress Hayden Panettiere.
