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, Vault unveiled “Barbaric: Axe to Grind,” and we spoke to Emma Kubert about her new webcomic “Brush Stroke.”
– The Hero Initiative-backed reprint of “JLA/Avengers” has a release date. The release, put out in honor of iconic artist George Perez, will be available on Wednesday, March 16. Only 7,000 copies of the book will be available. The reissue comes after Perez, a founding member of the Hero Initiative, recently announced that he was suffering from terminal cancer. Though he stepped down from the board after his diagnosis, the artist called The Hero Initiative “one of my greatest sources of pride.”
– ComicBooks For Kids!, the nonprofit that gets comics to children in hospitals and cancer centers, will be expanding into the UK. Originally founded in Chicago by Mark Weiss, the organization would expand all over the United States, serving over 200 hospitals nationwide. It comes to the United Kingdom with the help of co-directors Will O’Mullane and former Multiversity Comics writer and podcaster Chris Thompson.
– Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home scored five nominations each in the Critics Choice Association’s Super Awards, including Best Superhero Movie. Black Widow, Eternals, The Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League also share that category. WandaVision and Loki respectively received five nominations as well in the Superhero Series categories. The Awards will be presented on Thursday, March 17, four days after the broadcast of the Critics Choice Awards proper. The Super Awards will not be broadcast.
– The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger will play Chameleon in the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film. Hechinger will play Kraven’s brother and classic Spider-Man villain alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character, under the direction of J.C. Chandor. The movie is set to release on January 13, 2023.
– Marvel’s upcoming Blade film has cast Krypton’s Aaron Pierre in an as-of-yet undisclosed role. Pierre joins a production that includes Mahershala Ali as the title vampire slayer, and Bassam Tariq in the director’s chair.
– Two new Peanuts specials have been announced from Apple+. The Earth Day special It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown and Mother’s Day-themed To Mom (and Dad), With Love will drop on the platform on April 15 and May 6 respectively. The Snoopy Show will also be returning March 11, and the trailer can be viewed here here. March 4 will see more classic specials going up on the streamer, including Charlie Brown’s All Stars!, You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown, It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown, and Snoopy’s Reunion.
– Matt Ryan reprises his role as John Constantine for the DC Showcase: Constantine – The House of Mystery animated anthology, available on Blu-ray and 4K on May 3. The anthology not only includes a Constantine short, but shorts starring Blue Beetle, Kamandi: The Last Boy, and The Losers. The collection will be rated R.
– Boss Fight Studios will release a series of action figures based on Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez’s creator-owned “La Borinqueña” comics. The first wave of figures will include heroes Lúz la Luminosa, Oro el Coqui Dorado, and villain La Gargola. A planned second wave is said to include the Nitainos superteam. La Borinqueña and Lúz may possibly be the first Afro-Cuban and Chinese Dominican figures produced by a major company (at least as far as Miranda-Rodriguez is aware).
– Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson’s original “Swamp Thing” run will receive its own ”Absolute” edition on November 8. The 336-page hardcover, which marks the 50th anniversary of the series, will collect “Swamp Thing” #1-13, and the character’s first appearance in “House of Secrets” #92. This follows the “Absolute” edition of the legendary Alan Moore run, the third volume of which this shelves next month.
– Finally, after over a decade, “Comic Book Tattoo” is getting a sequel courtesy of Z2. “Little Earthquakes: The Graphic Album” will feature 24 original stories based on the Tori Amos album of the same name, along with its accompanying B-sides. Neil Gaiman and Bilquis Evely will adapt “Tear In Your Hand,” while Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood adapts “Silent All These Years” with David Mack, who also provides cover art. Other creators involved include Leah Moore, Colleen Doran, Derek McCulloch, Lar deSouza, Annie Zaleski, Marc Andreyko, Cat Mihos, Neil Kleid, and Alison Sampson. The full list of creators will be announced on March 11, alongside Amos’s Ocean to Ocean tour. The book is due out this September and can be preordered on Z2’s website.
