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.
– Marvel has announced that “King in Black” #5, the event’s finale, will be delayed two weeks due to unspecified reasons. The issue is now scheduled to hit shelves on April 7. This delay will also affect event tie-ins, with both “Venom” #34 and “King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes” #3 also being pushed back to the 7th. “Fantastic Four” #30 will be pushed back until April 14. All post-“King in Black” issues remain scheduled for their original release dates.
– ShortBox announced “I See a Knight,” by company founder Zainab Akhtar, and artist Xulia Vicente. The story will follow Olivia, and the headless knight only she can see. The comic will be part of Shortbox #13, available this fall.
– Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Animation have acquired the rights to classic British superhero Bananaman, with plans to develop it into an animated series. Celebrating his 40th anniversary last year, Bananaman is the alter ego of schoolboy Eric Wimp, who becomes a Shazam/Marvelman-style hero whenever he eats a banana. This will be the first TV adaption of the character since the 1983 BBC series, featuring the voices of British comedy trio the Goodies. Bento Box Animation previously produced Duncanville and smash hit Bob’s Burgers for Fox.
– Red 5 Comics have signed a new distribution deal with Simon and Schuster, giving the publishing giant worldwide distribution rights for all Red 5 graphic novels and trade paperbacks. “This is an important next step for Red 5 Comics,” co-publisher Joshua Starnes says of the deal. “We are proud to partner with Simon & Schuster to bring Red 5 Comics to the world.”
– Behemoth Comics unveiled Happy Tank, a new imprint focused on mature and young adult readers, inspired by late-night adult animation. The imprint launches this May with “Freak Show” #1, written by imprint publisher Kevin Roditeli and editor-in-chief Rob Cannon, with art by Cannon and covers by Victor Santos. This will be followed by a translation of RUN’s “MFKZ” #1 (the basis of the French anime of the same name) in June, and Victoria Douglas’s “Cinnamon” #1 in July.
– Netflix released a teaser trailer for Jupiter’s Legacy, a new series based on the 2013 comic from Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. The series is created by Steven S. DeKnight (Starz’s Spartacus), and will star Josh Duhamel, Ben Daniels, Leslie Bibb, and Elena Kampouris as members of the Sampson family, a family of superheroes with a legacy spanning back to the 1930s. The series will premiere exclusively on the streaming service on May 7.
– In other Netflix news, Rome Flynn, Aubriana Davis, Tracey Bonner, and Josh Ventura have joined the cast of Netflix’s Raising Dion. The superhero family series, based on the comic by writer Dennis Liu and artist Jason Piperberg, was renewed after a strong showing in 2019. Following single mother Nicole Reese (Alisha Wainwright) and her son Dion (Ja’Siah Young) as the boy begins to manifest superpowers, Raising Dion was the streaming service’s most viewed Kids & Family series of 2019, and was in the Top 10 of most viewed series overall that year. Season Two is currently filming in Atlanta.
– In a Publishers Weekly rights report, it was announced that Little, Brown and Company had acquired publishing rights for middle-grade graphic novel “Borders.” The book was written by Thomas King, who adapted it from his short story of the same name, and illustrated by Métis artist Natasha Donovan. The book explores themes of identity, nationality, justice, and belonging from an indigenous perspective, and is scheduled for a Fall 2021 release.
– Finally, DC Films and Warner Bros. have tapped Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) to helm the upcoming Blue Beetle film. The movie, which will feature the Jaime Reyes incarnation of the classic Fox Comics/Charlton hero, will be the first DC production to star a Latin-American lead. “It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC,” Soto said in a statement. “I want to sincerely thank everyone at Warner Bros. and DC for trusting me to bring Jaime Reyes to life. I can’t wait to make history together.” Production is slated to begin this fall.
