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, longtime DC artist Ramona Fradon passed away, aged 97. We also reported on the announcement of Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s “Absolute Power,” and Mad Cave’s line-up of “Flash Gordon” and “Gatchaman” titles.
– Actor Josh Gad will make his comic book debut with “The Writer,” a four-part action fantasy series at Dark Horse. Created with media producers Ben and Max Berkowitz (Mike Mignola’s upcoming The Forever House), artist Ariel Olivetti, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic, the comic follows Stan Siegel, a comic book writer who must escape after being “plunged into a Nazi occult-fueled nightmare.” Ben Berkowitz describes the series as a cross between Indiana Jones and Back to the Future, “sprinkled” with Jewish mythology. Issue #1 releases June 19; in the meantime, you can check out additional covers for the series at Screen Rant and AIPT.
– Image announced “The Singularity,” a graphic novel based on an upcoming concept album of the same name by composer Bear McCreary. The project tells the story of Blue Eyes, a being doomed to be continually reborn across the multiverse, eventually losing everything and everyone he loves. The book was penned by Mat Groom in collaboration with creative director Kyle Higgins, and will feature interiors by artists like Ramón K. Pérez, Danilo Beyruth, Matias Bergara, Rod Reis, Eleonora Carlini, Helena Marsellis, and John J. Pearson. It will be released on May 8, two days before the album drops on May 10.
– Titan will release “Downlands,” a new graphic novel by Norm Konyu (“A Call To Cthulhu”) on October 1. A ghost story, the book takes place in the South Downs of England, and tells the story of a 14-year old who becomes obsessed with the legend of the Black Hound after the death of his twin sister. “Enlisting the aid of his elderly neighbor, who the local children call ‘The Witch,’ he delves into the centuries of village history, folklore, and ghosts, until he uncovers a deeper secret beyond his darkest nightmares.” It will retail in hardcover at 292 pages for $29.99.
– Destin Daniel Cretton will write and direct a live-action Naruto film for Lionsgate. Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the manga, commented in the announcement that he met with Cretton after watching his films, and became optimistic about working with him on the project. It is unknown when Cretton would tackle the film, as he is still developing a Shang-Chi sequel, and overseeing the Disney+ series Wonder Man for Marvel. Created in 1999, “Naruto” tells the story of a young ninja who seeks to become the leader of his village, despite being scorned for living with a nine-tailed fox spirit in his body; it is one of the biggest-selling manga series of all time, and was considered one of the “Big Three” anime shows (alongside One Piece and Bleach) in the early 2000s.
– Publishers Weekly‘s latest children’s books rights reports shares Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot will team up with artist Amelia Allore (“Hard Lacquer”) on “Detective Baby,” a middle-grade graphic novel series revolving around a babysitter who becomes the Watson to a brilliant young infant’s Holmes. The first installment, “The Case of the Missing Dance Team Dollars,” will be released by HarperAlley in Summer 2025. It will mark Allore’s first OGN, and Cabot’s second comic after 2019’s “Black Canary: Ignite.”
Over at First Second, Marguerite Sauvage will write and draw her first English-language OGN, “Drawing Attention.” Written with Barbara Perez Marquez, the book follows a 12-year-old girl who’s recently moved to the US, and bonds with a school outcast over their mutual love of comics – unfortunately, this draws “unwanted attention from the school’s already established zine.” It will be released in 2026. Furthermore, “Amulet” creator Kazu Kibuishi will team up with Brandon Sanderson on picture book The Most Boring Book Ever, an adventure story that will be released by Roaring Brook sometime later this year, or early 2025.
Continued below– Marvel announced “Marvel Must-Haves,” a series of free reprints of classic titles for comic book stores starting next month. The first “Must-Have,” out March 6, will reprint 2016’s “Spider-Man/Deadpool” #1 by Joe Kelly & Ed McGuinness, as well as last year’s “Immortal Thor” #2 by Al Ewing & Martin Coccolo, and “Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant” #1 by Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada, Carlos Gomez, & Adam Gorham. Check with your local retailer regarding availability while stocks last.
– Insomniac Games revealed two new suits coming to Spider-Man 2, designed in collaboration with Gameheads, an education program for aspiring young game developers of low-income and non-white backgrounds. They will retail for $4.99 in the Fly N’ Fresh Suit Pack on March 7, with all proceeds (up to $1 million) going to Gameheads’ tax-exempt sponsor Community Initiatives until April 5. (The suits will also be made available for free at a later date.) Head to the links to find out more about Gameheads, and what else is coming to Spider-Man 2 when New Game+ is added on March 7.
– Canadian actor Kenneth Mitchell died on Saturday, February 24, five-and-a-half years after being diagnosed with ALS. He was 49. Mitchell was best known for playing several characters on Star Trek: Discovery and Lower Decks, including the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, and also portrayed Carol Danvers’s father Joseph in Captain Marvel. Other projects included Jericho, Ghost Whisperer, The Astronaut Wives Club, and several CSI shows. He continued to act after his diagnosis, playing Aurellio on Discovery season three, and on shows like Nancy Drew and The Old Man. He is survived by his wife, actress Susan May Pratt, their two children, his parents, and a brother. He requested that any gifts be directed to ALS research, or to support his children.
– Actor Chris Gauthier also died on Friday, February 23, following what was only described as a brief illness. He was 48. A prolific Canadian character actor of British and Cree descent, Gauthier was best known for playing Smee on Once Upon a Time, Vincent on Eureka, and Toyman on Smallville. He also portrayed Phil on Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Ronald Reznick on Supernatural, Henry VIII on Legends of Tomorrow, and Seymour in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. Michael Rosenbaum paid tribute, saying “I didn’t know Chris well, but I filmed a scene with him on Smallville once, and I had such a blast with him. His energy was electric. He was a delight. It’s very sad to hear this news. RIP buddy.” Gauthier is survived by his wife and two sons. You can honor him by looking into the First Nations causes he pinned to his Instagram page, RAVEN, and the Gidimt’en Checkpoint.
