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.
– Oni Press revealed “The Night Mother,” a spooky trilogy of middle-grade graphic novels by writer Jeremy Lambert and artist Alexa Sharpe (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones”). The series follows Madeline Tock, a 12-year old gravekeeper in a seaside town where it’s always nighttime, who can hear the whispers of the dead.
Through them, she learns of the Night Mother, the being responsible for the eternal night, who was originally an entity tasked with sending the dead to their eternal rest, until her lust for power consumed her. “Can Madeline help bring back the Sun, or will she be lured by the starry promises of this mysterious woman?” The first installment will be released on October 8, 2024.
– Lucasfilm unveiled “Star Wars: The High Republic – The Edge of Balance, Vol. 3,” the latest volume in Daniel José Older, Shima Shinya, and Mizuki Sakakibara’s original graphic novel/manga series. The book will resume the story of Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi, who defied the order to retreat to Coruscant during the fall of Starlight Beacon, and continues to protect the Jedi Temple on Banchii from the Nihil. It will be published by Viz Media on August 13, with a cover showcasing Wookiee Jedi Master Arkoff.
– The Eisner Awards’ judges announced this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, which consist of 19 in total. The seven chosen living professionals are Kim Deitch, Gary Groth, Don McGregor, Bryan Talbot, Ron Turner, Lynn Varley, and James Warren, while the 12 deceased greats are Creig Flessel, A.B. Frost, Billy Graham, Albert Kanter, Warren Kremer, Oscar Lebeck, Frans Masereel, Keiji Nakaszawa, Noel Sickles, Cliff Sterrett, Elmer C. Stoner, and George Tuska. Four more inductees will be selected by the awards’ voters. They will be inducted on the morning of the awards at San Diego Comic-Con on July 26; in the meantime, you can learn more about the selected creators at the link.
– Speaking of the Eisners, Popverse reports the awards’ decision to remove the Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism category in January might not be final. The site’s source states the final categories for this year’s awards won’t be decided until the end of April, and that the Eisners will continue to take submissions for comics journalism. Eisner organizer Jackie Estrada herself previously told the site journalism and periodicals could be submitted to the Comics-Related Books category, so assuming there are enough submissions, it’s possible the category could be reinstated.
– Paramount announced the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will be released on October 9, 2026. The film, directed again by Jeff Rowe, will depict the first battle between the newest incarnation of the turtles (now in high school) and Shredder. In the meantime, an animated series set between both films, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will premiere on Paramount+ later this year, and a video game, simply titled TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, will also be released sometime in 2024. Head to the link to find out what else Paramount has scheduled for the next few years.
– PlayStation Spider-Man developers Insomniac, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order & Survivor creators Respawn Entertainment have both been hit by the ongoing wave of layoffs in the video game industry, with their respective parent companies Sony Interactive and EA announcing a whopping 1570 job losses between them in the past two days. To be clear, none of the layoffs have been because their projects were financial disappointments; the trend is a result of greedy shareholders.
Insomniac, who were bought by Sony following the success of their first Spider-Man game in 2019, stated it marks a “solemn and unprecedent moment” for the studio, and promised to help the developers who were let go find new employment. IGN reports a Star Wars first-person shooter from Respawn was shut down as a result of the cuts, with EA choosing to prioritize dependable hits, as well as its relationship with Disney, with the likes of the Jedi series. The shooter, which was only ever confirmed in passing, was heavily rumored to feature a Mandalorian protagonist.
– In further comics-related video game stories, IGN ran a report on how Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger haircut has become a cliche for Black male characters in games, including Spider-Man 2’s version of Miles Morales. The haircut has become so ubiquitous, that even Hobie Brown was depicted sporting it in “Spider-Punk: Arms Race” #1 (released by Marvel yesterday.) The article notes the trend reflects a lack of Black game developers across the globe, indicating non-Black devs are simply copying the style, instead of striving for genuine diversity. Del Walker, a character designer who worked on several Arkhamverse games and Jedi: Survivor, commented “that after working in isolation for four to five years, by the time their first trailer comes out, [every game developer was] realizing that everyone else chose the same cut.”
