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, the X-Men are headed for the crossover ‘X of Swords’ in July, and Silk is getting a new solo series from Maurene Goo and Takeshi Miyazawa.
– The classic Tokusatsu hit is coming to Marvel with “The Rise of Ultraman,” from writers Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom and artist Francesco Manna. “A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu,” said Higgins, who wrapped up a run on “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” in 2018. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of superhero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.” This will be the first series following the announcement from Marvel Comics and Tsuburaya Productions last year that the two would be collaborating on new Ultraman stories. The book is set for release later this year.
– Via Newsarama, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates will be wrapping up his run on Black Panther later this year with issue #25. The issue, announced at Marvel’s ‘Next Big Thing’ panel at C2E2, will mark the end of Coates’s four year epic that began back in 2016. The final issue will bring a close to the current ‘Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda’ storyline, bringing T’Challa back home to his kingdom on Earth. “Black Panther” #25 will go on sale in June.
– The film adaptation of the ’80s toy line and cartoon series M.A.S.K. has found a writer. According to The Hollywood Reporter the film, which will reportedly be helmed by The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Grey, will be penned by Chris Bremner. Bremner is coming to the project off of the hit sequel Bad Boys for Life earlier this year, and will also be tackling the upcoming National Treasure 3. In 2015, M.A.S.K. was previously announced to be one film in a larger crossover franchise with other Hasbro properties Micronauts, G.I. Joe, Rom, and Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. No release date has currently been announced.
– In light of the mess of misinformation and scarebait headlines surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, NPR editor and illustrator Malaka Gharib has put together a handy explainer comic for kids. The webcomic is based on reporting by NPR education reporter Cory Turner, featuring his interviews with Tara Powell of the University of Illinois School of Social Work, Joy Osofsky of the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and Krystal Lewis at the National Institute of Mental Health. NPR has made a zine version of the comic available here, and provided a video with instructions on how to fold it.
– FX’s “Y: The Last Man” adaptation has found its new last man. Via Variety, Ben Schnetzer has grabbed the role of Yorick Brown, taking over for Barry Keoghan after his exit from the project earlier this year. The TV series, titled simply Y, features an ensemble cast that also includes Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, and Amber Tamblyn. Production on the series is set for an April start.
– Via Publishers Weekly, Oni Press has announced plans to release print collections for three webcomics this summer. Kyle Latino’s YA fantasy “Savage Beard of She Dwarf” will hit shelves in May, followed by Brandon Reese’s dark comedy “Hell Was Full” in June, and Rachel Dukes’s kitten comedy “Frankie Comics” in August.
– Though a sixth season of the oft-revived Netflix series Lucifer has yet to be officially renewed, one big hurdle to the show’s return has been cleared. Via TV Line, showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson have inked deals to head a potential season six. The last remaining deal needed prior to the show’s renewal appears to be for star Tom Ellis, although TV Line’s sources indicate that all sides are optimistic about a positive resolution to the negotiations. After being originally cancelled by Fox after three seasons, Lucifer was picked up for seasons four and five by Netflix. The fifth and previously announced “final” season is set to premiere sometime later this year.
– From The National, environmental activist and advocate Greta Thunberg has been gifted an illustration by the long-running British comic magazine “The Beano.” The illustration by Beano artist Nigel Parkinson features Thunberg protesting outside Beano High School alongside famous characters like Dennis and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, and the Bash Street Kids. Thunberg had previously been given the Beano Power Award after her climate protests were chosen by readers as the “Moment of the Year” in 2019.
– Stone Bridge Press will be publishing the U.S. edition of former Studio Ghibli Head of International Sales Steve Alpert’s memoir Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli. Alpert’s book, which was previously published in Japan in 2016, details his time as the “resident foreigner” working in the Ghibli offices alongside Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki. The book is due for a U.S. release on June 16, 2020.
