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, we discussed “Infinite Frontier” #0 with Joshua Williamson on the DC3cast.
– Fresh off the debut of Peach Momoko’s “Demon Days: X-Men” #1, Marvel has unveiled the next installment in her “Demon Days” saga, each issue of which will feature the world of Mt. Kirisaki from a new angle. The next stop in Momoko’s world is “Demon Days: Mariko,” which unveils Momoko’s version of the X-Men character Mariko Yashida. When she begins hearing mysterious voices, she begins to suspect that her redheaded maid, who dresses all in black, might know more about the occurrences than she lets on. “Demon Days: Mariko” goes on sale June 2.
– Author Cath Lauria is penning a prose novel for Marvel and Aconyte Books’ Marvel Heroines line focused on a fan-favorite monster hunter. Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest will find Elsa on a globe-trotting, blood-filled adventure following the appearance of a woman claiming to be her long-lost sister. The novel is scheduled to be available in shops and online on May 4.
– René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s legendary French comic “Asterix” is getting its first ever television series adaptation courtesy of Netflix. Via Deadline, the adaptation is bringing the streamer together with Asterix publisher Éditions Albert René and playwright Alain Chabat, who will serve as the showrunner for the 3D animated series. Chabat previously wrote and directed the 2002 “Asterix” adaptation Mission Cléopâtre, which stands as one of the highest-grossing feature films in French history. The Netflix series will be adapted from the 1966 story “Asterix and the Big Fight,” which saw the Romans attempting to get even with Asterix and his fellow Gauls by setting up the titular brawl between Asterix’s chief, Vitalstatistix, and the chief of a rival tribe. The series is expected to arrive on Netflix in 2023.
– Scholastic UK has picked up “Frankie’s World,” the first graphic novel from Irish writer and illustrator Aoife Dooley. Via The Bookseller, the novel shares Dooley’s experience with being diagnosed with autism by following a young girl named Frankie. In an attempt to understand why she’s so different from everyone else in her class, Frankie and her best friend Sam go on a mission to find her father, who left when she was a baby. “Frankie’s World” is scheduled for publication in January 2022.
– Publishers Weekly has the news of a number of graphic novel deals this week. First up, Atheneum has acquired “Roofhoppers” by Andi Porretta, which follows a group of friends in New York City as they agree to play a game of dares from their childhood one last time following their high school graduation. Henry Holt/Godwin picked up “Nature’s Design Challenge” by writer Rebecca Donnelly and artist Misa Saburi. The middle-grade graphic nonfiction series takes the concept of biomimicry and spins it into a Shark Tank-style game show, in which animal contestants pitch designs and products based on their own physical or behavioral adaptations. Finally, Random House Graphic has acquired the chapter book graphic novel series “Hugo and Dino” from “Red Panda and Moon Bear” creator Jarod Roselló. The new series follows a boy named Hugo, who can change the world around him just enough to go on magical adventures with his best friend, Dino. “Nature’s Design Challenge” and “Hugo and Dino” are both eyeing a 2023 release, while “Roofhoppers” is scheduled to hit shelves summer 2024.
– As Hollywood’s awards season continues to chug along, the Annie Awards have unveiled this year’s nominations. The Hollywood Reporter has the full list, which includes a couple of comic book adaptations amongst their number. Among the major categories, manga adaptation On-Gaku: Our Sound scored a nod for Best Indie Feature category, Harley Quinn picked up a nomination for Best TV/Media – General Audience, and Hilda and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles each picked up nominations for Best TV/Media – Children, alongside She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The awards will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 16.
Continued below– Apple TV+ has greenlit an adaptation of the popular Korean webtoon “Dr. Brain” starring Lee Sun-Kyun (Parasite). From Deadline, the sci-fi thriller series will be directed by I Saw the Devil’s Kim Jee-Woon. “Dr. Brain” follows a brain scientist who is obsessed with figuring out new technologies to access the consciousness and memories of the brain. His life goes sideways when his family falls victim to a mysterious accident, and he uses his skills to access memories from his wife’s brain and piece together the mystery of what actually happened to his family and why. The webtoon launched in 2019 from YG Entertainment, a branch of the studio that manages major K-Pop stars like Blackpink and iKon.
– The long percolating lawsuit between Frank Darabont and AMC over the profits from The Walking Dead is inching closer to its trial date, but a new update has placed limits on what Darabont and his representatives at CAA can use as evidence. Via The Hollywood Reporter, a New York judge ruled that Darabont and CAA’s experts can’t offer an assessment of the “fair market value” of the zombie series. Darabont and his representatives contend that AMC Network deprived them of $280 million in profits by licensing the show at a much cheaper rate to its sister company AMC Film Holdings. The plaintiffs’ experts contended that the show would have earned $30 million per episode on the open market, but the judge’s ruling limits the use of that reasoning at trial. The trial is currently scheduled for April.
– Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore was granted bail on Wednesday following widespread protests of the country’s harsh internet laws. Via the AFP, Kishore was detained by the Bangladeshi government alongside writer Mushtaq Ahmed over cartoons that mocked a businessman with powerful government ties. Ahmed died in prison last week, sparking days of unrest. Kishore’s brother Ahsan Kabir has alleged that the cartoonist was tortured in police custody, and has an eardrum infection and an injured leg following his captivity. The protests have drawn worldwide attention to Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act, which severely curbs freedom of speech, and which rights groups say is used to silence and intimidate critics of the government.
– Lastly, several Hasbro Universe titles from IDW Publishing have disappeared from comiXology and other digital storefronts. The titles, which consisted of “Action Man,” “Revolution,” “Revolutionaries,” “M.A.S.K.,” and “First Strike,” were part of the company’s shared universe of Transformers/G.I. Joe titles, which also included ROM and the Micronauts from 2016-18. The news comes a month after IDW’s Ghostbusters books became similarly unavailable for purchase from online stores, apparently due to rights issues. Since the 2018 crossover event series “Unicron,” IDW has only published new “Transformers,” “G.I. Joe,” and “ROM” comic books.
