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, Frank McLaughlin passed away; we had an exclusive preview of “Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Its All Relative” #1; Dark Horse revealed “The Witcher: Fading Memories”; and John Layman and Dan Boultwood have a new series, “Chu” (a spin-off of, you guessed it, “Chew”).
– Following several cancellations caused out of health concerns surrounding the coronavirus, Emerald City Comic Con has been cancelled entirely and postponed until the summer. Oni Press have opened a new digital store following their cancelled appearance at the con. The Webstore will be stocking all the exclusives reserved for the con, including a print and tote bag featuring art by Chris Onstad (“Achewood”), and variant covers for “Rogue Planet,” “Dryad,” “Aggretsuko” and more. “While the decision not to attend was difficult for many reasons, one of our first considerations was supporting the creators and books we had planned to promote there,” said James Lucas Jones, publisher at Oni Press.
– Scholastic have picked up the graphic novel adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches under its Graphix imprint. The novel was announced in May of last year and was adapted by Pénélope Bagieu (“California Dreamin’,” “Brazen”). This will be the first ever comic adaptation of Dahl’s work. “We have a lot of contemporary appeal, and fantasy,” said David Saylor, VP and creative director of trade publishing, and editorial director of Graphix. “But we haven’t adapted a classic story like this before, so I think it brings something entirely new to the Graphix list.” The novel is set for a September release, roughly coinciding with the new film adaptation coming out later this year.
– DC announced “Wonder Women in History,” a young adult graphic novel anthology edited by author Laurie Halse Anderson (“Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed”). It will spotlight the real female superheroes of the world, like Dolores Huerta, Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Venus and Serena Williams, Tina Fey, Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Wonder Woman’s commitment to justice and compassion has inspired fans for decades,” said Anderson. “I am thrilled to help bring this book of real-life Wonder Women to the world.” The book will be written and drawn exclusively by women, and will be released on December 1.
– “Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity Secret Files” #1 will feature a real psychological profile of the Joker by Dr. Ed Kurz, a forensic psychiatrist and consultant for the series. The one-shot by Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, Mike Mayhew, and Jason Badower serves as a companion to the main Black Label series. “We profiled Joker as if he were a real person. I wanted to write a very accurate procedural,” said Kurz. “I wanted people to make sure their doors were locked after they read the issue. To really feel like he could be out there.”
– Issue #5 and #6 of both “Inferior Five” and “Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul” have been delayed indefinitely without explanation by DC. Both of the September titles have had tumutuous publishing schedules, featuring regular delays with “Inferior Five” halving in length from 12 issues to six. “Inferior Five” is written and drawn by Keith Giffen and Jeff Lemire, with additional pencils by Michelle Delicki. “Batman Vs. Ra’s Al Ghul” features pens and pencils by Neal Adams.
– Tove Jansson, Finnish artist and creator of the “Moomin” books, was honored on Sunday with a flag-raising all across Finland. In recognition of her contributions to Finnish art culture, the office of the interior organised for the national flag to be raised from 8am to 9pm across the country to “celebrate Tove Jansson’s profound impact on Finnish art and literature, while also celebrating great Finnish works of art more widely.” Jansson’s books have been translated into over 50 languages and have presented an evergreen message on minorities, acceptance and diversity for over 70 years.
– Yen Press have announced seven new manga projects slated for an August release, two graphic novels and five new series:
Continued below– Kayla Compton, the actress behind Allegra Garcia, will be a series regular in The Flash season 7. Compton plays a freelance journalist who’s making ends meet after spending her teenage years incarcerated. She helps out The Flash with her ability to manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum and works with Iris at CCC Media. Compton appeared in eight episodes of season 6, and this will be her first time as a series regular on a show.
