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 will publish “Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse,” a four-part comic based on the award-winning video game of the same name. Written by Alex Paknadel with art by Troy Little, the comic will retell and expand on the irreverent story of a lamb who is resurrected by a demon after being sacrificed by a cult, and gets tasked with forming its own religion. It was not stated when the series will begin, although a pre-order campaign on Kickstarter for the graphic novel release says to expect orders to be fulfilled in December 2024, so it’ll presumably debut in comic book stores sometime this summer.
– In more crowdfunding news, Legendary and Rocketship Entertainment launched a Kickstarter for a graphic novelization of Dune: Part Two, scripted by Lilah Sturges with art by Drew Johnson, Zid, and Niezam. The creative team previously teamed up on the adaptation of the first movie, which was also crowdfunded before hitting bookstores in 2022. The book will have an introduction by authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, and covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and Keron Grant. Dune: Part Two is currently on release in theaters now, while the third and final graphic novel adapting the original novel, by Anderson, Herbert, Raúl Allén, and Patricia Martín, will be published on July 16.
– Via IGN, Titan Comics announced “Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor” will have art by Kelsey Ramsay (“Dark Spaces: Good Deeds”), and colors by Valentina Bianconi (“The Exiled”). The ongoing series, starring the latest incarnation of the Time Lord (played by Ncuti Gatwa), will be written by Dan Watters, and begin with the Doctor and Ruby Sunday tracking a mysterious signal to a mall from Earth’s final days. Issue #1 will be released on June 24, shortly after a Free Comic Book Day issue on May 4, and the start of Gatwa’s first season of the show that month. It marks Titan’s first ongoing Doctor Who comic since the end of “The Thirteenth Doctor” in 2020.
– DC revealed “Batman and Robin and Howard: Summer Breakdown” will be released on September 3. The second installment of Jeffrey Brown’s middle-grade graphic novel series, the book sees Damian Wayne and his friend Howard enlist Lois Lane’s help in unmasking a corporation planning to build a recycling factory in a local park. Batman, meanwhile, “has been acting strangely and disappearing for stretches of time. And there are ninjas everywhere… What could possibly be going on?” The release date announcement came as issue #1 of the first “Batman and Robin and Howard” graphic novel’s serialized rerelease hit stores this week.
– Scholastic Graphix announced “Dog Man” Little Free Libraries are coming to all 50 states. The libraries, created in collaboration with the Little Free Library‘s Power Up with Reading initiative, will offer copies of various Dav Pilkey books, including the latest “Dog Man” book, “The Scarlet Shedder,” out March 19. The first of these free libraries, which are contained within red cabinets featuring Pilkey’s artwork, will be installed that day in the author’s birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio. Pilkey will also donate 50,000 books to Little Free Libraries in various underserved communities. If you would like a free little Pilkey library in your community, head to the application form here.
– In movie release date news, The Batman Part II has been delayed a year until October 3, 2026. The sequel, which was initially set for October 2025, was delayed as a result of issues stemming from the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes. It will now arrive nearly five years after the first film, which was itself subject to delays stemming from COVID-19, that dragged out the shoot across 2020-2021, and pushed back the release date until 2022; Robert Pattinson will be 40 by the time the sequel releases. In contrast, Sony have moved up Venom 3 by a couple of weeks; the sequel, now titled Venom: The Last Dance, will bow in theaters on October 25, 2024.
– Finally, X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has been fired from the show, a mere week before it premieres on Disney+. No reason was given for the decision; DeMayo, who deactivated his Instagram account, reactivated his Twitter to simply say, “Speech is silver, silence is golden.” As a result, he will not participate in press for the series, although the second season of the show, which has finished writing, will build on the scripts he oversaw. The writer previously worked for Marvel on Moon Knight, and the upcoming Blade reboot, but their relationship has been severed to the point the studio deactivated his company email. X-Men ’97 premieres Wednesday, March 20.
