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, Dark Horse announced Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Bridgit Connell’s “Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens;” Image announced the new comic “Blue in Green;” DC unveiled the “DCeased” follow-up “DCeased: Dead Planet,” and Vault Comics announced “Bleed Them Dry: A Ninja Vampire Tale.”
– Si Spurrier has announced via Twitter that he will be contributing an arc for “Justice League.” He’ll be teaming up with artists Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan for the arc, which will kick off in “Justice League” #48. “May I be the first to say how excited I am that literally everything I say on Social Media will now be followed by at least six people demanding I release the Snyder cut,” Spurrier quipped. He also shared a preview of the cover for #48, done by artist David Marquez. The first issue of the arc, titled ‘The Rule of War,’ will hit shelves in June. We’ll have more on DC’s June solicits in our Soliciting Multiversity column next week.
– As concerns over the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus weave their way through every industry, both Hollywood and the comic industry continue to feel the effects. The long list of TV shows and films to be hit with production stoppages and delays now includes several more comic adaptations. Over at Marvel, production has shut down on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with the Disney+ offerings Loki and WandaVision joining the already halted The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on hiatus. On the DC side, production on The Batman is on a two week hiatus, and the CW shows The Flash, Batwoman, Supergirl, and Riverdale have halted production as well. Plans to shoot a pilot for the CW’s upcoming Superman and Lois have been scrapped, with the show instead going to series later in the year. Both AMC’s The Walking Dead and its spinoff Fear the Walking Dead are being delayed, as are FX’s “Y: The Last Man” adaptation Y, Netflix’s Lucifer, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and Epix’s Pennyworth. You can find a full list of affected productions over at Variety.
– In an update to a previous COVID-19 cancellation, Emerald City Comic Con has been rescheduled for August 21-23, via Comicbook.com. Originally scheduled for March 12-15, ECCC was one of the first major events to be rescheduled after Seattle became an early impact site for the virus’s U.S. spread. Organizers are offering ticket holders the option to either transfer their tickets from the previous date to the new date, or to have their ticket refunded. The exchange will take place between March 27 and March 30, after which point the ticket will be cancelled and refunded. As the number of days for the convention has been reduced to 3, fans who purchased four-day tickets will receive a partial refund. Details on the ticket transfer program are available here.
– Before the former Fox series The Orville makes its move to Hulu for its third season later this year, the series will make its return a little early via comics. Via Screen Rant, Dark Horse has announced the miniseries “The Orville: Launch Day” from writer (and the show’s executive producer) David A. Goodman, artist David Cabeza, and colorist Michael Atiyeh. The creative trio previously collaborated on 2019’s “The Orville: New Beginnings.” Much like that first comic book spin-off bridged the gap between seasons 1 and 2, this new miniseries will act as a series 2.5, with the storylines split between “episodes” that will take place over multiple issues. “The Orville: Launch Day” #1 hits shelves on June 3.
– Via IGN, original art from the first appearance of Flash Gordon, long thought to be lost, will be auctioned on March 31 by auction house Profiles in History. The pencil and ink artwork from creator Alex Raymond was first published all the way back on January 7, 1934. “It may be the most important piece of Golden Age comic art to exist,” said Brian Chanes, the Head of Consignments and Auctions for Profiles in History. “It’s the first appearance. You can’t overstate its importance.” Due to the rarity of original golden age artwork–let alone original artwork of a major character’s first appearance–pre-auction estimates for the piece suggest it could sell for more than $500,000.
Continued below– Via CBR, the new superhero Agent Aether is set to debut in April’s “Power Pack” #1 from Ryan North and Nico Leon. As part of the fallout from Marvel’s “Outlawed” one-shot, Agent Aether will be serving as the Power Pack’s government-approved mentor and handler, following the passage of a law that bans teenage superheroes from acts of heroism without supervision. CBR has a first look at Agent Aether and “Power Pack” #1, which will debut on April 8.
– Buried in Variety’s news item on Netflix’s moves in Argentina is a nugget of comic book news. Netflix will be adapting the science fiction comic “El Eternauta” from writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld with artist Francisco Solano López as a television series. The comic, which ran from 1957 to 1959 in the magazine Hora Cero Semanal, followed a man and his family and friends as they struggle to survive after Buenos Aires is gripped by a mysterious, deadly snowfall. The first English translation of the series, done by translator Erica Mena and published by Fantagraphics in 2015, received the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips.
– Per The Hollywood Reporter, the comic “Streamliner: Bye-Bye Lisa Dora” from French creator Fane will get its first English-language edition in June from Magnetic Press. The graphic novel follows Billy Joe as he shows up in Evel O’Neil’s seemingly abandoned property, the Lisa Dora, trailing all manner of trouble behind him. The book was originally released in 2017 by the French publisher Rue de Sèvres. “Streamliner: Bye-Bye Lisa Dora” is due out on June 17.
