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, Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” sequel has been delayed, Vault Comics announced “Mindset,” AWA Studios announced “Newthink,” and Canadian cartoonist Julie Doucet was awarded the Grand Prix lifetime achievement award at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Angoulême International Comics Festival. We also had an exclusive preview of “Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit” #4.
– AIPT has an exclusive first look at the new Dark Horse graphic novel “Kali” from Daniel Freedman and Robert Sammelin. Described as a “high octane action spectacle,” “Kali” follows the titular biker on a “one-way road of vengeance across a war-torn desert battlefield” after her former gang stabs her in the back and leaves her for dead. “’Kali’ is the comic book I’ve always wanted to make,” Sammelin said, “a cinematic story fusing Sergio Leone and Jack Hill, bikers and bombast, revenge and psychedelia — an effortless story, but one with a violently hot beating heart.” “Kali” will release as a hardcover on August 17.
– Archie Comics has announced the release of a genre-spanning “blockbuster” one-shot anthology. Via Newsarama, “The Best Archie Comics Ever Special” #1 features a trio of stories with alternate universe versions of Archie and the gang. The first from writer Fred Van Lente and artist Tim Seeley follows Pureheart the Powerful (a superpowered Archie Andrews) coming face to face with his doppelganger. Then, Jughead the Barbarian wages war against a menacing wizard courtesy of writer Aubrey Sitterson and artist Jed Dougherty. Finally, writer Ruben Najera and artist Giorgia Sposito follow the super-spies Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper on a top-secret case. “The Best Archie Comics Ever Special” hits shelves on June 15.
– Via Newsarama, Dark Horse Comics is continuing its work expanding the world of the video game Cyberpunk 2077. The new limited series, “Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout,” from writer Bartosz Sztybor, artist Roberto Ricci, colorist Fabiana Mascolo, and letterer Frank Cvetkovik, uses the titular blackout to explore “what happens when a citizen of a totally interconnected world decides to unplug.” Sztybor, the narrative manager for Cyberpunk 2077 at the game developer DC Projekt Red, also wrote the prior limited series “Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word” and the OGN “Cyberpunk 2077: Where’s Johnny.” “Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout” #1 lights up the shelves on June 1.
– The Marvel Unlimited series “Spider-Verse Unlimited” has gone live. Via AIPT, the comic comes from writer Anthony Piper and artist Bruno Oliveira, with colors by Pete Pantazis. The six-part series focuses on Miles Morales as he takes on “the smartest, most savvy, and dangerous villain group ever,” with promised guest appearances from Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. New issues of “Spider-Verse Unlimited” will debut on Marvel Unlimited every other Tuesday.
– Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision were among the big winners at this week’s Critics Choice Super Awards, which celebrate 2021’s superhero, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and action films and TV shows. Spider-Man: No Way Home picked up the award for Best Superhero Movie, also winning Best Actor in a Superhero Movie (for Andrew Garfield) and Best Villain in a Movie (for Willem Dafoe). Florence Pugh picked up the award for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie for Black Widow. On the TV side, WandaVision scored the Best Superhero Series win, with star Elizabeth Olsen getting Best Actress in a Superhero Series and Kathryn Hahn getting Best Villain in a Series. Fellow Disney+ Marvel star Tom Hiddleston picked up the prize for Best Actor in a Superhero Series for Loki. You can check out the full list of winners over at Deadline.
– Netflix is developing a feature adaptation of Mark Waid and Peter Krause’s BOOM! Studios bestsellers “Irredeemable” and “Incorruptible.” Via Deadline, the project comes from director Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall) and Oscar-nominated writer Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami…, Soul), with Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter and James Lassiter producing. “Irredeemable” finds the world’s most powerful superhero, the Plutonian, suddenly turning heel and visiting mass destruction on the planet. “Incorruptible” picks up the story of the Plutonian’s former nemesis, Max Damage, as he becomes the unlikely anti-hero that must save the world from his arch-enemy. BOOM! Studios currently has a first look deal with Netflix, with planned adaptations of “BRZRKR,” “Mech Cadet U,” and “Something is Killing the Children” on the way.
Continued below– Via Deadline, Francis Lawrence (Red Sparrow, The Hunger Games series) is set to direct a feature adaptation of the Vault Comics graphic novel “Stalag-X” for the production company New Republic Pictures. Created by Kevin J. Anderson, Steven L. Sears and Mike Ratera, “Stalag-X” tells the story of a human soldier held at an alien POW camp on a distant planet amidst a decade-long interstellar war. Lawrence is currently finishing post-production on his “Little Nemo” adaptation Slumberland, starring Jason Momoa, due out at Netflix later this year.
– The long-defunct publisher Gold Key comics is under new ownership. Via CBR, Gold Key, the first company to publish Star Trek and Twilight Zone comics, has been purchased by comic book enthusiasts Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes, and Arnold Guerrero. Linderman told his story and intentions to the podcast Spec Tales, saying the new company Gold Key Entertainment is looking to partner with talented creators to publish new titles and resurrect some classic Gold Key properties. Gold Key was founded in 1962, and published a host of licensed titles as well as original books like “Doctor Solar,” “Turok, Son of Stone,” and “Mighty Samson.” Following a series of acquisitions, the company ceased publishing comics in 1984; many of its titles have been reprinted over the years since by other publishers, likely causing some issues in determining where the publishing rights for certain series are currently held.
– As Disney continues to deal with the fallout from their financial donations supporting the legislators who passed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Business Insider has the news that Disney had disapproved of some of the queer elements in the now-cancelled adaptation of N.D. Stevenson’s graphic novel “Nimona.” The film Nimona was in development at Blue Sky Studios when Disney acquired the animation studio as part of their merger with Fox. Disney shuttered Blue Sky in early 2021, effectively cancelling the film ahead of its planned January 2022 debut. Three former Blue Sky staffers familiar with the project said the pushback began during a meeting in mid-2020, with Disney leadership taking issue with a same-sex kiss in particular; Blue Sky had still hoped to include the kiss in the finished film up until the project’s cancellation. “Nimona” follows a young shapeshifter and a knight who team up to fight a corrupt government in a futuristic Medieval world. This story follows a recent similar report from a group of employees at Pixar, who alleged that Disney had removed LGBTQ+ content from their recent films during the editing process. Disney has not commented on these reports.
