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 have an exclusive preview of this week’s “Astonishing Times: Rise of the Kokin” #3.
– DC have responded to allegations that artist Andrea Sorrentino used generative AI to render his sections of “Batman” #142-144. A spokesperson told The Independent‘s indy100, “DC Comics has longstanding policies in place that all artwork must be the artist’s original work. We are looking into the specifics of this situation.” Speculation arose on March 10 when a Twitter.com thread examining the evidence (including suspiciously similar imagery generated by Bing) went viral. Sorrentino hasn’t commented on the allegations at the time of writing, although several artists, led by Simone Di Meo, noticeably spoke out against the use of AI afterwards, with Di Meo saying, “Using AI in the professional comics industry is like spitting in the face of all your colleagues or creatives in general, from whom those images were stolen. Good job.”
– Magma Comix and Mexico’s Ruptura Estudios have formed a partnership, which will begin with supernatural western “Hell’s Half Acre,” written by Magma founder Denton J. Tipton with art by Ramon Bunge. Set in 1904 Nashville, the book follows Britt, a mysterious gambler who “sets in motion a chain of events that will have lawmen and outlaws alike aiming to put him six feet under. Will the woman that Britt scorned be his downfall, or salvation when Hell comes calling?” Issue #1 will be released on June 5.
– “Plastic” creators Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard will reunite at Image for a prequel, “Plastic: Death & Dolls.” The five-issue horror series will reveal the origin of serial killer Edwyn Stoffgruppen, beginning with his complicated relationship with his mother as a 10-year old. The original series, from 2017, followed Edwyn as he was blackmailed into committing murder again, after the kidnapping of his girlfriend… who was a sex doll. Issue #1 will be released on June 12.
– The Missouri Association of School Librarians have unveiled the inaugural Denny O’Neil Graphic Novel List, naming the best comics for readers in grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The initiative was named after the legendary writer and editor, who hailed from St. Louis, Missouri, and died in 2020, aged 81. Books on the list(s) include the Libby Award-winning “The Talk,” DC’s “Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story,” and “Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali.” Head to the official website to check out all the selected books, and to learn more about the MASL’s project.
– The BBC announced the first season of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who run will premiere with two episodes on (depending where you are in the world) Friday, May 10, or Saturday, May 11. It will launch internationally on Disney+ at 7:00 pm ET on May 10, and simultaneously in the UK at midnight local time on iPlayer, before airing on BBC One on Saturday night (before the finale of Eurovision.) This schedule will remain in place for all eight episodes of the season. The decision to prioritize a US release time has drawn a poor response from British fans, who’ll have to stay up, watch each episode early, or spend the day offline to avoid spoilers.
– Via The Hollywood Reporter, DC Studios are developing a Teen Titans movie, with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow screenwriter Ana Nogueira attached to pen the script. Little else is known about the project, which was not announced as part of the studio’s initial Chapter 1 reveal, including which characters will be featured, although Batman feature The Brave and the Bold is set to introduce Damian Wayne as Robin, and possibly previous holders of the mantle. It would mark the characters’ live-action film debut, although not their first live-action appearance, having been preceded by the older-skewing Max series Titans, which ended after four seasons last year.
– Aaron Pierre (Genius, Krypton) will no longer appear in the Blade movie reboot. The actor informed Variety he was no longer attached to the project at this week’s NAACP Image Awards, implying his unnamed character was changed or written out. Pierre was cast in Blade, which is currently scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025, in February 2022. Speaking of the NAACP Image Awards, head here to check out all of this year’s winners, including Issa Rae (for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Don Cheadle (Secret Invasion), and composer Jongnic Bontemps (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.)
– The nominees for the 59th annual Nebula Awards were announced, with Nimona, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and The Boy and the Heron all earning a nomination for the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. (The other nominees were The Last of Us‘s third episode, “Long, Long Time,” Barbie, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.) Nate Stevenson was among those nominated for Nimona, his second following his Andre Norton Award nomination for the book in 2015. The winners will be announced at the Nebula Conference, held during June 6-9, 2024.
– Finally, Marvel Studios continued to provide comment, but not an explanation for X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo’s unexpected departure from the series. Elaborating on his brief praise for DeMayo last week, executive producer Brad Winderbaum told Entertainment Weekly, “I can’t talk about the details, but I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters, and wrote what I think are excellent scripts, that really the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from [to] build this amazing show that’s on screen.” He added he wouldn’t characterize it as a firing as the initial reports did, saying “I don’t. ‘We parted ways’ is the best way I could say.” X-Men ’97 premieres on Disney+ this Wednesday, and has already been renewed for a second season, which DeMayo completed writing on.
