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 announced the ‘Infinite Destines’ storyline; Diamond postponed Free Comic Book Day; “Archie Meets Flash Gordon” was announced for a June release; and BOOM! Studios will publish a “Juliet Takes a Breath” adaptation. We also have an exclusive preview for “Legion of Super-Heroes” #5.
Ursula and the Seven Seas' #1
– Dark Horse announced “Disney Villains: Ursula and the Seven Seas,” a miniseries based on the character from the Disney’s animated movie The Little Mermaid. Writer Sherri L. Smith and artist Gabriele Bagnoli explore Ursula’s origin as one of the seven sea witches who searches among the merfolk for those that defy her power. Issue #1 will be available June 24, 2020.
– CBR writes that AfterShock Comics will delay shipping upcoming releases due to the strain of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, by up to four weeks. Joe Pruett, AfterShock’s Chief Creative Officer, writes, “We have had deep, serious discussions with Diamond and are prepared to participate, where we can, in initiatives and relief plans that they will put forward soon. We have also had conversations with many retailers, who have encouraged us to postpone shipments of our new books. As of this writing, we are working to delay such shipments by a minimum of 4 weeks, monitoring and re-evaluating daily the possible extension of this delay beyond 4 weeks, if necessary.”
– From Newsarama, as the comic book industry continues to adapt to COVID-19, IDW President/Publisher/Chief Creative Officer Chris Ryall sent a letter to retailers indicating a “comprehensive relief package” from Diamond is in the works. In the letter, Ryall echoed Image publisher and co-owner Eric Stephenson, who announced that Image will cancel reprints as the publisher is “looking at the books we have scheduled and assessing what can be pushed back, and in some cases, cancelled altogether.” Stephenson also penned a letter to the community asking for other publishers to follow suit. These announcements come as Newbury Comics closed all 28 of its locations until April 5th, giving employees pay and extending benefits during this time.
– CBR has a breakdown of Vault Comics’s “Free Firsts” and “Sampler Pack” offerings for readers interested in trying out new comics from the indie publisher. “Free Firsts” include Magdalene Visaggio et al.’s “Vagrant Queen” #1, which has a television adaptation premiering March 27th on Syfy. Vault’s $5 Sampler Packs include up to thirteen first and second issues, including “New Beginnings” for Vault’s 2019 lineup, “Horror Hits,” “Fantasy Favorites,” and the “Sci-Fi Sampler.”
– Variety reports that venture-capital fund and media company, Sister, has invested in comic book publisher AWA (Artists, Writers, & Artisans). This is the second reported round of investments following earlier reports of Rupert Murdoch’s stake in AWA a year ago. Artists, Writers, and Artisans is being lead by Axel Alonso, Bill Jemas, and Jonathan Miller. Their initial wave of comic book titles debuted yesterday.
– At Publishers Weekly, Andrea Colvin was profiled for her new appointment as editorial director of Graphic Publishing by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Colvin’s acquisitions will debut in May 2021, beginning with “Shark Summer” by Ira Marcks, which is about a mystery set on Martha’s Vinyard. Joining the lineup are “Just Pretend” by Tori Sharp, a memoir of growing up with divorce; and “The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich” by Deya Muniz, which involves marriage inequality and “a lot of cheese.”
– IGN revealed that Shadow Man, the 1999 video game developed by Acclaim based on the “Shadowman” property by Valiant Entertainment, will be receiving a remaster by Nightdive Studios. The video game will be up-scaled to 4k resolution and include previously cut content from the original game. The game is set to be released next year on PC (through Steam and GOG), and PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
– From ComicBook.com, Bloodshot is receiving an expedited electronic sell through date (i.e., video on demand) of March 24, 2020, as the film industry deals with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the Valiant Entertainment property, Bloodshot stars Vin Diesel as Ray Garrison, a soldier whose memories are tampered with by a tech corporation. The movie was released in theaters last week, making yesterday’s announcement particularly swift.
– Polygon writes that the anime series, Bleach, will return from an eight-year hiatus to adapt ‘The Thousand Year Blood War’ story arc that will end the show. The story arc ended the manga series in 2016. Currently there is no word on which animation studio will develop this storyline or when it will be released. Furthermore, these announcements were predicted to take place during AnimeJapan 2020, however, due to its cancellation, there will be a Bleach 20th Anniversary livestream on Friday, March 20th, where more information will be made available.
– Finally, C21Media writes that UKTV has acquired the rights to Stumptown from Disney Media Distribution for its crime-centric channel Alibi. The television show is based off of the comic book series by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, and Justin Greenwood, and stars Cobie Smulders as Dex Parios, a military vetran struggling with PTSD as she takes care of her younger brother in Portland, Oregon. Stumptown is set to debut on Alibi this spring.
