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, a print edition of “Disobey the Duke if You Dare” was announced by webcomics platform Manta.
– BOOM! Studios unveiled “Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless,” a new one-shot by writer Adam Cesare, artist Moisés Hidalgo, colorist Arthur Hesli, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. The one-shot is set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise, and features two villains: Drakkon and Mistress Vile. Drakkon will be intending to create his own Drakkon Rangers, whilst Mistress Vile’s unspecified plans will have “consequences for Drakkon, and he’ll have to take a page from Zordon’s book if he wants the world of The Coinless to survive.” Cesare teased that the story the world takes on has “shades of George Romero and Mad Max.” “Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless,” is set for publication in June, with variants by Goñi Montes and Stephanie Hans, both of which you can see here.
– Image Comics announced “Junior Baker the Righteous Faker,” by writer Joe Casey, artist Ryan Quackenbush, colorist Kaylene Harris, and letterer Rus Wooton. The series, a spiritual sequel to Casey’s “Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker,” will follow an online journalist called Daniel “Dizzy” Baker, who uncovers a huge superhero story in a world that is no longer interested in superheroes, and the personal journey that Dizzy has to go on afterwards. Casey detailed that a significant portion of the series “deals with fathers and sons and the modern mysteries behind those particular relationships.” Casey concluded that the series contains some of his “most personal writing,” and described the artwork by comic book newcomer, Quackenbush, as “worth the price of admission alone.” “Junior Baker the Righteous Faker” #1 is scheduled for release in August, with a preview of the issue available here.
– AWA will begin publishing writer Ed Brisson and artist C.P. Smith’s new five-part miniseries, “Sins of the Salton Sea,” in June, it was reported. “Sins of the Salton Sea” is set to follow a thief named Wyatt, who becomes entangled in battle between multiple doomsday cults after his ‘final score’ goes ‘successfully,’ only to find that rather than stealing money, Wyatt’s heist has resulted in the crew stealing human cargo; the doomsday cults believe human sacrifice is the way of preventing the end of the world. June 7 is the release date for “Sins of the Salton Sea” #1, with a selection of unlettered preview pages available in the meantime.
– A new four-part miniseries called “Savage Squad 6,” by the creative team of writers Robert Venditti and Brockton McKinney, artist Dalts Dalton, colorist Geraldo Filho, and letterer by Micah Myers, was unveiled by Dark Horse Comics. Set in a post-apocalyptic 2037, the series will follow the titular team of warrior women fighting back against the Scourge, a group targeting the remaining human population. According to Venditti, the series aims to channel “the fun and abandon of ‘80s-‘90s action films,” and “everything we love about explosive firefights, impossible odds, and heroes who never say die.” “Savage Squad 6” #1 has a release date of June 28.
– Fantagraphics revealed two Ed Piskor titles, the first being “Red Room: Crypto Killaz!,” a four-issue sequel to his initial horror series. Issue #1 will be released in May. The second title is the tenth anniversary collection “Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus,” featuring all four volumes of Piskor’s series, plus 140 pages of extras, such as a gallery of every “HHFT” cover and back cover, pages from the “HHFT” comic that have never been reprinted, and new annotations by Piskor. It will be released in October 2023.
– Via Women Write About Comics, Archie Comics announced a new one-shot called “Archie and Friends: Hot Summer Movies,” by writer Adrian Ropp, artist Bill Galvan, inker Ben Galvan, colorist Glenn Whitmore, and letterer Jack Morelli. The one-shot is set to parody the Indiana Jones franchise, and see Jughead aka Riverdale Jones and Hot Dog set out on an adventure for the ultimate burger recipe. The story itself is called ‘Riverdale Jones and the Burger of Destiny,’ in homage to the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. “Archie and Friends: Hot Summer Movies” #1 has a release date of June 7. Bill Galvan’s cover for the one-shot can be found here.
Continued below– DC Comics made further layoffs as part of a restructuring by parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. At the time of writing, details are limited, with The Beat describing the layoffs as “small but significant,” and being on the business side of the company; editorial is unaffected. The only confirmed departure is be the company’s Senior Vice President of Manufacturing & Operations, Alison Gill, who will go into retirement later this year after 24 years at the publisher. It is not yet clear what the plans for the restructuring of the publisher are.
– Shazam! Fury of the Gods opened in North America with a disappointing $30.5 million, lower than the first film’s $53.5 million opening weekend. The $125 million sequel opened to a worldwide total of $65.5 million. It marks the lowest opening weekend for a DC film since 2021’s The Suicide Squad, which was released simultaneously on HBO Max. Box office analysts cited disinterest in the film because of The Flash‘s expected reset of the DC film/TV universe, but also mixed reviews and word-of-mouth, with the film gaining a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a B+ CinemaScore, down from the first film’s respective 90% approval rating and A grade.
– Terry Crews was cast in the CBS pilot based on Robb Armstrong’s comic strip “JumpStart.” The series, like the comic strip, will follow the lives of a husband and wife raising a family in Philadelphia. Crews is set to play Joe Cobb, described as “a devoted husband, son, father and Philadelphia police officer. He is also a proud Black man and often feels pressured to be flawless in each of his roles, especially in light of controversies surrounding cops.” Other characters in the series will be Joe’s wife, Marcy Cobb, who is a nurse, and Joe’s partner, Crunchy. In the “JumpStart” comic strip Joe and Marcy have four children, Sunny, Jojo, Tommi, and Teddy, though it isn’t clear if they will all be included in the adaptation. Further castings for the series’ pilot have yet to be announced.
– Finally, actor Lance Reddick, best known for his roles as Cedric Daniels in The Wire and Charon in the John Wick series, died from natural causes at the age of 60. Reddick had an extensive body of work, particularly in comic book-related projects, including animated series Beware the Batman and Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, voicing Ra’s al Ghul and Falcon, respectively, as well as podcasts such as Batman Unburied, where he voiced Thomas Wayne. Reddick’s work included video games, voicing Sylens in both Horizon games, Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, and Commander Zavala in the Destiny franchise; this included playing Hellboy in the upcoming Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and children Yvonne Nicole and Christopher.
