Welcome 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 yesterday: Black Mask Studios series “Kim & Kim” is returning in “Oh S#!t It’s Kim & Kim,” and DC debuted the first issue of “Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay” which is the sequel to an upcoming animated film of the same name.
– Forget Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the next Men in Black installment will be all about Chris Hemsworth and recently announced co-star Tessa Thompson (both of Thor: Ragnarok). The original Men in Black film from 1997 was based on the comic “The Men in Black” by writer Lowell Cunningham (“Jack Ooze,” “Alien Nation: The Skin Trade”) and artist Sandy Carruthers (“Captain Canuck,” “Charlton Arrow”). The slim adapation whitewashed most of the more morose portions of the short lived comic. The film which will be directed by F. Gary Gray (Fate of the Furious, Straight Outta Compton) is said to be more of an ensemble piece as opposed to the previous three films in the franchise, taking a route similar to the Jurassic World reboot model. The sequel film, which also promises a more global perspective on the Men in Black universe, is slated for release on June 14, 2019.
– BOOM! Studios announced “Pandora’s Legacy,” an original graphic novel written by Kara Leopard (“[Super]natural Attraction”) with art by Kelly and Nichole Matthews (“Jim Henson’s Power of The Dark Crystal”). The comic follows three siblings who discover they are descendants of Pandora tasked with protecting her infamous box, and it will be released sometime this November.
– IDW revealed in their solicitations that writer John Barber (“Optimus Prime,” “Back to the Future”) and artist Andrew Griffith (“Transformers: Robots in Disguise,” “Micronauts: Wrath of Karza”) will be bringing us “Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel,” the first comic book tie-in to a Transformers film since 2011’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” The new miniseries will follow Bee as he is loaned out to MI6 to help unravel a Cold War plot to dismantle the British intelligence agency.
– Netflix’s Daredevil has cast actor Jay Ali (The Fosters, Bloomers) as a season regular for the Marvel television series. Ali will be playing FBI agent Rahul “Ray” Nadeem, who according to Marvel is “an honest, but ambitious FBI agent willing to go to any length for his family.” Not much is known about the third season of Daredevil other than the fact that Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Jurassic World)’s Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk will be returning as the season’s main antagonist.
– On the subject of casting announcements: the Amazon Original series The Boys has cast Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad, Craig of the Creek) as the Female of the Species in the superhero satire from comic creators Garth Ennis (“Preacher,” “Punisher MAX”) and Darick Robertson (“Transmetropolitan,” “Fury”). The Female is among the earliest members of the Boys, and is feral and extremely violent to the point of obscenity; however, she is able to channel that into her work with the Boys keeping superheroes in check for the government.
– Verizon and Viz Media have partnered up to bring us a bevy of free anime for our viewing pleasure. Death Note, One-Punch Man, and the original Naruto series are just a few of the execllent titles streming on Go90 for free right now.
– Legendary artist/writer Walt Simonson (“Ragnarok,” “Star Slammers”) was tapped by Marvel for a variant cover for “Mighty Thor” #706 which will bring to a close Jane Foster’s time as the Goddess of Thunder. Many will remember Simonson for his seminal run on “Mighty Thor” in the ’80s which he wrote and drew almost all of, including the introduction of Beta Ray Bill along with the epic AK-47 fueled last stand of Skurge the Executioner. “Mighty Thor” #706 hits shelves April 18 with art by Russell Dauterman (“Supurbia,” “Cyclops”), script by Jason Aaron (“Wolverine and the X-Men,” “Southern Bastards”) and at least one cover by Walt Simonson.
– According to Publishers Weekly, Simon & Schuster have acquired the rights to “Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice,” a middle grade graphic novel written by Debbie Levy (who also wrote the Ginsburg picture book I Dissent), and illustrated by Whitney Gardner. The book will be out sometime next year.
– Dark Horse Comics will reprint Jennie Wood and Jeff McComsey’s “Flutter” in a 352-page trade paperback on October 3. The series, which was originally published by 215 Ink across three volumes from 2013 to 2017, followed Lily, a 15-year old girl who could shapeshift into a boy.
