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.
– Dallas-based comic book and video game publisher Behemoth has been acquired by record label and production company Sumerian Records & Films. In a statement, Sumerian CEO Ash Avildsen praised Behemoth founders Nathan Yocum and Ryan Swanson, saying, “It was an easy decision to team up with these very talented young mavericks when the opportunity arose. They have good taste! Having a diligent, proven team in comics, graphic novels and gaming is paramount to Sumerian as we continue our passion for story-telling across all audio and visual spectrums. We will always be discovering, creating or developing IP into books, episodic series, feature films, animation and beyond.”
Behemoth was founded in 2020, and their original titles include Damian Connelly’s supernatural series “You Promised Me Darkness,” as well as Victor Santos’s retired superhero story “Until My Knuckles Bleed.” (Licensed titles include “Watch Dogs: Legion” and “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”) Co-founder Nathan Yocum said, “Ryan and myself couldn’t pass on the opportunity to align visions with Ash and enter this incredible next chapter of endless possibilities and growth as Sumerian Comics & Games. The power and weight that the Sumerian name carries is real and the future of Sumerian has never looked so positive.”
– Marvel Unlimited launched “Avengers Forever,” a four-part tie-in to the print series of the same name, also written by Jason Aaron. Featuring art by Kev Walker and colorist Dean White, the Infinity Comic takes readers back in time to reveal the origins of the conflict between the Multiversal Masters of Evil, and the forces of Avenger Prime. Each issue will be released weekly on the Unlimited iOS/Android app.
– Netflix announced the animated series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles will premiere with ten episodes on Thursday, April 28. The show, based loosely on Stan Sakai’s “Usagi Yojimbo,” stars Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever) as Usagi’s descendant Yuichi, a young rabbit on a quest to become a great samurai himself. No trailer was released, but you can check out a gallery of images here.
– On Twitter, actor Misha Collins (Supernatural) revealed he has been cast as Harvey Dent/Two-Face on the CW’s Gotham Knights pilot. Gotham Knights (no relation to the upcoming video game) will take place in a world where Bruce Wayne has been murdered, and his adopted son is forced to team up with the children of his enemies after being framed for the crime. Collins joins Olivia Rose Keegan, who has been cast in the pilot as Two-Face’s daughter, Duela Dent.
– Rocksteady Studios’ creative director Sefton Hill confirmed reports that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been delayed to 2023, tweeting a gif of the title characters groaning in frustration as the release year changes. “I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can,” he said. “I look forward to bringing the chaos to Metropolis together. Thanks for your patience.” Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in Spring 2023.
– Finally, spurious bannings of books with non-straight white leads continue to rage across schools in America, with The Beat sharing that the teaching of “Persepolis” in Murrysville, Pennsylvania’s Franklin district high schools has been “paused,” after parents complained about the content of Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of living through the Iranian Revolution. (One was quoted as saying the book “pushes a liberal ideology that does not belong in our school.”) Cartoonist Lily Williams also responded to reports that her and Karen Schneemann’s graphic novel “Go With The Flow” has been banned in Keller, Texas’s school district, with a thoughtful essay questioning why adults are so afraid of a middle-grade book about something as common as menstruation.
