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 May’s “Lester of the Lesser Gods” #1, and on a much more severe note, Ed Piskor was accused of grooming a minor.
– “Skyward” and “Shadecraft” creators Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett will reteam at DSTLRY on the supernatural crime series “The Big Burn.” The book revolves around the romantically involved thieves Owen and Carlie, who take a deal with the Devil to avoid being captured by the police. “But they soon find that without their souls, their love is missing too, so they set out to recruit a crew of the damned for the ultimate heist: break into Hell and steal their souls back.” The book marks a return to infernal affairs for Henderson, who was co-showrunner of the Lucifer TV series. Issue #1 will be released in July with a main cover by Garbett, and an open-order variant by Tula Lotay.
– Dark Horse have started making the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” comics free-to-read on Webtoon. The first three installments, available now, kick off a vertical adaptation of Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru’s 2012 series “The Promise,” which was the first continuation of the Nickelodeon cartoon. The comic picked up immediately from the show’s finale, following Aang, Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and Toph as they worked to cement the peace between the four nations in the wake of Fire Lord Ozai’s defeat. Seven more chapters are also available now on the Webtoon app.
– Flying Eye Books announced the next installment of Luke Pearson’s Hilda series, “Hilda and Twig: Hide From the Rain.” Set before Hilda and her pet deer-fox moved to Trolberg, the book finds the two sheltering from a storm in a mysterious mound, where “Twig quickly realizes that trouble is afoot, and that his best blue-haired friend is in danger. Unfortunately, he’s never really thought of himself as the brave one, but it looks like he’s going to have to step up and save Hilda from a whole load of big, scaly trouble.” It marks the first book in the series since 2019’s “Hilda and the Mountain King” (which was the sixth book), excluding the tie-ins released to promote the Netflix cartoon. It will be released on November 7, 2024.
– Papercutz will publish “Jackson’s Wilder Adventures,” an educational graphic novel series by newcomer Sarah Davidson. The all-ages books follow Jackson Wilder, a boy who travels around the world learning about animals via his cardboard teleporter, along with his best friend, Irwin the Thylacine (aka a Tasmanian wolf.) The first installment, “Habits & Habitats,” will be released on July 2, and retail at 88 pages in hardcover for $12.99, or $7.99 in paperback.
– Titan are rereleasing Jamie Hewlett and Mat Wakeham’s 1996-97 series “Phoo Action” in Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions on October 29, 2024. The comic, originally known as “Get the Freebies,” followed Terry Phoo and Whitey Action, a pair of crimefighters battling mutants on the streets of London; it is probably best remembered for spawning a BBC Three pilot starring Jaime Winstone, Eddie Shin, and the late Carl Weathers in 2008. This belated Silver Jubilee (25th anniversary) release features new lettering and art by Hewlett, a foreword by journalist Miranda Sawyer, lost pages, a new prose story by Wakeham illustrated by Philip Bond, over 90 pages of behind-the-scenes material, art prints, and more. The Deluxe Edition will retail at 464 pages for $99.99, while specifics on the Super Deluxe Edition’s release will be revealed at a later date.
– Finally, illustrator and cover artist Jay Hero is facing eviction, and has launched a GoFundMe to prevent him and his boyfriend Shaun from losing their home. They must pay by 3pm (ET) on Friday, March 29, or else housing management will move forward with evicting them. At the time of writing, they have raised $3,737 of their $4,000 target to cover three months of rent while they pay off their debts; additional donations will go towards other expenses like food and internet costs. Hero states, “I’ve never been in this situation before, so close to having the scarlet E on our ‘record,’ something that many people in our situation are being punished for. It isn’t fair and it’s not right. But I hope we can all do what we can to uplift and support each other in the meantime.”
