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, Margaret Atwood will partner with artist Ken Steacy for another book at Dark Horse, and March’s Mignolaversity update has all the Mignolaverse news from the past month.
– Over 150 people have come together to complete Ed Siemienkowicz’s unfinished graphic novel, “Fucking Forty.” Siemienkowicz was an active member of the Chicago comic art community, before succumbing to pancreatic cancer last year at age 43. The graphic novel is an autobiographical story about “the worst year of his life,” when Siemienkowicz lost his job, went through several failed relationships, and was diagnosed. “Fucking Forty” features work from Jill Thompson, Jonathon Hickman, Sarah & Catherine Saturn, Jason Franks & Greg Vondruska, Mike Norton, Carr Brandon, Tim Seeley, and more. Some of the creators will participate in a panel at this year’s C2E2, and a Kickstarter will be launched on April 5.
– X-Men: Dark Phoenix‘s release date has been delayed from November 2, 2018, to February 14, 2019. The New Mutants movie has likewise been delayed from February 22, 2019, to August 2, 2019. It’s the second major delay for the mutant horror movie spin-off, which was originally scheduled to open next month on April 13.
– SPOILER WARNING for the MCU on this bit of news. Buried in yesterday’s announcement that principal photography has started for Captain Marvel, is the fact that Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, and Clark Gregg are in the cast list. Hounsou and Pace played Korath the Pursuer and Ronan the Accuser, respectively, in Guardians of the Galaxy. Both were pretty visibly killed at the end of that film, so having them in Captain Marvel, which takes place in the ’90s, was pretty much the only way to bring them back. Gregg’s Agent Coulson has been running around in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but hasn’t been in the cinematic universe since The Avengers. Captain Marvel is set for release on March 8, 2019.
– DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson will take a leave of absence from the company following a series of “personal situations,” including recovering from back surgery. The break has the full support of Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara. The current executive team of Dan DiDio, Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, and Amit Desai will continue to run the day-to-day operations, with assistance from Warner Bros. Chief Digital Officer and Executive VP Strategy and Business Development Thomas Gewecke.
– The full voice cast has been announced for The Death of Superman, the first part of the DC Animated Universe’s new adaptation of the classic storyline. Jerry O’Connell returns as Superman, and will be joined by Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane, Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor, Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Christopher Gorham as The Flash, Matt Lanter as Aquaman, Shemar Moore as Cyborg, and Jason O’Mara as Batman. The film will be available later this summer, with Reign of the Superman following in early 2019.
– Emma Burleigh won the first ever Laydeez do Comics Prize, which was handed out at the initial Laydeez do Comics Festival this past weekend. The award goes to someone in “recognition and celebration of the wealth of comics work currently being produced by female-identifying people based in the UK.” Emily Haworth-Booth, Cathy Brett, Sarah Ushurhe, Rebecca Jones and Akhila Krishnan were also nominated.
– Each issue of “Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander,” Frank Miller’s long-awaited prequel to “300,” will now include a bonus pin-up illustration from a collection of artists. Issue #1 will feature Argentinian artist Paula Andrade (“The God Machine”), and issue #2’s pin-up will be drawn by Walter Simonson, with colors by series colorist Alex Sinclair.
– French comics artist Frank Biancarelli drew a tribute comic for José Luis García-López’s 70th birthday. García-López drew many comics including “Atari Force,” “Twilight,” “On the Road to Perdition,” and “Wednesday Comics,” but most will know his iconic drawings from the “1982 DC Comics Style Guide” which is still in use today.
– Donny Cates, Lisandro Estherren, and Dee Cunnife’s “Redneck” is getting a “Thanos”-themed variant cover for April’s #12, from “The Vision” and “Doctor Strange” artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta. The ‘Cosmic Redneck’ cover hits stands on April 25.
– Ready Player One screenwriter Zak Penn has just signed on to adapt Hasbro’s ROM for the big screen. Penn has plenty of experience adapting comic book franchises, having worked on titles like X-Men 2, The Incredible Hulk, and The Avengers.
– “Daredevil” is about to hit its 600th issue. In celebration, ComicBook.com writer Chase Magnett makes the case that “Daredevil” is Marvel’s best series, ever.
