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.
– Dark Horse Comics announced a second volume for the Valderrama brothers’ “Giants,” which will have the subtitle “Ghosts of Winter.” The siblings, writer Carlos Perez and artist Miguel, will continue the story of a world where kaiju reign supreme, and humans are trying desperately to survive; the second volume will follow “apocalyptic found family The Forsaken,” as they seek a new home in the apocalyptic landscape. The description promises “tensions rise, loyalties are tested, and new beasts enter the fray” in the sequel to the 2017 series. This announcement marks a shift in the series’ release structure to the graphic novel format, whereas the first volume consisted of five individual issues. “Giants Volume 2: Ghosts of Winter” is scheduled for a comic book shop release on August 24, and then a bookshop release on September 6.
– Dark Horse also announced they will be collecting the entirety of Doug Moench and Tim Sale’s “Aztec Ace” in a new “archival hardcover” edition, subtitled “The Complete Collection.” The series followed Caza, a man from the 23rd century; his pupil Bridget Chronopolis; and his Navigator, the head of Sigmund Freud, as they travelled between the future and the reign of the Aztec Empire, to prevent the time paradoxes created by Nine-Crocodile from wiping Caza’s dimension out of existence. The collection will contain all fifteen issues of the series, an “Aztec Ace” short story by the series’ creators, and a pin-up gallery featuring artwork from a range of artists. “Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection” will arrive in comic shops on July 20 and then in bookshops on August 2. Check out the cover for the collection and the artists announced as contributing to the collection’s pin-up gallery here.
– Via ScreenRant, DC Comics unveiled a new middle-grade graphic novel called “My Buddy, Killer Croc,” by writer Sara Farizan, and artist Nicoletta Baldari. “My Buddy, Killer Croc” will see a boy named Andy move to Gotham to live with his Aunt Meredith, and struggling with bullies at his new school; from there Andy seeks out Killer Croc because “Croc is that element that binds Andy with his past, with his happy childhood with dad” watching wrestling, Baldari said. Farizan stressed that this version of Killer Croc is still “recognizable,” but “one that [the audience] might find themselves rooting for in certain moments even when they weren’t expecting to.” “My Buddy, Killer Croc” is scheduled for release in August. In the meantime you can read the full interview with Farizan and Baldari and also check out a selection of preview pages here.
– There were three graphic novels included in Publishers Weekly‘s children’s book deals round-up last week: first was Random House Graphic’s acquisition of “Taxi Ghost” by Sophie Escabasse, a middle-grade story that sees ghosts ride in a taxi, and which follows protagonist Adèle as she tries save the home belonging to one of the ghosts. Second was Darin Shuler’s “Dog & Hat and the Lunar Eclipse Picnic,” which was bought by Chronicle, and will see “best friends Dog (a dog) and Hat (who lives on his head and provides all kinds of advice)” travelling to the moon with their friend, Ant, as the latter tries to find their cousins. Thirdly, Scholastic/Graphix bought “Anong and the Ribbon Skirt” by Elijah Forbes, which will follow a Two-Spirit, non-binary child called Anong, who wants to make and wear a traditionally Anishinaabe women-worn ribbon skirt to the next powwow. The early-reader-aimed “Dog & Hat and the Lunar Eclipse Picnic” will debut first in Spring 2023, followed by “Anong and the Ribbon Skirt” in Fall 2024, and “Taxi Ghost” arriving at an unspecified point in 2025.
– IDW Publishing announced that the next entry in their “Artist’s Edition” series will be for Todd McFarlane, and focus on his Spider-Man work. “Todd McFarlane’s ‘Spider-Man’ Artist’s Edition” will include interior work from the artist’s time on “The Amazing Spider-Man” with David Michelinie, and the “Spider-Man” series he wrote and drew on his own, as well as covers from various other Marvel titles. The collection will consist of 192 pages and be released on September 21. The cover and three preview pages for the book can be found at Newsarama.
Continued below– Many Marvel readers spoke out against the paper quality for a host of the publisher’s output last week, including “Iron Man” #18 and “Shang-Chi” #10, with the covers being described as having “a thin, flimsy paper of the same stock as the interior pages.” The publisher has reportedly responded to a retailer about the problem and stated that the upcoming “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” #36 and “Silk” #3, both scheduled for March 30, will be printed on the same paper stock as the criticized titles last week. There aren’t any plans for the criticized issues to be undergo the reprinting process, but ultimately Marvel “are shifting back to a better cover stock for new issues going forward.”
– Crunchyroll announced that it will be discontinuing its offering of new releases with adverts and without a subscription a week after its subscription-required debut. The change is set to be implemented for its Spring 2022 releases, though anything already available through the scheme is set to remain that way. Some shows, such as Skeleton Knight in Another World and Spy x Family, will be included in a changeover period, with the shows operating under the current rules for three episodes, before being brought under the jurisdiction of the new terms on the deadline date of May 31. You can see the full list of changeover period titles at ComicBook.com.
– At last night’s 94th Academy Awards, Zack Snyder’s Justice League won the fan-voted Oscars Cheer Moment contest, for the sequence where the Flash enters the Speed Force, beating out the Spider-Man Team Up from Spider-Man No Way Home and more. Snyder’s Army of the Dead was also voted Oscars Fan Favorite. You can check out the full list of this year’s Academy Award winners, including Best Picture (which went to CODA, starring Locke & Key‘s Emilia Jones) here.
– Finally, the production company, Acme FX, were fined $110,000 (in Canadian dollars) after pleading guilty to breaking one of Ontario’s health and safety laws, following an incident on the set of DC’s Titans that resulted in the death of the series’ special effects coordinator, Warren Appleby. The production company are specifically guilty for failing to maintain that “the machine, device, tool or equipment is in good condition,” and will also face a “25% victim fine surcharge.” A GoFundMe page was set up in Appleby’s memory shortly after his death to help provide support to his wife and two children; donations can be made here.
