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, Marvel announced the continuation of Peach Momoko’s “Demon Days” series, “Demon Wars: The Iron Samurai,” alongside other news.
published by ShortBox
– After previously announcing the end of its subscription box service, ShortBox has confirmed it will conclude its services at the end of 2023, with its final published works coming by the end of 2022. ShortBox, created by Zainab Akhtar in 2016, is a critically acclaimed comic publisher that delivered its books through an opt-in delivery box system. The publisher is known for works like Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s “Don’t Go Without Me,” Xulia Vicente’s “I See a Knight,” and more. Its final releases will be four graphic novels and an artbook, but the ShortBox Comics Fair will continue for the foreseeable future.
– Heavy Metal has new detail for its first ever crossover comic, “Entropy” by Christopher Priest and Montos, originally announced in September 2020. The series introduces a new character related to Taarna, a herald of her nemesis Kako, Henry Hanks. The series is highly inspired by both “Green Lantern” and Breaking Bad, with each issue even featuring a Breaking Bad homage cover. Henry Hanks is an alliterative name, like Walter White, hinting at the inspiration for this new character. Priest is known for his seminal runs on “Black Panther” and “Deathstroke,” with an eclectically recognizable style across all his work. This will be Montos’s debut as a comic artist. “Entropy” #1 releases July 6 with a cover by Björn Barends & Voodoo Bownz. Every issue will have a variant by Antonio Fuso.
– This week’s Publishers Weekly children’s books rights report brings the news that First Second has acquired Gene Luen Yang’s new eight-part graphic novel series, while Penguin Random House are publishing Rey Terciero and Claudia Aguirre’s “Dan of Green Gables.” Yang’s new series, which will be drawn by an unannounced artist, is based on Supercell’s Clash game series. The first installment, set for a Spring 2023 release, is titled “The Books of Clash: Legendary Legends Legendarious Achievery.” Terciero and Aguirre’s “Dan of Green Gables” is a gender-swapped, queer coming-of-age story that adapts the classic Anne of Green Gables, following the Mexican-American teen Dan as he’s abandoned with his grandparents in Tennessee, and slowly learns to find himself. The graphic novel is set for a Summer 2025 release.
– This July’s San Diego Comic-Con will feature ‘Beyond Amazing: Spider-Man – The Exhibition,’ a celebration of the Webslinger’s 60th anniversary. The gallery exhibition is a collaboration between Marvel Entertainment, Semmel Exhibitions, and the Comic-Con Museum, featuring creator spotlights, interactive exhibits, art installations, and more. The exhibition opens July 1 and is curated by Benjamin Saunders and Patrick A. Reed.
– This year’s GLAAD Media Award winners were announced, with Marvel’s Eternals winning the Outstanding Film award, for its franchise-first portrayal of a gay superhero in the form of Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos. In the annual Outstanding Comic Book and Outstanding Graphic Novel categories, the GLAAD awards recognized Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan’s “Crush & Lobo,” and Crystal Frasier and Val Wise’s “Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms,” respectively. The GLAAD Media Awards celebrate outstanding storytelling for LGBTQIA+ visibility, and this year’s edition will be streamed on Hulu on Wednesday, April 6.
– Netflix has released the first trailer for the new animated series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, a reimagining of Stan Sakai’s “Usagi Yojimbo.” The trailer shows Yuichi, the titular Rabbit Samurai, joining a team of outcasts as they hunt Yokai and protect their home. The series is a collaboration between Netflix and Gaumont Animation, with Doug and Candie Langdale showrunning. The futuristic samurai series features Darren Barnet as Yuichi, who is a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, the protagonist of Stan Sakai’s comic series. The series releases April 28.
– The final part of Attack on Titan’s final season has officially been announced for a 2023 release. The gothic fantasy series began in 2013 and is based on the manga of the same name by Hajime Isayama, which concluded last year after 139 chapters. Season 4, the show’s last, began in December 2020 and is the longest of any by far, already numbering 28 episodes across two parts. The third and final part has no episode count as of yet, or a set release date.
Continued below– AMC has announced the latest addition to its anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, with Samantha Morton reprising her role as Alpha. The character is the leader of the Whisperers, a gang of survivors who wear the skin of walkers to avoid detection. Morton is the first returning actor to join the series, with Terry Crews, Olivia Munn and more also set to star. The series is the fourth show set in the world of The Walking Dead, and was created by showrunner Channing Powell. The six-episode series releases this summer, right before part three of The Walking Dead’s final season.
– Rahart Adams has joined the cast of the Gotham Knights CW pilot as series lead Brody. His character is relatively unknown, but described as an arrogant and insecure man with a high intellect. He could be playing a version of Knute Brody, a collective fake identity used by members of the Bat-Family including Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, and Alfred. Adams joins previously announced series regulars Fallon Smythe, Tyler DiChiara, Anna Lore and more. He’s known for his roles in Pacific Rim: Uprising, and Nowhere Boys.
– Finally, the Crow is reborn, with Bill Skarsgard officially taking up the role in a new feature directed by Rupert Sanders. The comic, created by James O’Barr, follows a supernatural hero resurrected by a crow so he can get revenge on the gang that killed him and his fiancee. The film, set to be a fairly direct adaptation, is produced by Edward R. Pressman and Malcolm Gray with a script by Zach Baylin (King Richard). Sanders is known for directing 2017’s Ghost in the Shell and Snow White and the Huntsman. After four Crow movies between 1994 and 2005, the franchise has had a series of false starts, with Luke Evans and Jason Momoa both previously attached to play the hero. Skarsgard will be the sixth actor to play the Crow, and the third to play the original version of the character, Eric Draven.
