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.
– Via Newsarama, Image Comics imprint Syzygy will publish “A Haunted Girl,” a four-part horror series written by Ethan Sacks and his daughter Naomi, with art by Marco Lorenzana. Inspired by Naomi’s own mental health struggles, the comic follows Cleo, a teenager struggling with anxiety and depression, who’s just been released from hospital, when she begins to be haunted by literal demons, and discovers the fate of all life on Earth depends on her. Ethan Sacks comments, “Our shared goal is to have this series be an entertaining horror story for everyone, while at the same time being an inspirational tale for anyone going through similar struggles.” It will be released sometime in Fall 2023.
– ICv2 reports Abrams ComicArts will go from an imprint to a full division of Abrams Books, and start to publish international titles, including manga. Rodolphe Lachat, the publisher of Abrams’ art imprint Cernunnos, has been appointed ComicArts’s vice president and publisher, while founder Charles Kochman will continue to serve as editor-in-chief. The publisher also announced several new titles for Fall 2024, including “The Veracity Vortex” by Chip Kidd and Michael Cho, and adaptations of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology.
– Dark Horse Comics revealed Matt Wagner’s “Grendel: Devil by the Deed — Master’s Edition” will be released in bookstores on October 31, and in comics shops the day after on November 1. The book, which Wagner revealed late last year, is a 121-page reimagining of master criminal Hunter Rose/Grendel’s 1986 origin story, colored by Brennan Wagner, and featuring lettering by Dave Lanphear. It will be available as a standard hardcover, and in a limited edition slipcase with a signed tip-in page.
– Dark Horse also announced the print release of three comiXology Original titles. “Ask For Mercy” Vol. 2, collecting seasons 3 and 4 of Richard Starkings and Abigail Jill Harding’s fantasy horror, will release the week of November 22. Starkings and Axel Medellin’s “Elephantmen 2261” Vol. 2 will follow the week of December 6, and then Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo’s “The All Nighter” Vol. 2, collecting issues #6-10, will be released the week of December 20. Vols. 1 of “Ask For Mercy” and “Elephantman 2261” will be respectively released beforehand on April 19 and May 17, while “The All Nighter” Vol. 1 is available now.
– Titan Comics imprint Statix Press announced the English release of “The Tribute,” a sci-fi graphic novel by “Snowpiercer” co-creators Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. Originally released in French in 1995, the 160-page book follows a group of scientists and soldiers on a mission to save humanity from an intergalactic war, by finding a new energy source on an unexplored alien world. There, “the team must battle a hostile climate and protective, indigenous species to unravel the mysteries of this extraordinary planet before it’s too late.” The translation will be released on October 10, 2023, and retail in hardcover for $29.99.
– Apple TV+ released the trailer for Drops of God, the French/English/Japanese drama series based on the manga of the same name by Shin & Yuko Kibayashi, and Shu Okimoto. The eight-part show follows Camille Léger (Fleur Geffrier), the estranged daughter of a legendary wine expert, who must compete with his protégé, Issei Tomine (Tomohisa Yamashita), for her inheritance after he passes away. The series will premiere on the streaming service on April 21.
– Marvel Unlimited launched a four-part “Spider-Verse Unlimited” arc, starring Anya Corazon/Araña (formerly Spider-Girl), written by Stephanie Williams with art by Julian Shaw, and colored by Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. The arc, titled ‘Another Chance,’ sees Anya bump into a thief at the Museum of Natural History. Issue #44, containing the first chapter, is available now, with the next three parts releasing weekly every Tuesday.
– Via io9, Marvel unveiled Spider-Man’s Bad Connection, a middle-grade prose novel by Preeti Chhibber. The sequel to last year’s Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma, the book continues the adventures of a teenage Peter Parker, who must now contend with M.J. being his girlfriend (and confidant); a social media account that alerts him to crimes before they happen; and (like Across the Spider-Verse) the supervillain Spot. It will be released with a cover by Nicoletta Baldari on September 5.
– Lastly, Marvel announced The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Super Villains Poster Book, also releasing September 5. A companion to 2021’s The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book, the collection contains 37 removable prints of Ross’s takes on Earth’s Mightiest Foes, as well as a four-page gatefold poster combining all the portraits. The 80-page book, which will retail for $29.99, will also contain a new introduction and commentary by Ross, preparatory sketches, and further illustrations.
