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, Mexican author Francisco Haghenbeck has died at 56.
& Fred C. Stresing
– Just in time for his 20th anniversary, Invader Zim’s comic book adventures are wrapping up with a special one-shot to close out the summer. Via Newsarama, “Invader Zim: Dookie Loop Horror” will be the final issue in the partnership between Zim’s creator Jhonen Vasquez and Oni Press – now Oni-Lion Forge – that began in 2015. “It’s been a crazy 20 years of Zim comics but everything comes to an end, and as far as I know it IS an end but who knows if it’s for real the way the things seem to keep coming back now,” Vasquez told Newsarama. Invader Zim premiered on Nickelodeon in 2001, gaining a cult following after its cancellation by the network. The one-shot will be written by Vasquez and Eric Trueheart, with art from Aaron Alexovich, colors by Fred C. Stresing and letters from Warren Wucinich. The story finds Zim and his archenemy Dib trapped in a “time poop loop,” where “they wake, the tuxedoed pig farts, the world ends.” “Invader Zim: Dookie Loop Horror” plops out in August.
– A new Asian superhero is set to debut in the upcoming “DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration” one-shot as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. From The Hollywood Reporter, the new hero, Monkey Prince, will appear in the story ‘The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes,’ written by Gene Luen Yang with art by Bernard Chang. The character is inspired by the Monkey King, a hero from the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. The 100-page anthology will also feature stories about Asian characters such as Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, Green Lantern Tai Pham, and Katana, from an array of creators including Mariko Tamaki, Minh Lê, Ram V, Greg Pak, Dustin Nguyen, Amy Chu, Marcio Takara, Trung Le Nguyen, Francis Manapul, and more. “DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration” #1 hits stores and digital platforms on May 11.
– Marvel Studios has debuted the first full trailer for their upcoming Disney+ series Loki. Via Marvel.com, the trailer offers a fuller look at Loki’s run-in with the bureaucratic Time Variance Authority (TVA), who enlist his services to contain the damages caused to the timestream by his own actions. Loki features the returning Tom Hiddleston in the titular role alongside MCU newcomers Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, and Richard E. Grant. The series is scheduled to premiere on June 11.
– Via CBR, the long-running TV show The Walking Dead has announced the premiere date for its 11th and final season. “Coming off of the six additional episodes for Season 10, which focused on smaller, character-driven stories, we’re excited to kick off Season 11 bigger than ever,” The Walking Dead showrunner and executive producer Angela Kang said in a statement. Based on the comic by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead premiered in 2010 and grew to become – at its peak – one of the highest rated shows on television. The final season premieres Sunday, August 22.
– In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the anime series Kamen Rider, Toei and Funimation have announced that a new Kamen Rider anime series titled Fuuto PI is in production. Fuuto PI will be the first full anime series based on the live-action program, and will be adapted from the manga series of the same name that debuted in 2017. The story will be canonically set after the events of Kamen Rider W, and follow private investigator Shotaro Hidari and the mysterious boy Philip, two strangers who unite to become one Kamen Rider. Fuuto PI will stream on Funimation beginning in Summer 2022.
– In further news for the Kamen Rider 50th anniversary, Anime News Network reports that director Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla) is set to write and direct the live-action film Shin Kamen Rider. “Five decades ago, almost every grade school boy was enthralled by the life-size hero Kamen Rider,” Anno said. “I was no exception.” Details for the film are still mostly under wraps, but it is expected to premiere in March 2023.
Continued below– CBS and Paramount+ have revealed a host of first looks and details for their new and continuing Star Trek programming during virtual panels for First Contact Day. Variety offered a good summary of the event, which premiered teaser trailers for season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, season four of Star Trek: Discovery, season 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the feature length documentary Woman in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA. The panels also revealed the news that John de Lancie will reprise his role as Q on Picard, and provided a first look at Kate Mulgrew’s return as Star Trek: Voyager character Janeway for animated kids series Star Trek: Prodigy. You can also head over to TrekCore for more details on Star Trek: Discovery, and ComicBook.com for more on the future of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Women in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA streams June 3, Star Trek: Lower Decks premieres August 12, Star Trek: Discovery returns sometime later this year, and Star Trek: Picard premieres in 2022.
– From Variety, Magnet Releasing has picked up the U.S. rights to the action thriller Yakuza Princess, adapted from the Danilo Beyruth graphic novel “Shiro.” Starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Japanese-American singer Masumi, Yakuza Princess follows Akemi (Masumi), an orphan who discovers herself to be the heir to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate, and must forge an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Rhys-Meyers) to wage war with the other half of the Yakuza that wants her dead. Directed by Vicente Amorim from a screenplay by Amorim, Fernando Toste, Kimi Lee and Tubaldini Shelling, Yakuza Princess will release later this year.
– Via Animation World Network, Sentai have picked up the distribution rights to the 2019 anime Dororo, and will produce an English-language dub for the series. Based on the manga by Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka, Dororo takes place during the Warring States era of Japan, and follows the titular young thief after he encounters Hyakkimaru, a boy whose body parts were traded by his father in a demonic exchange — “now he wanders the land in search of his missing body parts, and together he and Dororo will fight to survive in a demon-plagued, dangerous, and unforgiving world.” The English dub will be released digitally and on Blu-ray sometime this summer.
– Finally, the publisher ShortBox has dropped the news on Twitter that they will be publishing four new graphic novels next year that will be produced separately from their usual boxes, as well as a new art book and another ShortBox. Look out for the first announcement from their upcoming plans later today.
