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 what will hopefully be the final chapter in the ongoing “X-Men Gold” #1 mess, Marvel has announced that it has terminated the contract of Indonesian artist Ardian Syaf for inserting controversial political propaganda in the issue. Since the book is shipping bi-weekly, Syaf’s art will still appear in issues #2 and #3 that have already been sent to print. Supporting artists R.B. Silva and Ken Lashley will begin their issues early, starting with #4. A replacement for Syaf will be announced in the “near future.”
– Syfy will be broadcasting a nightly wrap up show for the San Diego Comic-Con. This will be the second year doing the broadcast and will feature “…breaking news, insider party coverage, exclusive content, and sneak peeks of the most anticipated films and TV series…” The program is scheduled to air at 11:00 p.m. EST from Thursday, July 20 through Saturday, July 22.
– Frank Miller is contributing a variant cover to Pablo Raimondi and Klaus Janson’s new Image Comics series and first creator-owned project, “Sacred Creatures.” Janson has collaborated with Miller many times, most notably on ‘Dark Knight Returns.’ The series is described as a “supernatural thriller” and will debut with an over-sized 66-page first issue on July 5.
– Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley announced a new charity campaign by Star Wars: A Force For Change to raise money for Starlight Children’s Foundation and UNICEF. Donors will have a chance to win one of three “Star Wars Experiences,” which include things such as staying at Skywalker Ranch and appearing in the upcoming Han Solo movie.
– DC is finally overtaking Marvel in direct market sales according to a new Diamond report. Marvel has consistently topped the charts in recent history but their ongoing struggles are finally catching up to them. It should be noted that these reports are only one metric to measure comic sales, since digital offerings and graphic novels at places like Amazon are not accounted for in Diamond’s numbers.
– Bryan Hitch posted the pencils for the new cover of ‘Absolute Authority Vol. 1,’ which collects the work of Hitch and writer Warren Ellis on the title. The reprint will also feature a brand new story by the creators.
– Publisher Drew Ford and It’s Alive! will be collecting Jerome Charyn and Joe Staton’s “Family Man” into a 300+ page hardcover graphic novel. The updated collection will include “…researched historical essays about the creators, the imprint the comics originally came from, and the story itself.” A Kickstarter will be launched soon to help raise funds for the project.
– Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman will be returning to Supergirl for its season two finale, much to the delight of fans of the show. No story details are available yet. Superman first appeared in the season premiere and was featured in the first two episodes.
– WB executive director Jon Berg has thrown a wet blanket on the reported four Batman films in 2019 rumor by asking Geoff Johns if they should just make 10. Ben Affleck is probably hoping for zero.
– Mad magazine will join its parent company DC Entertainment in Burbank. The magazine had stayed in New York following DC’s exodus in 2015, but will make the move out west by the end of 2017.
– And lastly, it looks like Greg Capullo is writing a book called Secrets to Drawing.
