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, Dark Horse announced “Young Hellboy: Assault on Castle Death,” and more, while Wally West topped our Reader Poll to name comics’ best speedster.
– Via his Substack newsletter Copper Bottle, Saladin Ahmed has released a PDF of his and Dave Acosta’s graphic novel “Dragon” to all paid subscribers. The crowdfunded book, originally published in 2020, is a new take on the story of Dracula, which follows Adil, an ageing Muslim warrior, and Marjorie, a young Christian nun, as they overcome their differences to hunt down the monstrous duke Vlad the Impaler. The book was colored by Chris O’Halloran, lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and edited by Nate Cosby.
– Marvel announced “All-Out Avengers,” a new ongoing series by writer Derek Landy (“Captain America & Iron Man”) and artist Greg Land, with inker Jay Leisten, and colorist Frank D’Armata. The comic, which launches in September, will feature stories where readers are thrown “knee-deep in the action with no setup, no explanations, and no time for questions! Beware of whiplash as you discover more with the flip of each explosive page!” It will be the fourth current “Avengers” title, after “Avengers,” “Avengers Forever,” and “Savage Avengers.” A preview will be included in May 7’s “Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Venom” #1.
– DC released a trailer for the long-delayed YA graphic novel, “Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend,” revealing the book will be released this July. Written by Alys Arden with art by Jacquelin de Leon, the book is a coming-of-age story that follows the Mistress of Magic during a visit to Coney Island as a teenager. It was originally set to be released last year, before being pulled from DC’s schedule and having all pre-orders canceled at the end of 2020. It will be released on July 26, and retail for $16.99.
– Via Publishers Weekly‘s children’s books rights report, First Second will publish “Monstrous,” a YA graphic memoir by Sarah Myer, in 2023. The book recounts her time as “a Korean American adoptee growing up in a primarily white farming community, where she faces bullying and struggles to fit in.” IDW also acquired “The Marshfellows,” the debut middle-grade graphic novel of Anna-Laura Sullivan. Set for release in 2025, the book takes place in Slumber City, which is inhabited by “half-gilled” people, and follows “elderly couple Marvin and Pearl” as they team-up “with an angsty orphan named Urchin to solve the city’s dark mysteries and save its inhabitants from the Mayor’s evil plans.” For all of last week’s book deals, click here.
– Netflix announced they and Annapurna Pictures have saved the Nimona movie, the animated film version of N.D. Stevenson’s fantasy comic, that was in production at Blue Sky Studios until Disney shut down the company early last year. The movie, helmed by Spies in Disguise directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, will star Chloë Grace Moretz as the voice of Nimona, as well as Riz Ahmed as her mentor Ballister Boldheart, and Eugene Lee Yang as their nemesis Ambrosius Goldenloin. It is being completed at DNEG Animation (Ron’s Gone Wrong, which Stevenson co-wrote), and will be released on the streaming service next year. You can check out the full press release, and an image of the “big screen” incarnation of the title character, here.
– Warner Bros. announced The Batman will be released on HBO Max on Monday, April 18, and that the film will then premiere on HBO itself on Saturday, April 23 at 8pm ET. The film will be subsequently released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, May 24, with various special features, and deleted scenes. The latter will receive an audio commentary from director Matt Reeves, although one for the film itself has not been listed. (Reeves has generally provided commentary for the DVD releases of his films.)
– Marvel’s Ironheart series will be directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, who respectively helmed episodes of the TV versions of Dear White People and Blindspotting. They will respectively direct the first and second half of the six-part series. Additionally, Ryan Coogler’s production company Proximity has come on board the show (Coogler himself cast series lead Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.) The show will premiere on Disney+ sometime next year.
Continued below– Per the Times of San Diego, the San Diego Comic-Con is at risk of losing its tax exempt, non-profit organization status. In a letter, dated Friday, April 8, California Attorney General Rob Bonta wrote, “An organization that is delinquent, suspended or revoked is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds.” San Diego Comic-Con reported an $8 million loss after suspending the convention because of COVID-19 in 2020, and again in 2021. A smaller edition was held in November last year, and a regular one is set to go ahead again on the weekend of July 21-24.
– Viz Media and Shueisha have released a new, 200-page one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto (“Look Back,” “Chainsaw Man”). The comic, titled “Goodbye, Eri,” tells the story of Yuta, a boy mourning his mother, and who decides to die by suicide, until a chance encounter with a strange girl. You can read the vertical manga (in English) here.
– Finally, a new, live-action Casper the Friendly Ghost series is in the works at Peacock. The show, which is being developed by writer/producer Kai Yu Wu (The Ghost Bride, Flash, Hannibal), is described by Variety as a horror adventure “that reimagines the origin of Casper in a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.” DreamWorks Animation, who’ve owned the rights to Casper and other Harvey Comics characters since 2012, will co-produce the project.
