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, Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment announced “Skybound X,” a weekly five-part anthology series.
– Via CBR, Marvel have released a series of comic strips showing which characters did not make the cut as the members of the newly elected X-Men team. At the beginning of the year, fans had the chance to vote on the final member of the new X-Men team. Each of the three strips is written by “Hellions” writer Zeb Wells, with art from Mike Henderson, Nico Leon, and Emilio Laiso. Rachelle Rosenberg provided color art for all three comics. “Equality” stars Strong Guy and Forge; “Over Served” features Boom Boom and Tempo; and Armor and Marrow star in “The Best Offense.” The final X-Men roster will be revealed during the ‘Hellfire Gala’ storyline, which will run through the “X-Men” line of titles in June.
– Via Newsarama, Peter David will be the next classic X-creator returning with an arc on “X-Men Legends,” adding new depth to his “X-Factor” run in July’s “X-Men Legends” #5. David is the latest writer to revisit old storylines: Fabian Nicieza has returned to tell his planned story of the third Summers brother, while Walt and Louise Simonson will soon make a return to X-Factor on the next arc. Joining David is artist Todd Nauck, and together they’ll add a new dimension to a classic story.
– Anime News Network reported that Spanish artist Kenny Ruiz will launch a new manga in collaboration with Tezuka Productions, based on various characters from Osamu Tezuka’s manga. The new manga is titled “Team Phoenix,” and is set in a world where a robot alliance rules over 90% of the universe. When the knight Sapphire becomes troubled over the pain of non-robots, she makes a decision to forge a new future. “Team Phoenix” will launch in the June issue of Bessatsu Shōnen Champion on May 12.
– Via Locus, the 2021 Hugo Award nominees have been announced. The nominees for the category of Best Graphic Story or Comic are “Parable of the Sower,” an adaptation of the Octavia E. Butler novel written by Damian Duffy, and illustrated by John Jennings; “Die, Volume 2: Split the Party,” by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Stephanie Hans; “Once & Future, Volume 1: The King Is Undead,” by Gillen and artist Dan Mora; “Monstress Volume 5: Warchild,” by writer Marjorie Liu and artist Sana Takeda; “Ghost-Spider, Volume 1: Dog Days Are Over,” written by Seanan McGuire with art by Takeshi Miyazawa, Rosie Kämpe, and Ig Guara; and “Invisible Kingdom, Volume 2: Edge of Everything,” by writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Christian Ward. Check out the full list of Hugo Award nominees here.
– In a tweet, writer Dave Dwonch announced Dark Horse’s “Jenny Zero” #1 will now be released on May 5 because of a misprint, instead of today. Written by Dwonch and Brockton McKinney, with art by Magenta King and Megan Huang, “Jenny Zero” stars Jenny Tetsuo, “the hard-drinking, hard-partying daughter of the beloved superhero Mega Commander Zero,” who “must decide if she can give up her life and become the hero the world needs.”
– Via Crunchyroll, Takao Saito’s long-running manga “Golgo 13” has broke the Guinness World Record for the most volumes of a single manga series published. “Golgo 13” is now tied with the completed manga, “KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops,” with 200 volumes and counting. In celebration of this momentous feat, audio tech company Klipsch is releasing an exclusive line of earbuds. The earbuds and case will arrive in a specially-designed package, sporting an image of Saito’s world-famous manga assassin. Only 200 sets will be available, with each selling for 22,000 yen or about $202. “Golgo 13” will continue its run in Shogakukan’s Big Comic, where it has been published since 1968.
– Via Publishers Weekly, Disney-Hyperion have bought world rights to “Twelfth Grade Night” and “King Cheer,” the first two books in the Shakespeare-inspired ‘Arden High’ series by Molly Horton Booth and Stephanie Kate Strohm, illustrated by Jamie Greenset. The YA series takes place at a modern-day high school, where magic and fairies are real, and the LGBTQ themes of the original plays are more than subtext. Publication of “Twelfth Grade Night” is set for fall 2022. In another deal, Kids Can Press has acquired, in an exclusive submission, “Puffin vs. Penguin,” a middle-grade graphic novel by writer Helaine Becker and artist Kevin Sylvester, about friendship and collaboration. Publication is scheduled for fall 2023.
Continued below– Via Anime News Network, the Philippe Labaune Gallery in New York are holding a tribute exhibition for the acclaimed manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo until May 8. The exhibition showcases original artwork by Otomo, as well as illustrations by 29 international artists in homage to the seminal cyberpunk manga “Akira.” Entitled Good for Health – Bad for Education: A Tribute to Otomo, the exhibition features a selection of the artwork originally exhibited at the 2016 Angoulême Festival hosted by France’s Ministry of Culture, as well as works from emerging artists. It marks the Philippe Labaune Gallery’s inaugural exhibit.
– Via Deadline, Disney+ has cast Mckenna Grace and Lexi Underwood in the eight-episode supernatural anthology series Just Beyond. Based on BOOM! Studios graphic novels by R.L. Stine and the Matthews sisters, each episode introduces viewers to a new cast of characters who must go on a surprising journey of self-discovery in a supernatural world of witches, aliens, ghosts and parallel universes. Grace and Underwood will lead their own stand-alone episode, both directed by Marc Webb. Nasim Pedrad will also guest star in the series.
– Finally, Deadline also reports comedian Mo Amer (Ramy) has joined the cast of Black Adam in an unnamed role. He is the latest actor of Middle Eastern descent to join the film, following Sarah Shahi (who will play Adrianna Tomaz), Marwan Kenzari, and Bodhi Sabongui. The movie, starring Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam, as well as Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, will be released on July 29, 2022.
