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, Vault Comics have announced “Shadow Service,” and BOOM! Studios have announced “Firefly: Watch How I Soar.”
– IDW have announced “Canto II: The Hollow Men,” written and illustrated by series co-creators David M. Booher and Drew Zucker, respectively, with colors by Vittorio Astone and letters by Deron Bennett. The new series follows Canto as he and his friends race against time to save his people from a curse that will return them to captivity. “Canto II: The Hollow Men” #1 is currently scheduled for release in July. For more information and an exclusive first look at the issue, head on over to CBR.
– IDW have also announced the Artist’s Edition of Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s “X-Men” #1. The book will include the entire complete story from “X-Men #1, the bestselling single market comic book of the modern era. Additionally, the book will include scans of original artwork from some of Lee’s most iconic issues. The book is scheduled to be released in October.
– Despite the current state of the comic book industry, AfterShock Comics has announced that it is celebrating its fifth anniversary by continuing full speed ahead on production, with new projects already in development. The Hollywood Reporter says the publisher is meeting with new creators and planning all-new titles and releases, promising specific announcements within the next few weeks. Editor-in-chief Mike Marts says, “The award-winning creators that we work with are knee-deep in the various stages of their current AfterShock projects, and we look forward to sharing their new creations with the world over the coming months.”
– DC Comics have released a trailer for the collected edition of “Superman Smashes the Klan” by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru. Aimed at teen readers and inspired by an arc of the 1940s radio serial Adventures of Superman, “Superman Smashes the Klan” explores Superman’s own identity as an immigrant struggling to assimilate in America while he protects a Chinese-American family from a local chapter of a national hate group called the Klan of the Fiery Kross. The collection is set to be released in May.
– ComicBook.com reports that voice actor, Keiji Fujiwara, has passed away after fighting cancer. He was 55 years old. Fujiwara is known for his work in Fullmetal Alchemist as Maes Hughes, as well as Leorio from Hunter x Hunter. Fujiwara most recently worked on Dr. Stone and One Piece. The actor also had numerous video game credits on his resume, including the voice of Axel in Kingdom Hearts III and Reno in the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
– CBR have announced that they are streaming the documentary The Illumination of Jim Woodring. Directed by Chris Brandt, the film explores and showcases the work of the prolific cartoonist. Woodring is the creator of “Frank and Jim,” and has been haunted by realistic hallucinations and an altered perception of the world around him all his life. You can find The Illumination of Jim Woodring available to stream now on CBR.
– Variety reports that Stellan Skarsgard and Kyle Soller are set to join Diego Luna in Disney+’s Star Wars series starring Rogue One‘s Cassian Andor. The untitled show focuses on the Rebel agent prior to the events of Rogue One, during the early days of the Rebellion against the Empire. Both actors are said to still be in final negotiations for their roles.
– Deadline reports Universal Pictures and Amasia Entertainment are partnering up for The Green Hornet and Kato, which is currently in feature development. Universal optioned the rights to the iconic characters after Amasia gained control of the motion picture franchise rights back in January. For more information, head on over to Deadline.
– J.J. Abrams has landed his first three series on HBO Max, one of which will be a “major show” based on DC’s “Justice League Dark” characters, saysThe Hollywood Reporter. The streaming service also handed out straight-to-series orders for Duster, and Overlook, a spin off of The Shining. In the past, Warner Bros. have attempted to adapt a big-screen version of “Justice League Dark” with filmmakers such as Doug Liman and Guillermo del Toro attached. HBO Max is set to launch next month and will cost $15 a month.
– Deadline reports that Levantine Films have acquired the small screen rights to Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander’s best-selling Image Comics series “Killadelphia: Sins of the Father.” Levantine and Barnes have partnered up to adapt the television series, which they will also produce. The series follows James Sangster Jr., whose father, a revered detective dies. Jr. discovers his father’s journal, which details his last case involving mysterious murders which may have been supernatural.
