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, San Diego Comic-Con was cancelled; DC Comics announced single issues will return April 28; and cartoonist/animator Gene Deitch died aged 95. We also got the first look at Jim Lee’s latest charity sketch, Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.
– This year’s Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Graphic Novel/Comics went to Eleanor Davis’s “The Hard Tomorrow.” Published by Drawn & Quarterly, “The Hard Tomorrow” follows a young couple struggling to conceive a child. You can read the full list of this year’s winners here.
– In more awards news, it was confirmed that despite the cancellation of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the Eisner Awards will still go ahead, albeit online. There’s no word on when the awards will be held now; typically, they’re held on the Friday of the convention weekend.
– According to a letter seen by Newsarama, Diamond Comic Distributors’ parent company, Geppi Family Enterprises, informed comic book retailers and publishers that they intend to resume deliveries in mid-May. “Of course, as we have all seen, target dates sometimes need to be adjusted in this ever-changing new-normal,” it says. “But we cannot wait for firm dates. We have started the planning process and are having these important conversations with publishers and retailers so that once we have more clarity, we are in a position to restart and scale operations over time.”
– Universal optioned the film rights to “Dan and Sam” for Japanese director Hikari (37 Seconds). The 2015 graphic novel by Mark Watson and Oliver Harud was a supernatural romance about a man who is visited by the spirit of his dead partner once a year; however, he’s only able to see her as long as he doesn’t fall in love with someone else. The screenplay will be written by Molly Smith Metzler, whose credits include Shameless and Orange is the New Black.
– Marvel employees are being furloughed as part of the Walt Disney Company’s efforts to stem the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsarama learned the affected employees were informed they would be furloughed on Friday, April 17, and that they will stop receiving wages on April 26. Furloughed Disney employees will continue to receive the healthcare coverage they usually receive as employees.
– Deadpool’s X-Force teammates Cable, Domino and Psylocke have entered the fray in Fortnite — according to the press release, all the player has to do to unlock the character skins is to collect Deadpool’s “unmentionables.”
– Finally, “Dark Nights: Death Metal” writer Scott Snyder confirmed the first issue will be delayed “a bit to make sure enough comic shops are open for ALL [of] you to join in.” The comic was solicited to start in June before the Diamond shutdown delayed most DC titles indefinitely.
