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, First Second Books have acquired the publishing rights to Hannah Blumenreich’s graphic novel “Full-Court Crush,” and another untitled young adult graphic novel. We also announced that we’ll be celebrating the first three years of Image Comics over the next week.
– Archie Comics has announced the next wave of titles to be included as part of their 80th anniversary celebration. The titles will be released as special digital-exclusive one-shots throughout April and May, and will include a mixture of fan-favorite characters and deep cuts from the Archie archives. The newest batch of titles includes Artist Spotlights on legendary artists Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey, and Dan Parent, as well as character-centric books focused on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Betty and Veronica, the New Crusaders, Josie and the Pussycats, and more. You can find a full schedule of titles over at the Archie Comics website.
– If you were thinking of checking out the animated DC Universe show Harley Quinn but were hoping to avoid subscribing to yet another streaming service, you’re in luck. ComicBook.com reports that season one of the series is set to air on the network Syfy starting in May. The series, which began its second season over on DC Universe at the start of April, will take over a late night programming block, airing the first season on Sundays in groups of 3-4 episodes throughout the month. Showrunner Justin Halpern also noted that thanks to parent company WarnerMedia’s expansion with the upcoming HBO Max, Harley Quinn might find itself with a new home for season 3. “There’s been rumblings about expanding now that WarnerMedia has several arms. We’re exploring opportunities for other outlets but nothing’s confirmed,” Halpern said.
– Newsarama Editor-in-chief Michael Doran has taken a look at DC’s Digital First expansion, offering some speculation about what this will mean for DC’s publishing strategy during the time of coronavirus and beyond. In an editorial, Doran examined DC’s recent statements, including the fact that they were exploring a “multi-distributor model,” the announcement last Friday of the regional distributors Lunar and UCS, and their expansion of DC Digital First to include their formerly print DC Giant titles. “This seems like either DC significantly overselling the debut of some preexisting stories as a few-weeks gap-filler that are in fact not even true digital firsts, which isn’t their style… or the strategic opening overtures to the eventual actual ‘robust’ expansion of true DC Digital ‘Firsts’ titles,” Doran said in his editorial. You can read his full argument over at Newsarama.
– A new Star Wars series is in the works over at Disney+. Via Variety, the series will come from Leslye Headland, the director of Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People who also co-created last year’s critically-acclaimed series Russian Doll. Headland is expected to write and serve as the showrunner for the series, which is currently in the process of staffing. Sources say the show will be a “female-centric” series set in a different part of the timeline than other Star Wars projects. No timeline was announced for the show’s production or release.
– Via Newsarama, Marvel has offered fans a way to channel their inner Galactus with Marvel Eat the Universe: The Official Cookbook. Food Network chef Justin Warner penned the book, which is based off of Marvel’s Eat the Universe video series that Warner hosts. The cookbook will offer more than 60 recipes, including Storm’s Tournedos of Beef, Dazzler’s Pizza Bagels, and Green Goblin’s Pumpkin Bombes. Marvel Eat the Universe: The Official Cookbook is available for preorder now and will hit shelves on July 28.
– DC’s plans for their upcoming ‘Dark Knights: Death Metal’ event are larger than previously announced. Event writer Scott Snyder told Newsarama that the new titles for the event came out of the delays caused by COVID-19. “We’ve really tried to make it a place where we can give more work to people than we had initially planned, so we’ve created some issues that wound up being a lot better for this new structure, when it comes to tie-ins and specials that are anthology issues,” he said. Those anthology issues will include a guide to the Dark Knights, the evil Batmen of the Dark Multiverse, and a guidebook that takes you through the world of Metal. The event was set to launch with “Dark Knights: Death Metal” #1 on May 13, but a new release date has not yet been announced following its delay due to coronavirus.
– The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture has opened up two residencies for graphic novel creators for “a unique project-based residency within two of Seattle’s iconic bridges.” For the duration of the residency, the northwest tower of the Fremont Bridge and the southeastern tower of the University Bridge will become a working studio/office space to offer inspiration for the artists’ works, which should “represent or illuminate some aspect of the bridge and the bridge’s history, be it real or metaphorical.” The two separate residencies will occur in the approximate window of August-November 2020, and are open to artists living within 100 miles of Seattle. The application deadline is Thursday, May 28, 2020, at 11:59 pm (PST), and you can find more information at the residency’s Submittable page.
– Dynamite has partnered with the bundling service Groupees to offer a limited time only bundle, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the charity Direct Relief. Via The Beat, the bundle includes many works from Dynamite’s archives by fan-favorite creators like Gail Simone, Kevin Smith, Garth Ennis, Vita Ayala, Peter David, and more. Direct Relief is a nonprofit organization that coordinates medical resources, and the support will go towards the organization’s coronavirus response. “Direct Relief is so deeply grateful to Dynamite Entertainment for this extraordinary act of generosity to help keep health workers safe as they put themselves at risk to keep all of us safe,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief. “Support generated from the Groupees bundle translates into immediate, practical help, and is such a wonderful example of the community pulling together and doing whatever we can to protect those who are most vulnerable.” You can find a the bundles over at Groupees.
