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 a “Groo Meets Tarzan” crossover, a prequel to Kevin Smith’s “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” and “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Secret of Chesbro House.” Additionally, DC announced a continuation of Justice League Unlimited titled “Justice League Infinity,” Drawn & Quarterly announced “Acting Class,” and we have an exclusive preview of next week’s “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” #25.
– Marvel and Viz Media are teaming up for two new manga releases that will hit the United States starting this fall. The first is “Marvel Meow,” by Nao Fuji. The book stars Captain Marvel’s cat, Chewie, and offers up a cat’s eye perspective of the Marvel Universe. Along the way, Chewie will meet up with fan-favorite characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Thanos. The second book will be “Deadpool: Samurai!,” due out in 2022. The book will be written by Sanshirou Kasama with art by Hikaru Uesugi and features Deadpool fighting in samurai battles across feudal Japan. This book is a translated edition of Marvel’s previous collaboration with Shonen Jump+, “Deadpool: Samurai.”
– The Fantastic Four are celebrating 60 years this fall, and Marvel is capitalizing with the release of Fantastic Four No. 1: Panel by Panel. The book is a deconstruction of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s “Fantastic Four” #1, and has been meticulously put together by award-winning designer Chip Kidd, with additional text by novelist Walter Mosley, longtime Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, and historian Mark Evanier. Additionally, the book will feature photographs from Geoff Spear. This unique book is a reimagining of the classic comic, and breaks down the individual panels of the landmark book to spotlight what makes it work so well.
– IDW’s “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” comic book will be hitting issue #100 this July, and the publisher is celebrating with an super-sized anniversary comic. The book brings back fan-favorite “My Little Pony” comic creators Jeremy Whitley, Andy Price, Brenda Hickey, and Katie Cook for new stories featuring Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Lyra, and more. The “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” comic book series began in 2012, and has run uninterrupted ever since. In that time, it has sold over a million copies and led to multiple spin-off titles. In 2020, the comic book series shifted focus and took on the subheading of “Season 10,” continuing where the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic animated series left off.
– AHOY announced “Snelson: Comedy Is Dying,” a five-part satire by writer Paul Constant (“Planet of the Nerds”), artist Fred Harper (“Animal Man”), colorist Felipe Sobreiro (“Planet of the Nerds”), and letterer Rob Steen (“The Wrong Earth”). The “surprisingly violent” book follows stand-up comedian Melville Snelson, who was a big name in the ’90s, and blames “cancel culture” for his failure to keep up with the times. The first issue will be released on August 4, 2021, with a variant cover by “Hate” creator Peter Bagge.
– Dark Horse will be releasing a trade paperback edition of the digital “Hyper Scape” comic book series, based on the Ubisoft video game of the same name. The book was previously released as six two-part digital comics on the Dark Horse and Hyper Scape websites. The series comes from writer Christopher Emgard and artist Gabriel Guzman, and takes place in the distant future of 2054, where people are able to visit the digital landscape of the Hyper Scape, which enables them to access recreation, entertainment, and social gathering. But, when a system update goes wrong, the ensuing chaos could have deadly consequences. The book will be available on January 18, 2022.
– Actor Maya Erskine will be joining the cast of the upcoming Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Erskine is the co-creator and star of Hulu’s Pen15 series. She also played the role of Judy Takamoto in the Scoob! feature film. The series is currently in pre-production and sees the return of Star Wars prequel stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, respectively. Erskine won’t be the only new face in the series, as O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kumail Nanjani, Indira Varma, and more have all signed on in additional roles.
Continued below– German actor Thomas Kretschmann has joined the cast of the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel, tentatively called Indiana Jones 5. The actor is known to comic book fans for his role as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film is still in the early stages of development, but franchise star Harrison Ford is set to return, as well as original film composer John Williams. Original Raiders of the Lost Ark director Steven Spielberg will be producing the film, with James Mangold set to direct.
– Actors Kit Connor and Joe Locke have been cast for the lead roles in the upcoming Netflix series Heartstopper, based on the webcomic of the same name. The show is being directed by Euros Lyn with a script by original series creator Alice Oseman. Kit Connor and Joe Locke were selected from a pool of over 10,000 people who auditioned for the film. The series follows Nick Nelson (Connor), a popular high school student who befriends Charlie Spring (Locke), an openly gay student from the year below him. As the two grow closer, they discover that there may be something more beneath the surface of their blossoming friendship.
– Finally, ReedPop US Comic Portfolio Director Kristina Rogers has come forward with plans for the upcoming editions of New York Comic Con, Florida Supercon, Emerald City Comic Con, and C2E2. All four conventions are set to proceed both in-person and online this fall. As such, the convention organizers are taking every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the guests while stile allowing for a fun, fan-centric event. To do so, the conventions will be running at reduced capacity, require facemasks and temperature checks, and will have increased sanitation protocols in place. Additionally, the organizers will be adapting a strict “no handshake, no high-fives, no hugs” policy, to further prevent the spreading of germs.
