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, we interviewed Rich Douek about his upcoming series “Road of Bones.” We also have a spoiler-free review of Avengers: Endgame, which confirms there are no mid/after-credits scenes.
– Dynamite announced that a new “Red Sonja” one-shot called “Red Sonja: Lord of Fools” will be released in July. The one-shot will spin out directly from June’s “Red Sonja” #6, and feature two stories. The first story will be written by series writer Mark Russell and drawn by Bob Q (“The Lone Ranger”). Their story will follow Dragan the Magnificent’s son, Cyril, as he is informed of the philosophy of the Lord of Fools which could reveal a deep secret that will bring about Dragan’s downfall. For the second story, artist Katie O’Meara will be joining Russell to tell the story of Cerkus, Sonja the Red’s tongue of fire. Both stories will be colored by series regular Dearbhla Kelly and lettered by Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou (“The Lone Ranger”). Christian Ward (“Black Bolt”) will be providing the cover artwork. Following the one-shot, Bob Q will be providing the artwork for “Red Sonja” issues #7-9, with series artist Mirko Colak returning on issue #10. “Red Sonja: Lord of Fools” will be released on July 17. In the meantime, you can check out some preview pages here.
– Syfy had an exclusive first look at “Aberrant Season 2,” which you can see here. The series, written by creator Rylend Grant with artwork by Davi Leon Dias, colors by Iwan Joko Triyono and letters by HdE, is published by Action Labs Comics’ mature imprint, Action Lab Danger Zone, and tells the story of David Colbrenner, a U.S. Army Special Operations Commander, as he targets Lance Cordrey, a billionaire and former superhero he believes is responsible for his unit being killed in a superhuman attack. In an interview with Syfy, Grant described the series as being “24 with superheroes,” detailing “Season 2” specifically as playing out like an “edgy ‘80s buddy cop movie.” In addition to “Aberrant” getting a second season of comic books, the series is also being developed into a TV series, with 24 producer Tony Krantz developing the series. Issue #1 of “Aberrant Season 2” is available today.
– Fiona Smyth and Alootook Ipellie were announced as this year’s inductees into the Giants of the North Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame. The honors are a part of the Annual Doug Wright Awards, which aims to highlight the contributions of Canadian comic book artists and cartoonists. For those who don’t know the two inductees, Smythe is a cartoonist and educator, whose most well-known work includes a science fiction graphic novel, “The Never Weres” and a “sex talk” book, What Makes a Baby, which she illustrated alongside writer Cory Silverberg. Currently, Smyth spends her time teaching illustration and cartooning at Ontario College of Art and Design University, where she studied as a student herself. Ipellie was an Inuit artist, writer, activist and cartoonist whose work frequently satirised the impact that the modern world has upon the life of Inuits within Canada. Ipellie was the editor of Inuit Today and contributed cartoons for Inuit Monthly and Nunatsiaq News until his death in 2007. The nominees will be officially inducted on May 11th at the 15th annual Doug Wright Awards, which will take place at the 2019 Toronto Comic Arts Festival.
– Diamond Comic Distributors promoted Shawn Hamrick to Vice President of Operations. Diamond COO, Chuck Parker said that Hamrick’s “problem-solving abilities, as well as his deep knowledge of the comic book industry and our Warehouse Management System software will make him a great asset” in the new role. Hamrick has worked for Diamond since 1994, when he joined as Management Trainee before working his way through the ranks of the company. He most recently occupied the role of Executive Director, a position he had held since 2013.
– Finally, Legendary Comics have announced “Championess,” a new graphic novel by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (the These Vicious Masks series). It is inspired by the bare-knuckle boxing champion Elizabeth Wilkinson, who was active during the 1720s and is generally regarded as the first female boxer. The book is set for release in Fall 2020.
