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.
– Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly has revealed two new graphic novels from Anneli Furmark and Jessica Campbell releasing March and April 2022, respectively. “Walk Me To The Corner” by Anneli Furmark is a watercolor look at marital life, where fifty-year old Elise finds her affections wandering away from her husband towards Dagmar, another married woman who seemingly shares her mutual infatuation. The book is a translation of Furmark’s original Swedish work, just like “Red Winter,” her 2018 novel also from Drawn & Quarterly.
“Rave” by Jessica Campbell is a coming-of-age story set in the early 2000s; protagonist Lauren is raised by Evangelical Christians, and after becoming intimate with her friend Mariah, feels overwhelmed by the stigmas she has been taught by her family and community. The darkly comedic graphic novel looks to skewer the American and Evangelical treatment of queer relationships, and the messages given to young women as they reach the threshold of maturity.
– The Naval Institute Press’s graphic novel imprint, Dead Reckoning, will be continuing in 2021 with “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” by James D. Hornfischer, Doug Murray and Steven Sanders; “Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat” by Ben Towle; and “The Jewish Brigade” by Marvano. The anthology book “Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat” spotlights animals used for warfare throughout history, like Hannibal’s elephants, the mine-detecting rats of the Vietnam War, and more. Ben Towle’s graphic novel will be 120 pages, releasing August 18 for US$24.95.
The 144-page comic “The Jewish Brigade” follows Leslie Toliver of the Jewish Infantry Brigade after the Second World War, as he travels Italy and Eastern Europe, hunting down Nazis fleeing justice and aiding Holocaust survivors, all while on the search for his long-lost mother and fiancee. Marvano’s “The Jewish Brigade” will retail for $24.95 and release September 15. “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” tells the real-world story of 1944’s naval Battle of Samar, in which a small group of American escort ships faced down a Japanese fleet. The 208-page graphic novel releases October 20 for $29.95.
– Publishers Weekly‘s latest children’s book rights report states Greenwillow has acquired the two-part young adult graphic novel “The Faint of Heart,” by debut writer/artist Kerilynn Wilson. Set in a world where humans remove their hearts to avoid feeling pain, the book follows June, the only person left with a heart. “When she finds a heart in a jar abandoned in an alley, June hopes to return her sister to normal with it, and begins an unexpected adventure with a heartless boy who is somehow beginning to feel again.” The book will be released sometime during winter 2023.
The report also states Razorbill will publish a middle-grade fantasy graphic novel by up-and-coming writer/artist Liana Sposto. The first book, “The 9 Trials,” will tell the story of a young warlock-in-training who decides to leave his school for good, but must first defeat nine harrowing trials, all designed to test the darker sides of his personality. The first installment of the two-part book is planned for summer 2023: in the meantime, you can check out early pages and artwork from the project (originally titled “9 Tries”) at Sposto’s website.
– Marvel Strike Force will be celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with the introduction of the new hero Kestrel, aka astrophysist Major Sybil Tan. The Malaysian superhero works under Nick Fury as a superhero probing the edges of reality and charting the unknown. Stranded at the edge of reality, Tan’s manipulation of the timeline brings her into conflict with the villain Ultimus, who she fights alongside the other heroes of Strike Force. Kestrel shares a codename and costume with the “Gene Dogs” character Kestrel, but the alternate identity of Sybil Tan is wholly new. Marvel also announced a range of new additions for their other mobile games, which you can read here.
– Finally, The Flash TV series will see the return of a familiar face, and the departure of two longtime ones. Jessica Parker Kennedy, who portrays the future daughter of Barry Allen and Iris West, Nora West-Allen aka XS, will be back for a handful of episodes in the show’s seventh season, crossing paths with her brother and fellow speedster Bart Allen (played by Jordan Fisher) in the landmark 150th episode. Nora was erased from the timeline at the end of the show’s fifth season, making Kennedy’s return that much more momentous. The Flash episode 150 is currently set to air on the CW on July 6.
Meanwhile, via Deadline, it was announced Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes will not be returning for the eighth season. “Tom and Carlos have been an integral part of our show for seven seasons, and will be greatly missed,” executive producer/showrunner Eric Wallace said. “Both are incredible talents who created beloved characters that fans and audiences around the world have come to love. Which is why we are happily keeping the door open for return appearances.” Valdes had played Cisco Ramon in the various DC CW shows since debuting on Arrow in 2014, while Cavanagh had portrayed the disguised Eobard Thawne, and the various versions of Harrison Wells, since the first episode of The Flash.
