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, the legendary superhero artist and writer, George Pérez, died at the age of 67.
via The Herald
– The BBC revealed that Ncuti Gatwa will take on the role of the Doctor following the upcoming departure of Jodie Whittaker. Gatwa is best known for his role as Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education, and will be the first Black man to play the Time Lord. In the press release from the BBC, Gatwa stated that he is a “mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared” to take on the role, and said that getting to work with the returning showrunner, Russell T Davies, is “a dream come true.” Davies stated that “Ncuti dazzled us, seized hold of the Doctor and owned those TARDIS keys in seconds.” Further details about Gatwa’s debut and Davies’s “new era” of the show are being kept under wraps until after Jodie Whittaker and current showrunner Chris Chibnall officially depart with the airing of the Doctor Who special in the fall.
– There were two announcements in this year’s Free Comic Book Day releases from Marvel: firstly, “Bloodline: Daughter of Blade,” a new series by Danny Lore, Karen Darboe, Ian Herring, and VC’s Cory Petit, which will follow the lives of Brielle aka Bloodline, and Safron, the daughter and partner (respectively) of Blade. The second was ‘Dark Web,’ a new storyline set to feature in Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.’s recently relaunched “The Amazing Spider-Man;” the storyline will see Chasm/Ben Reilly teaming up with Madelyne Pryor; together, the pair seem set to unleash demonic forces into the world, with the FCBD story depicting a mailbox suddenly growing teeth and attacking a frequent-mail-sender called Elroy. “Bloodline: Daughter of Blade” is scheduled for release in the fall, whilst a date for the beginning of ‘Dark Web’ was not given. You can read the short story that preceded each announcement respectively in “FCBD 2022: Avengers/X-Men” #1 and “FCBD 2022: Spider-Man/Venom” #1.
Alongside the in-issue FCBD announcements came the launch of Marvel’s latest Infinity Comic series, “Strange Tales.” The series is set to explore the multiverse, starting with ‘Asynchronous’ by writer Al Ewing, artist Ramon Bachs, and colorist Java Tartaglia, which sees America Chavez teaming up with the Sorcerer Supreme, Clea, and Wong to find Chavez’s sister somewhere in “another plane of existence.” A specific release date for the second issue in the series was not given, though the series will continue monthly. “Strange Tales” #1 is available exclusively now via Marvel Unlimited.
– Publishers Weekly reported on six graphic novel deals this week, including one for “My First Monster” by writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Shazleen Khan. The graphic novel was acquired by Little, Brown, and will be aimed at a Young Adult audience. “My First Monster” will explore an abusive relationship between the newest girl in school, Amelia LaCouer, and the most popular guy in school, who is not only a monster figuratively, but literally too. “My First Monster” is scheduled for release in 2025. For the full list of graphic novel deals, head over to Publishers Weekly.
– As part of the streaming service’s opening of a new office in Rome, Netflix announced a new six-part animated series by Italian cartoonist Zerocalcare. Details about the series firmly remain a secret, with the slate description only stating that the series will feature “the narrative world, unique language, and the unmistakable characters” synonymous with Zerocalcare. Movimenti Production and Bao Publishing are onboard the project as producers, continuing their work with the cartoonist following their previous Netflix collaboration, Tear Along the Dotted Line, which was released in November 2021. A release date for the new series has not been detailed. The full slate of titles announced can be found here.
– Amazon Prime Video released a 20-second teaser/first look at the upcoming series adaptation, Paper Girls, based on the comics of the same name by Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson, and Jared K. Fletcher. The first look gives us a glimpse at each of the series’ four main characters, Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones), Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky), KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza) and Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet); each character is accompanied by a snippet of their dialogue to give a hint at their personalities and predicaments. The comic book is set in the late 1980s and combines “suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries” to explore “nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.” A premiere date for the series has yet to be announced. You can check out the teaser/first look for yourself here.
– Finally, reports claimed that the reason behind Spider-Man: No Way Home not being released in China was because of the prominence of the Statue of Liberty in the film’s third act. The China Film Administration, the body that reviews films for the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, reportedly requested for the final sequences to be removed entirely from the film. The request was then altered to asking for various changes to made instead, such as specific shots being completely removed, to the statue being hidden in other shots by dimming the part containing it. The film was denied a mainland release after Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios rejected the alleged requests.
