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, Saladin Ahmed and Martin Cóccolo will relaunch “Wolverine” this fall.
– Black Panel Press will publish “Shadows on the Ice: The 1972 Andes Disaster,” a French graphic novel about the plane crash in the Andes Mountains, written by Frédéric Bertocchini with art by Thierry Diette and colorist Pacal Nino. For those unfamiliar with the subject, the disaster was a Uruguayan Air Force flight ferrying a rugby team (as well as family, supporters and friends) to a match in Chile, that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. 16 (of 45) survivors were eventually rescued after 72 days, during which they suffered through cold, exposure, an avalanche, and (most upsettingly) being forced to eat the dead to survive. The events were dramatized in the 1993 movie Alive, and last year’s Oscar-nominated Spanish film Society of the Snow. The book’s English release will arrive on October 22.
– Oni Press announced “Biker Mice from Mars: Toxic Earth,” a “standalone” addition to the publisher’s upcoming reboot of the ’90s cartoon by filmmaker and music artist Carlos “Spiff TV” Suarez. The book imagines a dystopian future for the mice, where the evil Lawrence Limburger has conquered Earth and Mars, the mice have disappeared, and Chicago is the last human city. India, the daughter of Charley Davidson and Vinnie, sets out to reunite the mice, although it won’t be easy, as she finds herself pursued by a bounty hunter. The comic will be released sometime later this year, after the main series by writer Melissa Flores and artist Francis Portela launches on July 17.
– This week’s Unlimited release, “Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic” #100, saw the introduction of a new version of the Juggernaut, Justin Jin/Kid Juggernaut, courtesy of writer Anthony Oliveira and artist Minkyu Jung. Marvel subsequently announced the character’s origin will be revealed in “Kid Juggernaut: Marvel’s Voices,” another Infinity Comic written by Emily Kim with Jung on art, starting May 15. The synopsis reads, “After a shard of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak fell into the hands of Justin Jin, a young Korean-Canadian student and baker, he’s now cursed to become a human juggernaut. But while the demon Cyttorak usually seeks champions who are full of rage, Justin is a kind and gentle soul.” The publisher added Jin will also feature in an “Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices” series, co-starring Moon Girl, Brielle Brooks, the Captain America of the Railways, Red Goblin, and Escapade, starting June 26.
– Marvel Studios announced What If…? – An Immersive Story, a VR game coming soon exclusively to the Apple Vision Pro. Created with ILM Immersive, the hour-long experience will allow fans to interact with characters from the What If…? series, master the Mystic Arts with Wong, and become entrusted with the Infinity Stones. As well as Wong and Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher, An Immersive Story will feature a young Red Guardian ahead of his debut on the show, a very young Hela, Captain Marvel as a member of the Nova Corps, Thanos, the Collector, a Scarlet Witch who also wears white, and an unidentified man clad in bandages. It was directed by Dave Bushore, and written by David Dong and Phil McCarty, with music by Laura Karpman, and the show’s director, Bryan Andrews, serving as consulting producer.
– Just a day after confirming he will reprise the role in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part Three, Warner Bros. have announced Mark Hamill will also return as the Joker in MultiVersus, the fighting game featuring various WB-owned characters, which will finally launch after an extended open beta period on May 28. The reveal trailer shows Hamill quoting Jack Nicholson’s version, exclaiming “Wait’ll they get a load of me!” The game, which also includes the late Kevin Conroy as Batman, George Newbern as Superman, and Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, will be available to play for free on PlayStation 4 and 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
– Jake Lacy (The White Lotus) and Nazanin Boniadi (Rings of Power) have filmed and executive produced A Mosquito in the Ear, a comedy-drama based on the Italian graphic novel by Andrea Ferraris. The film follows an American couple who fly to India to pick up their newly adopted daughter, only to find the young girl has no interest in leaving her orphanage. It marks the feature-length directorial debut of Nicola Rinciari, a BAFTA-winning Italian filmmaker based in the States, whose credits include various short films, plus previz on Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, The Wild Robot, Thor: Love and Thunder, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Fast X. The film does not have a distributor at the time of writing, while the source material is currently unavailable in English.
– Finally, The Op Games have launched Monopoly: One Piece Edition, a version of the classic board game featuring the anime versions of the characters from Eiichiro Oda’s pirate manga. Intended for 2-6 players aged 8 and up, the game allows you to buy, sell and trade characters on behalf of the Factory Destruction & Samurai Rescue team, the Caesar Delivery team, or the Thousand Sunny Guard team. The release coincides with the 25th anniversary of the cartoon, and the 20th of its debut in English. Op CEO Dane Chapin says, “With the series running for nearly 25 years, it’s become loved across several generations, and we’re honored to help bring them together in a new way over Monopoly: One Piece Edition.” The game is available now for $44.99 from the publisher’s website.
