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, “King of King Court” won the 2020 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize; the winners of the 2020 Doug Wright Awards were announced; and Richard Sala, the cartoonist and Fantagraphics artist, died at the age of 61.
– Image Comics revealed a new one-shot called “Hedra,” written and drawn by Jesse Lonergan. The one-shot will be completely wordless and depict a lone astronaut leaving a nuclear war-ravaged planet in search of life, only to find something that defies explanation. Lonergan has used a seven-by-five panel grid as the base for all of the pages in the comic. “Hedra” will be released on July 29. You can check out four pages from the one-shot here.
– Following last month’s announcement of “The Rise,” “Heavy Metal” has now revealed that George C. Romero will be writing a zombie story called ‘Cold Dead War,’ featuring the “Heavy Metal” character Nelson. The story is teased by Agustin Alessio’s cover for the magazine’s 300th issue. In an interview, Romero discussed “looking for things that perpetuated that feeling of paranoia” in his stories, and determined the Cold War setting as ideal because “there’s a lot of [paranoia] happening these days, especially now with the quarantine [and COVID-19]. There’s a visceral exposed nerve from the ‘60s that can be poked with a stick in 2020.” He also detailed his struggle dealing with his father’s legacy and teased that “The Rise” is the foundation of a “Deadverse.” “Heavy Metal” #300 will be released in July. To see the cover and read Romero’s interview in full, head over to Syfy Wire.
– San Diego Comic-Con revealed that they are planning Comic Con At Home. Specific plans have been kept under wraps for now, with only a humorous reveal video detailing that there will be “free parking,” “no lines,” and “badges for all” released. San Diego Comic Con was cancelled for the first time in its history last month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
– Mad Cave Studios announced Mad Cave’s Showcase, a series of livestreamed interviews with a variety of writers and artists, to raise money for comic book retailers. Creators currently listed for the event include writers Christopher Sebela (“Shangai Red”) and Matthew Erman (“Long Lost”), who will be discussing upcoming projects with the publisher, with artist Liana Kangas (“She Said Destroy”) drawing live whilst answering questions. Mad Cave’s Showcase will take place between 12pm to 5pm EST on May 15. You can check out the full schedule here.
– A joint initiative by multiple Canadian Comics Art festivals started CanCAF, a series of spotlights, interviews, workshops, panels and more, which will continue through the rest of May, in place of their usual events that have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are a plethora of comics creators scheduled for the initiative, including Matt Fraction (“Hawkeye”), Jeff Lemire (“Black Hammer”), and Leslie Hung (“Snotgirl”). To see the full schedule, head over to TCAF 2020.
– Marvel Comics revealed that the Marvel Digital Comics Shop will be closing on June 2, 2020. Following this date, to purchase Marvel digital comics and read your Marvel digital comics library, you will have to use the Marvel Comics app or the comiXology store. You will still be able to redeem Marvel digital comics codes via Marvel.com/redeem.
– THR reported that Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, will be portraying Boba Fett in The Mandalorian season 2. The bounty hunter, who was teased in the fifth episode of the first season, is only described as having a “small role” in the series. The Mandalorian season 2 is set to premiere on Disney+ in October.
– With Riverdale season 4 wrapping up last week, earlier than planned as a result of the coronavirus, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa detailed that Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols, who play F.P. Jones and Hermione Lodge respectively, will leave the show at the beginning of season 5. The pair had already announced that they would be leaving the show at the end of the season, but, with the originally planned ending never being reached, Aguirre-Sacasa detailed that they both want to return to “finish the stories we started in the season,” and that “this isn’t a spoiler, but they’re not dying.” He went on to confirm that “we’re essentially starting the [fifth] season with the last three episodes of season 4.”
– DC Comics and the Hershey Company partnered up for The Super Hero Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar. The chocolate bar will feature the emblems of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, and the sound effect, “BAM!” The bars will be released in July, although an early batch will be given to those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Hershey President/CEO Michele Buck explaining, “Supporting our communities in difficult times is part of our legacy, and an important value that our current employees share.”
– Finally, Leslie A. Pope, an Academy Award-nominated set decorator, who worked on Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, and more, has died at the age of 65. Pope had been recovering from heart surgery in February and died in her home in Venice on Wednesday, May 6. She was nominated for an Ocsar for her work on Seabiscuit. Pope is survived by her husband, Doug, and her siblings, Janet and William.
