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, Marvel announced the five-part miniseries, “X-Men: The Trial of Magneto,” and the first trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage was unleashed.
– Via The Beat, Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau revealed “Bloom Part II,” a sequel to their 2019 graphic novel. The sequel will take place a year after the end of “Bloom,” with Ari and Hector still together, though physically apart, with Hector living at culinary school. “Bloom Part II” will see Ari visiting Hector, but finding it difficult to fit into Hector’s world. It will also feature the love story of Ari’s parents. “Bloom” was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book in 2020. “Bloom Part II” is set to be published by First Second in the Fall of 2023. You can see some of Ganucheau’s character sketches here.
– Following up on their teaser image last week, Marvel detailed their new LGBTQ+ mutant hero, Somnus/Carl Valentino, will debut in “Marvel’s Voices: Pride” #1, with an origin story by writer Steve Orlando and artist Claudia Aguirre (who will be making her Marvel debut). The mutant, who has the ability to control other people’s dreams, is teased as having had an “extraordinary impact” on an X-Man in the past, and is now making a second start in life on Krakoa. Orlando described the character as being “inspired not only by my own family history, but by my experiences with past generations of LGBTQ+ folks from across the country, people I wouldn’t have met without comics,” adding “Somnus is a chance to explore how my own late queer relatives may have felt, living in more prejudiced times. He’s also a chance to celebrate past generations as a whole and acknowledge the strides we’ve made that they may not have lived to see.” Luciano Vecchio designed the character’s costume and also provided the artwork for the one-shot’s frame Variant, which will put Somnus at the center of a multitude of Marvel’s LGBTQ+ characters. You can check it out over at Marvel.com. “Marvel’s Voices: Pride” #1 is scheduled for June 23.
– Drawn & Quarterly will be publishing Nazuna Saito’s new comic collection, “Offshore Lightning,” next year. The collection will include four stories, two of which, ‘Buy Dog Food and Go Home’ and ‘Offshore Lightning,’ will explore the inner workings of middle-aged men, as Saito “gently pokes fun at their anguish and self-involvement,” but also captures “the pathos of these men as they revisit childhood friendships and lost loves.” The other two stories, ‘In Captivity’ and ‘Solitary Death Building,’ will focus on old age; the former will follow three siblings whose mother is suffering from dementia, while the latter explores the gossip at an old people’s home. This will be one of Saito’s newest comics to be published following her recovery from a stroke. “Offshore Lightning” is set for release in February 2022, with a preview available over at The Beat.
– DW reported on the story of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, the individuals at the center of Pascal Bresson and Sylvain Dorange’s latest graphic novel, “For Justice: The Serge & Beate Klarsfeld Story,” or, as it is called in Germany, “Die Nazijäger” (“Beate & Serge Klarsfelt: The Nazi-hunters”). The graphic novel tells the story of how Beate worked against the Nazis after the Second World War, most significantly when she slapped the German Chancellor, Kurt Georg Kiesinger, at a conference for the Christian Democratic party in Paris in 1960, and decried his former Nazi party membership, sparking a series of campaigns against former Nazis who held positions across the Federal Republic. This culminated in the introduction of the law known as “Lex Klarsfeld” in 1975, which sought to bring Nazi criminals to justice. “For Justice” also chronicles Serge Klarsfeld’s life, which saw his father murdered in Auschwitz, with Serge, his mother, and two sisters, only narrowly evading the Paris Gestapo; and the love story between the titular couple. “For Justice: The Serge & Beate Klarsfeld Story,” is available now from Humanoids in the US, and via Carlsen in Germany.
Continued below– “WWE The New Day: Power of Positivity,” a two-part series by writers Evan Narcisse and Austin Walker, and artist Daniel Bayliss, was announced by BOOM! Studios. The series will detail the origins of the three superstars who make up the 11-time Tag Team Champions, The New Day: Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods. In the press release, Narcisse described how in writing the series, he and Walker set out to “write a love letter to an unseen side of WWE history,” with Walker describing the trio as being “as extraordinary as the very best comic book heroes.” “WWE The New Day: Power of Positivity” #1 will be released in comic shops and on digital platforms in July.
– Gavin Fullerton (“Bog Bodies”) launched a new webcomic called “Paradise.” Details about the webcomic were not specified, with Fullerton choosing to present the first page of the black-and-white webcomic, which depicts a ladybird crawling on the eye of a deceased individual, on its own. “Paradise” is scheduled to be published on his Twitter and the series’ Instagram account every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
– The five winning entries of the first Comics Creators’ Prize, organized by Black Lives Matter Leeds, Cape Graphic Novels, and Thought Bubble, were announced. The individuals behind the entries are Bimpe Alliu & Folarin Akinmade, Daniel Lucas & Frankie Mcintosh, Rumbidzai Marilyn Savanhu, Sarah Ushurhe, and Manon Ada Shu-Jun Wright. The winners will now receive editorial feedback from the teams at Jonathan Cape and Thought Bubble, with the prize intended to be “just the start of our work, with plans to support and encourage the careers of BIPOC [Black, indigenous and people of color] writers and artists in Yorkshire and further afield” by Thought Bubble and BLM Leeds for next year, according to Martha Julian, the assistant director of Thought Bubble. You can learn more about the winners and their work at Thought Bubble’s website.
– Finally, Epic Games announced that Beast Boy will be added to their hit game, Fortnite, later this week. The DC Comics character will primarily be featured as a skin that will have a built-in Go Ape Emote to change into the character’s gorilla form, but the Couch Titan Back Bling and BB’s Beast Bat Pickaxe will also be available for purchase. There will be a Teen Titans Cup held in-game on May 12, which will give players a chance to unlock Raven and Beast Boy before they appear in the game’s shop. Gabriel Picolo (“Beast Boy Loves Raven”) has contributed artwork for the new BBRae Loading Screen which will be unlocked by players who score at least eight points in the Teen Titans cup, with all participants being given the Beast Boy and Raven Spray regardless of their results. The Beast Boy bundle will be available on May 13 while Raven is available via the Chapter 2 Season 6 Battle Pass. You can check out all of the skins and items, Piccolo’s BBRae Loading Screen art, and a short comic strip at Epic Games’s website.
