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, comics colorist Dijjo Lima died unexpectedly, aged just 34.
Art by Mahmud Asrar
– Marvel are losing the comics license for Conan the Barbarian after this year, ComicBook.com has learned. Fred Malmberg, CEO of Conan rights owners Heroic Signatures, told the site, “We had a wonderful run with Marvel Comics but ultimately they have decided not to extend their license beyond this year. Conan has more than 50 years of comic book publishing. We took the decision to pick up the baton ourselves, not only for Conan but all the other wonderful characters and IP that we control. The publishing program will commence next year but exact details are not final yet.” Marvel have held the rights to Conan since 2018, and before that from 1970 to 1995; it is unclear how the end of the license will affect their current titles with the character.
– Dark Horse announced “Salamandre,” a dystopian graphic novel by writer/artist I.N.J. Culbard (“Everything,” “You Look Like Death”). The book, due out in comics shops November 2, and in bookstores November 15, 2022, tells the story of Kaspar Salamandre, a “bereaved young artist who is sent to stay with his enigmatic grandfather, who lives behind the Iron Veil — a land lorded over by an oppressive emperor. In this foreign place where flowers are contraband, music is illegal, and art is created in hiding, Kaspar seeks to heal his grief — discovering a world of art revolutionaries, espionage, and the Secret Police — who are not what they seem.”
– “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen” creators Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Nathan Fairbairn and Clayton Cowles are returning for (deep breath) “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen’s Boss Perry White” #1, a 48-page one-shot starring the editor of the Daily Planet. The book will feature a new 7-page story from the creative team, as well as reprints of classic Perry stories by Elliot S. Maggin & Curt Swan, Neil Kleid & Dean Haspiel, and Brian Michael Bendis & Ivan Reis. The book will be released on June 21, and will mark the first time Perry has headlined his own comic since his debut in 1940.
– The Australian NSW Premier’s Literary Awards awarded their top prize to Safdar Ahmed for his debut graphic novel, “Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System.” The book, published last year by Twelve Panels Press, is an “unflinching” depiction of stories from migrants detained at Sydney’s Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, which Ahmed visited in 2011. Ahmed, who has Crohn’s disease, said he would be giving the $10,000 prize money to his mother, to thank her for supporting him while working on the project.
– Yasmin Finney (Heartstopper‘s Elle) has joined the cast of Doctor Who as a character named Rose. Showrunner Russell T. Davies acknowledged her character having the same name as Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler in a statement, saying, “”Life on Doctor Who gets brighter and wilder, how can there be another Rose? You’ll find out in 2023.” It was unclear if Finney’s Rose will become a companion, but if she does, she will become the Doctor’s first trans companion on TV (following Rebecca Root, whose character Tania Bell became a companion of the Eighth Doctor in the audio dramas in 2017.)
– Spidey and his Amazing Friends are going on tour as part of Disney Junior Live On Tour: Costume Palooza this fall. The 80-city national tour will see the pre-school versions of the Marvel characters join Mickey, Minnie et al. to entertain families with live music, dancing, acrobatics, and 3D special effects. The tour begins September 2, with tickets going on presale today, and publicly on Friday, May 20. You can visit the show’s official website here.
– Webtoon owner Naver, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), and manga company Shine Partners have joined forces to launch Studio TooN, a South Korean company intended as a global platform for Japanese and Korean creators. TBS will have the rights to any live-action dramas, anime, or any other kind of adaptation of the comics produced there.
Continued below– Adam and Lisa Murphy’s educational kid’s series, “Corpse Talk,” has been turned into a YouTube Originals series. Like the comic, the webseries features Adam (voiced here by Joe Sugg) interviewing zombie versions of historical figures. You can check out the first three episodes, featuring Mozart, Cleopatra and Leonardo da Vinci, here. New episodes will upload every Tuesday and Friday.
– In trailer news, Amazon released one for The Boys season 3, premiering June 3; Netflix released a sneak peek for Geeked Week (June 6-10), featuring new footage from The Sandman, including our first look at Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer; and Warner Bros released a cinematic for brawler game MultiVersus, which you should definitely check out if you want to see Superman (George Newbern) team-up with the Iron Giant. The game will be released on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S sometime this July.
– Finally, Crunchyroll revealed their home releases for August, including the Blu-ray/DVD release of My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission. The third film in the series will be available to buy on Tuesday, August 23, and in the meantime, you can read our review here.
