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, wrestler, actor and writer Shad Gaspard passed away under tragic circumstances this week, aged just 39.
– Zidrou (“The Muse,” “Bearskin”) and Arno Monin’s (“Merci,” “Monsieur Jules”) graphic novel “The Adoption” is getting its very first English-language release this August, from publisher Magnetic Press. Originally published as “L’adoption” Vol. 1 under French publisher Bamboo in 2016, “The Adoption” follows the retired Gabriel, as his family adopt an orphan girl from Peru. The 144-page hardcover received the Saint-Michel Prize for best French-language comic, and the BD Franc Belgium Prize upon its initial release.
– Film director Duncan Jones (Warcraft, Moon) will be making his comics debut with the 260-page novel, “Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future.” The book will be co-written alongside novelist and comic writer Alex De Campi (“Bad Karma,” “Bad Girls,” The Scottish Boy), and will feature the talent of a whole host of artists including Dylan Teague, Glenn Fabry, Duncan Fegredo, LRNZ, Ed Ocaña, André Araújo, Simon Bisley, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Tonci Zonjic, Pia Guerra, James Stokoe, RM Guéra, Chris Weston, Rufus Dayglo, Annie Wu, David Lopez and Christian Ward. Additionally the book will feature colors by Matt Wilson, Nayoung Kim, Chris O’Halloran, Adam Brown, Jacob Phillips, Raúl Arnaiz, Giulia Brusco, Sergey Nazarov and Kelly Fitzpatrick and letters by Alex de Campi. All the freelancers are receiving full page-rates and royalties for their work. The post-war cyberpunk story follows veteran Madi Preston as she pays off the debt accrued for her cybernetic enhancements. The novel is a spiritual sequel to Jones’s films Moon and Mute, serving as the third and final entry in the series. You can find the Kickstarter here.
– The ebook/audiobook subscription service Scribd has launched a new set of perks that give readers access to seven different services, including the comic, cartoon and film subscription service CONtv. For US$9.99 a month, readers will be able to receive their usual ebooks and audiobooks, as well as movies, television, music, comics, documentaries, games, sports, news and more. Scribd now includes Pandora, TuneIn, MUBI, CuriousityStream, Farfaria, Peak and CONtv.
– Prolific comic writer Alan Grant (“Legends of the Dark Knight, “2000AD”) has written a new comic dedicated to, illustrated by and starring the people of his hometown Moniaive in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The comic chronicles the residents’ battles against the COVID-19 pandemic, and is helping to fundraise the revitalization of the town’s economy. “Sixty members of the community from four years old to, I believe, nearly 90 years old have done the illustrations for it and they have made a fantastic job,” said Grant. “There are several professional comic artists who have contributed to it as well because they are friends of mine.” “Moniaive Fights Back” can be ordered at revitalise[dot]moniaive[at]gmail.com for £4, including postage, with all profits going to the Revitalise Moniaive fundraiser.
– Charles Lippincott, one of the minds behind the marketing of the original Star Wars trilogy, has passed at 80 due to COVID-19-related health complications. Lippincott was one of the minds behind the promotion of other iconic franchises including the original Westworld, Judge Dredd, Alien, and Flash Gordon. He was the person to suggest bringing the original Star Wars to the burgeoning San Diego Comic-Con, and organized the now iconic Marvel Comics tie-in to the film. Charles’s wife Bumpy Lippincott said, “He lived a good life, a full life, and was luckier than most. Oh, he wanted to continue living — there were things he still wanted to do — but he realized many of his peers were dying, and if the end came, it would be alright because he had had a full, rich life. I want to think his spirit has joined the 90,000 plus who have left this planet, who have entered the cosmos like Asimov’s stream of light.”
– Cardcaptor Sakura will be making its Netflix debut on June 1 in the US and Canada. The series is an adaptation of the 1996 manga “Cardcaptor Sakura,” which follows Sakura Kinomoto after she inadvertently unleashes the magic cards of sorcerer Clow Reed. Sakura, alongside the Clow Cards’s guardian Cerberus have to track down the missing artifacts, gaining their own magic as they go. The anime originally ran for three seasons from 1998 to 2000, with 70 episodes produced by the animation studio Madhouse.
– Sony Pictures have hired director S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones, Succession) direct an as-of-yet unkown Marvel superhero film. No release date has been set for the picture, however she’s unlikely to be attached to Venom: Let There be Carnage, Morbius or Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 2 as all three pictures currently have a director attached. There have been reports that the film may be centered on “Spider-Man” character Madame Web, with Charlize Theron and Amy Adams being pursued for the role.
– The long-rumored ‘Snyder Cut’ of 2017’s Justice League, now titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League, has finally been confirmed for a 2021 release on HBO Max. “I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized,” said Snyder. “Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.” The film’s screenplay was originally written by Chris Terrio with input from Snyder, but was subject to a swathe of rewrites and reshoots mandated by Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon, who took over directorial duties from Snyder after he bowed out as a result of personal circumstances. The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, and Ezra Miller as the Flash.
