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, Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar are reteaming this fall on the DC miniseries “Batman vs. Robin.”
Art by Lauren Knight
– Image announced two five-issue series starting in August, “Golden Rage,” and “The Deadliest Bouquet.” The former was created by first-time writer Chrissy Williams (the editor of “Die,” “The Wicked + The Divine”) with artist Lauren Knight, colorist Sofie Dodgson, and letterer Becca Carey, and follows a group of “older women who’ve been deemed useless to society” and “abandoned on an island.” Described as Battle Royale meets Golden Girls, it will chronicle “their golden years of making friends, baking dessert, and fighting to the death for survival.” Issue #1 releases August 3.
“The Deadliest Bouquet,” which begins on August 10, will follow three estranged sisters after the murder of their mother, “a hard-edged Nazi hunter who trained her daughters in the art of espionage.” Pitched as Charmed meets Charlie’s Angels, the series was written by Erica Schultz, and features art by Carola Borelli (“Star Trek: The Q Conflict”) with colors by Gab Contreras (“Witchblood”). We’ll have more on Image’s full August 2022 solicitations in our Soliciting Multiversity column later this month.
– Oni Press will publish “Action Journalism,” a “genre-hopping” adventure series by writer Eric Skillman, artist Miklós Felvidéki, and colorist Mariane Gusmão, beginning August 24. The first issue follows intrepid reporter Kate Kelly, as she infiltrates an alien fleet attacking our planet. They also announced “Pink Lemonade,” an originally crowdfunded, retro graphic novel about a motorcycle-riding superheroine, by cartoonist Nick Cagnetti, which will be released on September 28.
– Via Daily Dead, Archie announced a new horror one-shot, “Chilling Adventures Presents… Jinx’s Grim Fairy Tales,” an anthology starring a teenage babysitter version of Li’l Jinx (called Jinx Holliday), who uses spooky stories to scare kids into becoming good. The stories will be written by Magdalene Visaggio, James III, and Joe Corallo, and feature art by Craig Cermak, Evan Stanley, Eva Cabrera, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. The 32-page comic will be released on August 17 with a cover by Vic Malhotra, and a variant by Francesco Francavilla.
– In licensed comics news, Marvel announced they are relaunching Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s “Alien” series with a new issue #1, and Julius Ohta on art this August; while IDW Publishing solicited “Star Trek: Picard – Stargazer,” a three-issue series by writers Mike Johnson & Kirsten Beyer with artist Angel Hernandez that’ll pick up from where the second season left off, as well as “Star Trek: Trill,” a third, alien-centric one-shot, written by Jody Houser with art by Hendry Prasetya.
BOOM! Studios announced “Power Rangers Unlimited: The Death Ranger,” a one-shot by writer Paul Allor and artist Katherine Lobo showcasing the fallen member of the original Omega Rangers, also out in August; while Dark Horse revealed a new Minecraft graphic novel, “Minecraft: Open World — Into the Nether,” by Stephanie Ramirez. That book will be released in comics shops and bookstores on the week of October 26, 2022, alongside new box sets of previous Minecraft comics.
– In middle-grade graphic novel news, Scholastic Graphix have acquired “Shiny Misfits,” written by comedian, actress, and disability advocate Maysoon Zayid, with art by Shadia Amin. Due out in 2023, the book follows Bay Ann Musa, a disabled 11-year-old, who seeks to become famous on her terms “after the boy of her dreams becomes a viral sensation for catching her as she’s falling.”
Also in 2023, First Second will begin publishing “Unicorn Boy,” a trilogy by cartoonist Dave Roman (edited by Steve Foxe), that tells the story of a boy who sprouts a magical horn; and Wonderbound will publish “Lone,” Angie Hewitt’s tale of a girl who is the only one who can remember the existence of her hometown’s lake, after it mysteriously vanishes. You can check out more of last week’s children’s book deals at Publishers Weekly.
– In TV news, Netflix has renewed Heartstopper for a second and third season; Hulu have acquired the rights to the upcoming AfterShock series “A Calculated Man,” with “Shadow Doctor” writer Peter Calloway attached as showrunner; and Christian Cooper will host a National Geographic series titled Extraordinary Birder. Cooper, whom readers may remember garnered public sympathy after enduring a racist incident while birdwatching in 2020, will educate viewers about birds from all over the world on the series. It was not stated when to expect any of these projects to premiere.
– Finally, original Star Wars concept artist Colin Cantwell died on Saturday, May 21. He was 90 years old. A former NASA employee, Cantwell also worked as a VFX artist on films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and WarGames. He designed and built the prototype models for the ships in A New Hope, including the X-Wing, TIE fighter, Death Star, Imperial Star Destroyer, Y-Wing, and more. Cantwell was not involved in the subsequent films, and was overshadowed by other artists when it came to being recognized for designing George Lucas’s galaxy until quite recently. You can find out more about his life and examine his work at his official website. He is survived by his longtime partner and publicist, Sierra Dall.
