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.
100-Page Super Spectacular' #1
– DC’s “Catwoman” ongoing series is getting a new creative team in writer Ram V and artist Fernando Blanco, who are taking over the title beginning in September with issue #25. Newsarama reported that the creative team’s collaboration will debut on June 2, as the two have a story in the upcoming “Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular” #1. Both V and Blanco are not unfamiliar with the material, as V was a guest writer on #14 and #15, while Blanco acted as secondary artist during writer/artist Joelle Jones’s run recently.
– DC also released a preview of their upcoming OGN “Nubia: Real One” from writer L.L. McKinney and artists Robyn Smith, Brie Henderson, and Bex Glending. Originally introduced as a Silver Age replacement for Wonder Woman, Nubia was Diana’s twin sister, separated at birth. Newsarama reports in McKinney’s updated version, Nubia is a young woman trying to help her community despite being told she doesn’t fit the mold of a hero. The preview glimpses the moment that Nubia is visited by her own hero, Wonder Woman. “Nubia: Real One” is due out February 2, 2021.
– Newsarama also reported on the recipients of the 2020 Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries. The program consists of three annual grants given in two categories. The 2020 Will Eisner Novel Growth Grants were awarded to Ryan LaFerney of the Avon – Washington Township Public Library, Avon, Indiana, as well as Cathy Burwell of the Cape Fear Community College Library, Wilmington, North Carolina. The 2020 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Innovation Grant was presented to Deanna Nebenionquit of the Ontario Library Service – North, Sudbury, Canada. Each of these grants awards the winning libraries with a $2,000 voucher to purchase graphic novels for their collection from Diamond Book Distributors, as well as $1,000 to host a graphic novel-themed event. The winning libraries also received a $1,000 travel stipend to attend the 2021 ALA Annual in Chicago.
– Deadline reported that we may not have seen the last of Henry Cavill’s Superman. While there are no plans for a stand-alone sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, Deadline states that there are plans to get Cavill back in the cape in the near future, perhaps in as a cameo in upcoming DC live-action films, such as Shazam 2, Black Adam or Aquaman 2, which are the next productions to be prepped once COVID-19 safety restrictions lift.
– Flame Con 2020 has been postponed due to concerns around COVID-19. The announcement came from the event’s committee, and was announced on Twitter. Flame Con, the world’s largest queer comic con, is planning to bring the event back to the Times Square Sheraton on August 21-22, 2021.
– From Newsarama, writer/artist Rob Liefeld has launched his own podcast, Robservations with Rob Liefeld. In the announcement, Liefeld debuted the podcast’s logo, a cartoon homage to Ringer’s The Bill Simmons Podcast logo. He commented in the announcement made on Facebook, “Most know that I love to talk comic books and it’s rich and illustrious history, especially how it’s impacting the culture right now!” The podcast is available on various platforms, including Tune In and Spotify.
– Newsarama also reported that long-time Marvel artist Mike del Mundo has teamed up with rappers Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist on a comic book called “Alfredo.” Del Mundo draws the book, which is a tie-in for an album of the same name from the rappers, and is the co-writer alongside Gibbs and Ben “Lambo” Lambert. From the description for the issue, “Half Manne, Half Cocain, and The Alchemist take on the UNDEAD in this INSTANT CLASSIC First Issue.” The “Alfredo” comic book/album two pack has a planned release today.
– Finally, accessibility activist Cherry Thompson announced on their Twitter feed yesterday that they provided a motion capture performance for Marvel’s Avengers from Crystal Dynamics. The character, named Cerise, is an NPC for which Thompson provided idle animations. Thompson linked a blog post to the tweet detailing the collaboration further.
