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, on Friday DC announced “Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War,” an eight-part crossover beginning in August; we also published part one of our interview with “Destiny NY” co-creator Pat Shand.
– Via Popverse, after two weeks of public outcry, the organizers of this year’s Eisner Awards have agreed to remove the four nominations for Thomas Woodruff and his graphic novel, “Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral” from consideration. Organizers were given a statement from Woodruff requesting to be removed. After Woodruff was nominated, a slew of former students at the School for Visual Arts in New York City, where Woodruff was the head of the illustration and cartooning departments, came forward on social media with public allegations of racism, emotional abuse, and mistreatment. Woodruff’s “Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral,” has also been criticized for its depiction of a brown-skinned child as feral. Writer Jennifer de Guzman co-wrote an open letter to the Comic-Con International Board of Directors calling for transparency and changes to the way the Eisner Award nominees are chosen. While Woodruff and his graphic novel are no longer up for vote, Woodruff is still considered “Eisner-nominated.”
– Via The Bookseller, Orbit have acquired worldwide English rights for three manga volumes of the popular webcomic “Breaks,” by Emma Vieceli and Malin Rydén. The series follows Cortland Hunt and Ian Tanner, and is described as “a high school love story, but a little bit broken,” and “perfect for fans of popular LGBTQ+ graphic novels, who might be looking for something darker and more mature.” Orbit will start publishing “Breaks” in 2024.
– Publishers Weekly announced three graphic novel deals last week. First up, Scholastic/Graphix have acquired “My Tokyo Summer” by Abby Denson and Utomaru. The graphic memoir follows Abby as an art student, when she moved to Tokyo from New York for the summer semester, where she collaborated on a comic book with her Japanese pen pal. “My Tokyo Summer” will be published in 2026.
Next up, Roaring Brook has acquired “Baby Steps,” a middle-grade graphic novel by Maggie Edkins Willis. The book follows 14-year old Erika as she cares for her mother, who’s suffering from postpartum depression after a traumatic birth. Meanwhile, her stepfather moves away for work and her life is thrown into chaos as she not only must care for her mother, but the baby as well, which alters her views on pregnancy. Publication is set for spring 2026.
Lastly, Pixel+Ink have acquired “Sky & Ty” a chapter book graphic novel by Steve Breen. The book follows a cowgirl and her T-Rex partner who run a Pony Express-type of delivery service while getting into wacky adventures together. Book One is set to publish in 2024, with a second book to follow.
– The BBC have released a list of the 100 greatest children’s books of all time. Among the books are “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang and Lark Pien, “The Snowman” by Raymond Briggs, and several of Tove Jansson’s Moomin books. “American Born Chinese” currently has an adaptation on Disney+, with all episodes currently streaming. You can check out the BBC’s full list here.
– Finally, Anime News Network shares the second part of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will premiere on July 8. The first 13 episodes of the new anime ran late last year. It will be released in the United States on Hulu, Latin America on Star+, and several other countries on Disney+.
