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, “Giant Days” creator John Allison announced a new limited-series called “Steeple,” and IDW co-founders Ted Adams and Robbie Robbins are launching a joint publishing venture called Clover Press.
– Kugali Media has announced a new comic subscription service called Kugali Comic Club that provides subscribers with weekly content from African comics for a monthly fee of $2.99 at launch. However, readers who subscribe before the launch date (June 24th) will be able to pay whatever they choose for their subscription fee. Find out more about it here.
– Webcomics service Tapas is adding Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva’s “Heavy Vinyl” to their library by reformatting the comic to better fit a digital platform. Also, Tapas Media will debut a new original graphic novel for the series, which will debut on their digital platform before seeing a print release.
– Michael Oeming and Taki Soma (“Dick Tracy Forever”) have released a short comic online detailing how The Hero Initiative helped Soma after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and how readers can support the organization. You can read the comic here.
– The first ever cover appearance of Tintin has been discovered and is heading to auction. The first edition of “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets” has an estimated worth of over $1.3 million. The piece will be auctioned at Heritage Auctions’ European Comic Art Auction on June 8-9 alongside 50 lots of Walt Disney animation art and work from Japanese artist Osamu Tezuka.
– YouthLink Scotland, a Scottish youth work agency, has released a new comic called “Speak Up” that encourages young people to stand up to hate crimes. Illustrated by Steven Ingram, the comic teaches young people how to safely intervene in situations where a hate crime may be occurring, as well as how to “mind your Nana” by challenging family who use hateful or offensive language.
– A Canadian couple has created a graphic novel aimed at helping kids detect inaccuracies in media. Jason Harley and Daniel Beaudin’s “Fake News and Dinosaurs” sees two young dinosaurs join forces to solve the sudden and mysterious disappearances of prized show-raptors, and helps readers hone their media literacy and discover how emotions can muddle a message. The book is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo-Chapters, and Friesen Press.
– Just days after news broke about writer Tom King ending his run on “Batman,” it has now been revealed that King will co-write the screenplay for DC Entertainment’s upcoming film, The New Gods. King will reportedly write the script with the film’s director, Ava Duvernay (A Wrinkle in Time).
– Arnold Schwarzenegger will lend his voice to the main character in the upcoming television series Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Schwarzenegger revealed that he and Lee once had a conversation about the show, saying it would share some similarities to the Schwarzenegger film Kindergarten Cop. Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten is written by Deadpool co-creator Fabian Nicieza. No release details for the show have been set.
– Square Enix has officially announced the worldwide reveal of their long-awaited video game, Marvel’s Avengers. A tweet from the game’s new official Twitter account provided a link to watch the studio’s reveal live at E3 2019 on June 10.
– Finally, Jake Johnson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) has been cast opposite Cobie Smulders in the upcoming Stumptown – an ABC show based on Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s graphic novels. Johnson will replace Mark Webber, who starred in the show’s pilot episode. In other casting news, Michael Beach (Aquaman) has been confirmed for recurring role on the DC Universe series Swamp Thing (which starts tomorrow). He plays Nathan Ellery, the ruthless CEO of a business firm.
