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, Marvel announced “Inferno,” an X-Men event miniseries by Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti, R.B. Silva, and Stefano Caselli.
– Marvel Comics revealed the latest character to take up the mantle of Captain America in Christopher Cantwell and Dale Eaglesham’s “The United States of Captain America:” Ari Agbayani. Created by Alyssa Wong and Jodi Nishijima, Agbayani will be a Filipino American girl who has earned a scholarship at a private university, seeking justice against her best friend’s abuser, an wealthy individual who has “half the buildings on campus” named after him.
Agbayani will be inspired by Bucky Barnes more than Steve Rogers, with Wong describing Bucky as “someone who hates bullies as much as Steve does, but is willing to use sneakier, shadier tactics to deal with them,” continuing “Ari’s a vigilante, and she knows that you can’t always win by playing by the rules. Bucky’s influence is reflected in her costume, designed by the incredible Jodi Nishijima.” Agbayani will debut in “The United States of Captain America” #4, which is scheduled for release on September 22. You can check out Nishijima’s designs for Agbayani, and Gerald Peral’s primary cover featuring a new villain here.
– Writer John Reppion and artist M D Penman announced that they are adapting the verse poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, into a 44-page comic book. The poem explores the limits of chivalry through Sir Gawain’s acceptance of the mysterious Green Knight’s challenge to exchange blows with his axe. When Sir Gawain strikes the Green Knight, he decapitates him, but the Green Knight is able to pick up his head and ride off, stating that he will expect Sir Gawain to receive the same blow from his axe in a year and a day’s time. Gawain’s chivalric worth is measured through his willingness to seek to Green Knight at the appointed time and on his quest to the Green Knight’s domain. The pair’s ongoing work on the adaptation can be supported and seen through their Patreon page.
– The Doctor Strange Twitter account released a teaser for ‘The Death of Doctor Strange,’ with a caption teasing that the “final saga” of the Sorcerer Supreme will start this September. It remains to be seen whether this is in reference to an upcoming arc of an already existing series, a new solo series for the character, or something else entirely, but a full announcement is expected in the near future. The last solo series featuring Doctor Strange was by Mark Waid and Kev Walker, and ran for six issues until August last year. Benedict Cumberbatch’s film iteration of the character is set to return in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17, 2021, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on March 25, 2022.
– ReedPop, the organizers of New York Comic Con, MCM London, and more, have announced a new MetaVerse Membership scheme. The annual membership scheme will allow individuals to access the majority of panels at ReedPop’s conventions, through live video/audio (or both) feeds, and on demand for 30 days after. There is a higher tier membership available too, which adds on extra bonuses, including access to convention ticket pre-sales. ReedPop will begin selling both membership tiers at the end of the month, for $65 and $99 per year, respectively. New York Comic Con is scheduled to take place on October 7-10, with specific capacity numbers not yet detailed. You can check out the full details for each membership here.
– Artist Russell Dauterman revealed the specifics behind the previously solicited ‘New Line-Up Trading Card Variant’ for the forthcoming “X-Men” relaunch: Dauterman himself will be drawing the covers and taking inspiration from Jim Lee’s trading cards from 1992, with Matt Wilson coloring. The trading card variants rank different character attributes on a scale of 0-7 as part of a ‘Cerebro Scan,’ which also includes a biography, the character’s real name, and more. The first cover will spotlight Cyclops. You can see the cover for yourself in stores when it releases on July 7, or take a look at Dauterman’s artwork here.
Continued below– Apple unveiled a documentary focused on Charles Schulz and the “Peanuts” characters called Who Are You, Charlie Brown? The film will combine a new animated story featuring Charlie Brown, with interviews from a variety of friends and family of Schulz, including his widow, Jean Schulz. Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther) will narrate the film, directed by Michael Bonfiglio. The documentary will premiere on Apple TV+ on June 25. In the meantime, you can watch trailer here.
– Issa Rae (Insecure) has joined the upcoming, currently untitled sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in the role of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman. The film’s plot is still being kept under wraps, with Rae’s recruitment the only new addition to the film’s cast so far. Much of the creative team involved with the original, such as writers/producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, are returning, as are voice actors Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld (Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen, respectively). The sequel will have a new trio of directors in Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thom, with one of the original’s trio, Peter Ramsey, executive producing this time round. The film is due to be released on October 7, 2022.
– GraphicAudio announced plans to adapt Dan Watters and Val Rodrigues’s Vault Comics series, “Deep Roots,” into an audiobook. The comic follows the the roots beneath London, as they transform into vegetable homunculi and fight back against the concrete, whilst a human rescue party descends into the green world below. The description for the audiobook promises “a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music.” This is the third Vault Comic series to be adapted by Graphic Audio, following “Vagrant Queen” and “Wasted Space.” GraphicAudio are set to release the audiobook adaptation of “Deep Roots” on June 29.
– Finally, Marvel revealed they will be launching a tabletop roleplaying game next year called Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying Game, written and co-designed by Matt Forbeck (Marvel Encyclopedia). The game will feature a host of Marvel’s most famous characters like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel, whom players can pit against Marvel villains. Alternatively, players will be able to make their own superheroes for the game. The game will utilize Marvel’s new D616 system, which attributes characters with Might, Agility, Resilience, Vigilance, Ego, and Logic scores. Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying game will launch next March, though this will only be for the Playtest Handbook to introduce players to the game and allow for players to give feedback about their experiences; the RPG game is set to launch fully in 2023. You can check out Iban Coello’s artwork for the game here.
