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, DC Black Label announced “Hellblazer: Rise and Fall,” and Z2 announced a Doors graphic novel, “Morrison Hotel.”
– From Newsarama, Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway has launched a media and apparel campaign to reclaim the Punisher logo from “forces of oppression.” Conway said, “For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans. This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It’s time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter.” Leading this campaign is a series of t-shirts designed by Wess Hancock, Demonte Price, and Don Nguyen featuring the Punisher logo with anti-racism messages.
– From ComicBook.com, San Diego Comic-Con planners are hosting a free online event in lieu of the cancelled convention. Comic-Con@Home will be a virtual event held July 22-26 (the same days as the originally scheduled SDCC), and feature panels, giveaways, and news on comic books, TV, film, gaming, and more. SDCC spokesperson David Glanzer said, “Though stay-at-home conditions makes this a very difficult time, we see this as an opportunity to spread some joy and strengthen our sense of community.” A schedule with details for the events is forthcoming.
– Also from Newsarama, Marvel will be reprinting the tie-in comics to the 2000 television show, X-Men: Evolution, in celebration of the program’s 20th anniversary. The out-of-print comic books featured original stories set in the X-Men: Evolution universe written by Devin K. Grayson, with art from Studio XD and Udon Studios, and lasted nine issues. The entire collected run will be available in print December 15th, with digital copies already available on comiXology.
– Unit 2 Games will be releasing a comic book tie-in to their Google Stadia exclusive video game, Crayta, written by Dan Abnett, with art by Gustaffo Vargas, Mark Harrison, Valentine De Landro, Paulina Ganucheau, and Emma Vieceli; colors by Andrea Izzo, letters by Simon Bowland, and designs by Emma Price. “Crayta” will expand the metaverse of the video game and give background to the creation of the world of Crayta itsel. The six-issue series will launch shortly after Crayta is released on Google Stadia this summer. Comicbook.com has an exclusive interview with Abnett and Unit 2’s Operations Director, Hannah Waddilove about the upcoming series.
– Deadline reports that the manga series, “Promised Neverland,” will receive a live-action adaption from Amazon, with Masi Oka, Rodney Rothman, Vertigo Entertainment, and Fox 21 set to produce and Meghan Malloy (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) tapped to write the pilot episode. “Promised Neverland,” written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, tells the story of a group of intelligent kids at an idyllic orphanage, whose lives are transformed after uncovering a secret about their home. This will be Oka’s latest Japanese property adapted for American audiences after producing Death Note for Netflix and Repeat for CBS.
– The 2020 Peabody Awards were announced: the annual list honors 30 of the most compelling and empowering stories released across multiple categories. Of particular note is the inclusion of HBO’s Watchmen television series, which the committee called “a frank and provocative reflection on contemporary racialized violence, on the role of police, and on the consequences of a large-scale disaster on the way Americans understand their place in the world.”
– Finally, Seneca, South Carolina-based newspaper The Journal have apologized for publishing a racist, syndicated newspaper in yesterday’s edition; while the co-owners of the Washington Missourian in Franklin County, Missouri, Susan Miller Warden and Jeanne Miller Wood, have resigned after their father’s decision to include a cartoon attacking the Defund the Police movement. Bill Miller Sr., the paper’s editor and publisher, apologized afterwards, admitting the cartoon was “racially insensitive” and that using it was “poor judgement on my part.”
