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 Comics have announced a new series titled “Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land,” from writer Zac Thompson and artist German Garcia. Mignolaversity also took a look at September’s solicits, and we interviewed “Soul to Call” creator Katherine Lang.
– The latest graphic novel from the McElroy family podcast The Adventure Zone will be released on July 13th. The book, which is titled “The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom” is the fourth in a series of books written by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Travis McElroy, and will once again be drawn by Carey Pietsch, who drew the previous three adventures in the series. The story is an adaptation of the podcast, and follows the characters of Merle, Magnus, and Taako deep within a floating labyrinthine workshop, where they must discover what evil force is causing chaos across the land. To coincide with the book’s release, the McElroys and Pietsch will be hosting a livestream at 9:00 PM EST on July 13, where they will do a reading of some of the book’s passages, and talk about the creative process that went into making it.
– Sarah Gaydos has stepped down from her position as Editor in Chief of Oni Press-Lion Forge Publishing group, effective immediately. Gaydos was announced as the Editor in Chief of Oni Press-Lion Forge in January of 2019, and had been with the company since 2018. Prior to working with Oni Press-Lion Forge, Gaydos was a group editor at IDW Publishing, where she worked on the Star Trek and Jem and the Holograms comic book adaptations. At this time, no replacement has been named for the vacant position. In a mutual statement with Oni Press-Lion Forge Publishing Group, Gaydos said “I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I look forward to what’s next.”
– The first poster for Ultrasound has been revealed ahead of the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The movie is an adaptation of Conor Stechschulte’s graphic novel “Generous Bosom,” and was directed by Rob Schroeder, with Vincent Kartheiser, Chelsea Lopez, and Breeda Wool in starring roles. The poster was created by Robert Beatty, who is well known for his album art, and has worked with music groups such as The Flaming Lips and Tame Impala. Ultrasound follows Glen, a man who encounters a distressing couple when his car breaks down on the side of the road. The film will premiere at Tribeca later today.
– The first details for the upcoming mobile game Transformers: Heavy Metal have been revealed. The game is being made by Niantic, the developers behind Pokémon Go, and uses the AR platform to create an immersive experience that interacts with the world at large. In Transformers: Heavy Metal, players join the Guardian Network, a group of humans who assist the Autobots in their war against the Decepticons. Players will be able to find resources and fight against Decepticons while playing alongside their friends. Niantic has also released the first in-game screenshots of the game, which showcases the fan-favorite character of Bumblebee and provides a sense of the in-game interface. Transformers: Heavy Metal will be released in select markets soon, ahead of its full launch later this year.
– The voice cast of the new Paramount+ series Star Trek: Prodigy has been revealed. Joining actress Kate Mulgrew, who will be reprising her role from Star Trek: Voyager as Kathryn Janeway, will be Rylee Alazraqui, Brett Gray, Angus Imrie, Jason Mantzoukas, Ella Purnell, and veteran voice actor Dee Bradley Baker. The show is the first Star Trek series aimed at children since Star Trek: The Animated Series, and follows a ragtag group of aliens who steal a Federation ship, and travel across the galaxy while being navigated by Janeway’s A.I. presence. The designs for the central cast of characters were also showcased, as well as character descriptions for the eclectic bunch.
– The first trailer for Stargirl season two has dropped, revealing a slew of new characters set to appear in live-action form for the first time. Joining Brec Bassinger’s Stargirl will be Jonathan Cake as The Shade, Alkoya Brunson as Jakeem Thunder, and Ysa Penarejo as Jade, the daughter of the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott. Stargirl already features a wide array of DC heroes, with many members of the Justice Society of America sticking around as members of the supporting cast, such as Wildcat, Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Hourman. The second season of Stargirl will be premiering on the CW at 8:00 PM on August 10.
– New details have emerged surrounding the proposed plot for the now-abandoned sequel to The LEGO Batman Movie. The film, which is now impossible since Universal acquired all LEGO film rights, would have been written by the team of Dan Harmon and Loki head writer Michael Waldron. Though it never officially entered production, a first draft of the script was commissioned, which took a cue from the plot of The Godfather: Part II and juxtaposed the formative moments of the creation of the Justice League, and the earliest memories of Batman’s friendship with Superman, with his current adventures alongside Robin. Having Harmon attached would have been a big deal, since he’s currently busy writing new episodes of Rick and Morty, but apparently Harmon jumped at the chance to write the script. Alas, it’s unlikely that anything from the production will ever see the light of day.
