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, Skybound revealed a big secret in “Void Rivals” #1, while AWA unveiled “Rumpus Room.”
– DC announced “Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham,” a four-issue Black Label series by writer/artist Rafael Grampá, and colorist Matheus Lopes. The comic will see Bruce Wayne fake his death to fight crime full-time, and pursue a serial killer, as well as “an all-new rogues gallery of utterly depraved villains.” It is described as making Batman “contend with the very nature of evil — including that which lurks in the darkest corners of his own heart — to face what is coming for the city he has sworn to protect.” Uniquely, the series will launch in North America, Brazil, Spain, Italy, and Germany on Saturday, September 16, aka Batman Day. A “Noir Edition” will also be available, along with a number of variant covers by artists like Jim Lee and Frank Miller.
– The Eisners revealed the nominees for this year’s Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: they consist of Soroush Barazesh (“Kings of Nowhere”), Shof Coker (“New Masters”), Ryan Lang (“Issunboshi: A Graphic Novel”), Tim Probert (“Lightfall”), and Zoe Thorogood. Thorogood has already earned the most Eisner nominations this year (five), for the Image series “Rain,” and her graphic memoir “It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth.” The winner will be chosen by past Manning Award winners as well as assistants of the late Russ Manning, and be announced at the Eisner Awards ceremony on July 21.
– To mark Pride Month, Marvel released a new Infinity one-shot, “Marvel’s Voices: Ayo & Aneka,” by writer Wyatt Kennedy (“Bolero”), artist Sumeyye Kesgin (“Voyagis”), and colorist KJ Díaz (“Heart Eyes”). The comic follows the lovers and Midnight Angels in an “entrancing tale of love, fear, and the battles we fight against.” The project marks Kennedy’s Marvel debut, and Kesgin’s third, after last year’s “Women of Marvel” special and “Edge of Spider-Verse” #3, as well as the 57th “Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic” overall. It is available now exclusively on Marvel Unlimited.
– Netflix released a second trailer for Nimona, the animated film adaptation of ND Stevenson’s comic, giving us our first look at Eugene Lee Yang as the voice of main antagonist Ambrosius Goldenloin, and his (now explicitly) romantic past with our anti-heroine’s mentor, Ballister Blackheart (Riz Ahmed); plus, there’s a post-credits scene reminding us to like and subscribe. The movie drops June 30; in the meantime, you can also read a new interview with Stevenson and directors Troy Quane & Nick Bruno at Entertainment Weekly.
– Via Deadline, budget cuts for Superman & Lois season four means cast members Dylan Walsh (who plays General Sam Lane), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Lana Lang), Erik Valdez (Kyle Cushing), Inde Navarrette (Sarah Cortez), Wolé Parks (John Henry Irons), Tayler Buck (Natalie Irons) and Sofia Hasmik (Chrissy Beppo) will no longer be series regulars. They will instead guest star/recur, “subject to interest on their part and availability.” In contrast, Lex Luthor actor Michael Cudlitz has been promoted to a regular for the next season. The CW renewed the show earlier this week, albeit only ordering 10 episodes, the shortest number so far.
– With no end to the WGA strike in sight, production on Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again and Max’s Penguin series has been halted indefinitely. Both shows were set to debut next year, although when exactly is now in question as a result of filming being paused. Penguin star Colin Farrell himself recently joined a WGA picket line, stating “Writers are everything to us,” and that “the staredown going on is so fucking boring,” as well as “a testament to the arrogance of those at the top that these people are now out of work and can’t because they are doing the right thing.”
– Finally, the #ComicsBrokeMe hashtag saw allegations emerge that crowdfunding-based publisher Iron Circus Comics has been failing to pay workers. While owner Spike Trotman and former editor Andrea Purcell disputed over the exact circumstances of the latter’s departure from the company, Diana Nock, Dechanique (who’s been sharing their experiences for the past year) and Amanda Lafrenais also described Iron Circus as having problems with payment and communication. On a similar note, Zac Thompson disclosed that AfterShock took a $90,000 option on a comic he wrote for them, using “carefully hidden” fine print to do so. “We had to fight for two years to even see the paperwork and at that point the money was long gone,” he says.
