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.
– Publishers Weekly has the details on three graphic novel deals this week. First up, Atheneum acquired the graphic novel biography “Enlightened” by Sachi Ediriweera, which dramatizes the early life of Siddhartha Gautama, the prince who left his sheltered life of luxury to become the Buddha. Publication is set for 2023. Second, Henny Holt has purchased “Maelstrom,” the graphic novel debut of creator Lora Merriman, as well as Merriman’s as-yet-untitled follow-up graphic novel. “Maelstrom” follows a ragtag group of rebels, led by the prophesized Hero of Virtue, who improbably teams up with Maelstrom, the demon son of the evil necromancer queen, in a quest to take her down — that is, unless Maelstrom decides to betray them first. The two OGNs will hit shelves in 2024 and 2026. Finally, Blue Bronco Books picked up “Unicons,” a middle-grade graphic novel from former Smallville writing duo Daniel Sulzberg and Neil Sadhu. “Unicons” follows two horses traveling beyond the pasture, disguised as unicorns, as they attend a unicorn-only school. The book is scheduled for release in April 2024.
– The global charity project Rewriting Extinction aims to create and collect stories to save as many species from extinction as possible, and they’re launching with a new comic from Kieron Gillen and Sean Phillips. The comic “Melody” comes from a story developed by actress and model Cara Delevingne and activist Cristabel Reed from Eco Revolution, and you can currently read it on the organization’s website and social media accounts. The year-long project brings together more than 300 collaborators, including artists, writers, scientists, experts, activists, and comedians. Among the listed contributors are Alan Moore, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Chiang, Gerry Duggan, Jeff Lemire, Juni Ba, Marguerite Bennett, Ram V, Rafael Albuquerque, Robert Kirkman, Sarah Graley, Si Spurrier, Taika Waititi, Tate Bromball, and Zoe Thorogood among others, as well as popular webcomics such as Extrafabulous Comics, War and Peas, and Things in Squares.
– Veteran editor Jamie S. Rich has jumped over to Tapas Media as their new editor-in-chief. Via The Hollywood Reporter, Rich joins the digital comics publisher after a stint at DC Comics, where he edited such titles as Tom King and Mitch Gerads’s “Sheriff of Babylon” and “Mister Miracle,” as well as Gerard Way’s imprint Young Animal. Rich entered the industry at Dark Horse in 1994 before joining Oni Press, where he served as editor-in-chief, in 1998. The hiring comes as Tapas continues making moves to focus on more original content, launching the division Studio Tapas to produce original webcomics and novels, as well as to prime their new works for adaptation into other media. Rich starts his new gig on June 21.
– Following the successful launch of the new series Loki, Disney+ has made a move to have all their shows follow its example. Via The Hollywood Reporter, beginning in July all Disney+ series are moving their release dates from Fridays to Wednesdays. The change will affect their upcoming original series, while original movies will still release on Fridays. Interestingly, this means that Disney+ series will no longer have to compete with streamers like Netflix, who typically release their shows on a binge model on Fridays.
– A new teaser trailer for season 2 of Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard has offered a first look at the return of Q (John de Lancie). Via The Hollywood Reporter, the trailer also teases more trouble with the Borg, as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) wakes to find a variation of the Borg logo in her room. This season will feature a time travel plotline, which is hinted at by Q in the trailer through his line welcoming Picard to “the very end of the road not taken.” Patrick Stewart leads the returning cast including Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera and Orla Brady. Star Trek: Picard season 2 will debut in 2022.
– The convention CXC is launching a new award honoring supporters of the comics field. Via ICv2, the 7th annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus will award the inaugural Tom Spurgeon Award to an individual from a pool of retailers, distributors, journalists, editors, publishers, and others who have moved comics forward. This year’s convention will feature a combination of online-only events and in-person events, some of which will be broadcast online. CXC 2021 will take place from September 30 to October 3, nearly two years after Tom Spurgeon — a prominent comics journalist — passed away at the age of 50.
Continued below– Marvel has announced when their first ever full-length series aimed at preschoolers will debut. Via CBR, Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends will premiere on Disney Junior on Monday, June 21. Featuring the voices of Benjamin Valic as Peter Parker, Lily Sanfelippo as Gwen Stacy, and Jakari Fraser as Miles Morales, the show follows Peter, Gwen, and Miles on their adventures teaming up with Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Black Panther to defeat foes like Rhino, Doc Ock and Green Goblin, while learning that teamwork is the best way to save the day.
– Following last weekend’s E3 announcement of a new Square Enix Guardians of the Galaxy game, Marvel has unveiled a new prequel novel and a new artbook to accompany the game’s release. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – The Art of the Game will capture “the epic journey behind the scenes” of the upcoming game, featuring testimonies and stories from the game’s artists and developers alongside concept artwork. In addition, the prequel Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – No Guts, No Glory, written by M.K. England, follows the team when they’re hired to “gently escort” a squatter from an old Resistance base. Both books are available for pre-orders today ahead of a November 2 release, while Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy goes live on October 26.
– Artist Ty Templeton has revealed that he must depart the comic “Batman: The Adventures Continue” due to his diagnosis with stage-3 colorectal cancer. Via CBR, Templeton put a clever, heartfelt spin on the sad news by delivering it via his comic strip “Bun Toons” on his blog. The strip features his bunny avatar breaking the news via a monologue while saying that he thinks it would be a bad decision to deliver the news via cartoon ie. “I think it would be weird to use the bunny to talk about cancer.” We’re glad he managed to find the humor in his story, and we wish him the best on his path to recovery.
