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.
– Marvel announced a new “Werewolf by Night” one-shot, written by Derek Landy (“All-Out Avengers”) with art by Fran Galán (“Black Panther Legends”). Like last year’s Disney+ special, the oversized comic will see Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone set out to prevent a young girl from being sacrificed by a group of monsters, provided “they [can] put their differences aside long enough.” Parts of the book will be in black-and-white, “reflecting the pair’s conflicting moods and unique hunting techniques.” It will be released shortly before Halloween on September 13.
– Speaking of monsters, Dark Horse announced “Monster Crush,” a supernatural LGBTQIA+ romance by writer, artist, colorist, and Twitch streamer Ellie Franey (‘Gender Turbulence’). The 272-page book follows Ruby Reid, a high schooler who falls in love with new student Ella Mooney, a girl capable of growing “fangs and a tail.” But “it’s not just Ruby who is interested in the new girl; the pair find themselves on the run from a mysterious group that wants to capture Ella and her whole family!” It will be released in bookstores on March 12, 2024, and comic book stores the following day.
– Humanoids will publish “Majnun and Layla: Songs from Beyond the Grave,” an adaptation of Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th century Persian poem. Written and illustrated by Yann Damezin, and translated by Thomas Harrison and Aqsa Ijaz, the French graphic novel retells the tragic story of Layla and her lover Qays, whose attempts to woo her earned him the nickname Majnun (Arabic: “The Madman”), and caused her father to reject him as a suitor. The book previously won France’s Prix Orange de la Bande Dessinée (organized by the Orange Foundation and the state’s National Book Centre, but decided by readers) earlier this year. It will be released in November.
– Jeet Zdung has won the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (formerly the Kate Greenaway Medal) for “Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear.” The book, written with Trang Nguyen and published by Dial Books in 2021, follows a young Vietnamese girl who becomes a conservationist. It marks the second graphic novel in a row to win the award (given annually by the British Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals to the best illustrated children’s book of the year), following Danica Novgorodoff’s adaptation of Jason Reynolds’s book Long Way Down. You can check out the full announcement here. The book’s win transpired ahead of the release of the sequel, “Saving H’non: Chang and the Elephant,” due out October 3.
– The first episode of Disney+’s Secret Invasion caused controversy after it was revealed A.I. was used to create the show’s opening credits. Jeff Simpson, a concept artist who worked on the show, tweeted he “devastated” to learn this, stating “I believe A.I. to be unethical, dangerous, and designed solely to eliminate artists’ careers.” Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse co-director Justin K. Thompson said it “spits in the face of every real artist whose work is the actual foundation of Marvel’s and Disney’s success,” while others like storyboard artist Jon Lam said they would boycott the show. Method Studios, the VFX company behind the sequence, eventually responded, “A.I. is just one tool among the array of toolsets our artists used. No artists’ jobs were replaced by incorporating these new tools.”
– In more positive Disney+ news, American Born Chinese is getting a wider push. The first episode has been made available on YouTube until July 23, and will air on ABC on Saturday, June 24 at 8/7c. The first three episodes will also be made available on Hulu and Roku on Monday, June 26, until Sunday, July 9, and Monday, July 10 respectively. The first season, loosely based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, premiered in its entirety on Disney+ last month to critical acclaim; you can catch up with our weekly look at the series so far here.
– Sony’s El Muerto movie, starring Bad Bunny as the mystical luchador who only appeared twice in the Spider-Man comics, has been delayed indefinitely as a result of the WGA strike. The film, directed by Jonás Cuarón, was set for release on January 12, 2024. While breaking the news, The Hollywood Reporter shared Mercedes Varnado (aka Sasha Banks) was in talks for an unnamed role, and Marvin “Krondon” Jones III was set to play crime lord Tombstone, a character he previously voiced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Regardless, Sony’s 2024 Spider-Man plans remain crowded, with Madame Web, Beyond the Spider-Verse, and Venom 3 due out respectively on February 16, March 29, and sometime in October.
– Blake Northcott was appointed editor-in-chief of Massive Publishing this week. The publisher, founded last year, encompasses Whatnot Publishing, Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio’s imprint Overlook, and Kingwood Comics, and is distributor for Sumerian Comics’ titles. Northcott previously worked at Millarworld, and her writing credits include “Catwoman” and “Vampirella,” as well as the prose novels Arena Mode and The North Valley Grimoire, the latter of which was turned into a comic book at Whatnot earlier this year. Head to the link for statements from Northcott and Massive, as well as a fuller look at her career.
– Finally, Manta announced a third season of the webcomic “Under the Oak Tree” will start on July 21. The comic, adapted from Kim Suji’s novel by Namu and Seomal, tells the story of Lady Maximilian, a noblewoman with a stutter, whose husband, Sir Riftan, went to war shortly after they got married. After three years, he returns, finally giving them the opportunity to get to know each other. However, “at the end of season 2, Maximilian gained a new rival for Riftan’s affection, and readers can look forward to even more drama and adventure in the new season.”
