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, AfterShock announced the taboo-testing horror story “Party and Prey,” and Vault will tell the story of emotion-sensing monsters in “Human Remains.” Finally, Warren Ellis is attempting to return to comics with a revival of “Fell.”
– Writer Kieron Gillen and artist Dustin Weaver will examine the birth of Marvel’s Mad Titan in “Eternals: Thanos Rises.” The one-shot will depict the events surrounding the birth of the villain, including the Eternal civil war leading to it. Gillen called the book one of the more “epic, brutal and gleefully bleak issues” he has ever written. “And with Thanos at its heart,” he adds, “Would you expect anything else?” The one-shot goes on sale with a cover by regular “Eternals” artist Esad Ribic this September.
– In rights news, according to Publishers Weekly‘s Rights Report for June 21, 2021, an untitled graphic novel was part of Abrams’s deal for Alex Aster’s Lightlark novel; “Everyone Sux But You” by Lamda Award-winning cartoonist Kelsey Wroten was acquired by Holt, with a planned Winter 2024 release; and Wonderbound/Vault have picked up “Kenzie’s Kingdom,” written by Shea Fontana, with art by Agnes Garbowska, and colors from Sil Brys. That is scheduled for a Summer 2022 release. Also, Del Rey revealed that the print version of “Lore Olympus,” which was announced in March, will be released in three volumes over the next year, with the first hitting shelves this October.
– A third trailer for The Suicide Squad was released, along with an exclusive breakdown by director James Gunn at IGN. An unlisted version, introduced by actor Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), was “leaked” beforehand: in it, Courtney quips, “I don’t see anyone here who’s gonna care.” The trailer features original music from Grandson and Jessie Reyez, two of Gunn’s “favorites” featured in the film. The Suicide Squad premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6.
– Artist Lorina Mapa is adapting Jim Agapito’s CBC podcast and radio show Recovering Filipino into a webcomic of the same name. The radio series (and now comic) follows Agapito as he endeavors to understand his heritage in the hopes that he would make his lola (grandmother) proud after she calls him a “bad Filipino.” The first comic was published on the CBC website, with the second and third available on June 29 and July 6.
– Lucifer and Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. star Aimee Garcia will play Laura Salgado, Silicon Valley venture capitalist in season two of Hulu’s Woke. Based on the comic from Keith Knight, the series follows a cartoonist navigating a new sense of social awareness after becoming the victim of police violence. Salgado will express interest in working with him in the new season.
– Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is now available on Funamation, the anime streaming service tweeted yesterday (with a few “It’s heres”). Subscribers can watch the record-breaking anime hit online on Funamation’s website.
– Writer/artist Tim Probert revealed the cover for “Lightfall Book Two – Shadow of the Bird” on his Instagram. “Bea and Cad are still in over their heads,” he says of the upcoming book. “And that hole is only getting deeper.” Probert goes on to promise “more adventures, mysteries and serpentine spirits to come!” The first book in the series, “Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian,” was released by HarperCollins last year.
– Pencil company Blackwing has introduced a pencil specifically for drawing comics. The Blackwing 64 (64 being a reference to comic printing’s original 64-color palette), features a firmer graphite better suited for the fine line work necessary to comic art. Artist Mike Hawthorne demonstrated the new pencil in a promotional video on the company’s YouTube.
– Mad Cave has announced the Mad Cave Studios Showcase 3.0. The event, streaming on the publisher’s Twitch, will feature interviews with creators and news from the company’s upcoming YA imprint (Maverick) and horror anthology. It will also announce the launch of the fourth annual talent search, the winners of which be announced in Mad Cave Studios 4.0 this October. Mad Cave Studio 3.0 will premiere on July 10th, 2021 at 12:00pm EST/9:00am PST, and will be hosted by Transmissions From the Cave host Jazzlyn Stone. The talent search deadline will be September 1, 2021.
– Finally, “the battle on Earth is no longer just between Autobots and Decepticons,” the official Transformers account tweeted, as the seventh entry in the movie franchise was revealed to be Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. As the title suggests, Rise of the Beasts will pull from the fan favorite Beast Wars spin-off, though the plot will be set in 1994 and feature series mainstays Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. Rise of the Beasts is currently filming and is set for release on June 24, 2022. You can read a full breakdown of Paramount’s virtual announcement, including the movie’s take on the characters that will be featured, here.
