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, Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp are launching a new series on Substack later this month, titled “Eden’s End.”
– IDW Publishing’s “Metal Gear Solid” comics are making a comeback of sorts. Preorders for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, a rerelease of the first three games in the series, went live this week, and showed it will include “Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel,” and “Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel.” The interactive versions of the comics, which retold the events of the two games, were originally released on DVD and the PlayStation Portable in the late 2000s. The comics themselves were released in 2004 and 2006, and were scripted respectively by Kris Oprisko and Alex Garner, with art by Ashley Wood. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 24.
– Allied Market Research ran a report last week on the global comic book market, telling investors to expect the industry to grow from a current value of $15.5 billion to $26.9 billion by 2032. The report states you should expect physical comics, children’s comics, comic book stores, and East Asian publishers to maintain their dominance, and lead market players to consist of Square Enix (which owns Gangan Comics), Disney (Marvel), Titan, Shogakukan (Shueisha), South Korea’s Daewon Media, Archie, Warner Bros. Discovery (DC), Kodansha, India’s ACK (Amar Chitra Katha), and Embracer Group (Dark Horse).
– N.D. Stevenson shared that the backstory created for the Nimona movie originated with him. Spoilers follow: Stevenson told Polygon that the history between Nimona and the legendary knight Gloreth “was a seed of an idea I had with the comic that didn’t really fit in the comic itself,” which he eventually shared with the filmmakers. “I was just so happy to see that represented, and so pleased with the angle they found into that story,” he says. Previously, way back in 2014, all Stevenson confirmed on the subject of Nimona’s past was that they were “not a descendant of Gloreth.” Nimona is now streaming on Netflix, and you can read our review here.
– Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny grossed an estimated $82 million during its five-day holiday opening weekend. While a respectable haul for a sequel from a dormant series aimed at an ageing fanbase, it indicates the film, which cost $295 million to produce, will not break even at the box office. The movie, which was delayed a year during shooting, was partly hobbled by a mixed reception at Cannes, where it premiered over a month before its release. It grossed an additional $70 million overseas, bringing it so far to a worldwide total of $152 million, though still a far cry from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull‘s $100 million domestic opening weekend in 2008; the latest movie particularly bombed in China, where the previous films were never legally released.
In the meantime, director James Mangold shed light on some of the film’s creative decisions. Again, spoilers follow: when asked by Variety about the decision to reveal Indy’s son Mutt Williams died in Vietnam, Mangold responded it had nothing to do with actor Shia LaBeouf, but because “You were either going to make a movie all about the two of them, or you’re going to have to find a way to not have [Mutt] around, because he was too significant a player in the previous film to just pretend he didn’t exist. I didn’t think his whole thing worked that well in the previous film. I just went towards something else because it was what was more interesting to me.” For more from Mangold on conceiving Indy’s final character arc, head to the link.
– John Patrick Green’s children’s OGN series “InvestiGators” could be making the leap to toy, stationery, and clothing stores. Per Publishers Weekly, toy company MerryMakers unveiled merchandise and more of the series at this year’s Licensing Expo, to a warm reception from potential licensees. The comics, launched at Macmillan’s First Second imprint in 2020, follow Mango and Brash, a pair of alligators and agents of S.U.I.T., who solves mysteries and battle villains in the sewers. Six books have been released so far, plus a spin-off, “Agents of S.U.I.T.,” with a seventh main entry, the pirate-themed “InvestiGators: All Tide Up,” set for release this fall.
– Finally, “Beastars” creator Paru Itagaki and Italian rock band Måneskin teamed up on the music video for the track “Timezone” last month. The video features motion comic versions of panels from Itagaki’s manga, while the thumbnail features her portrayal of the characters hanging out with the band. Itagaki commented, “I was deeply moved and grateful to see the works from my hammering-away days flowing one after another over Måneskin’s music. I hope everyone enjoys the video.” You can watch the video here. The collaboration dropped shortly before the announcement that the third and final season of the Beastars anime would be released on Netflix sometime next year.
