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.
Please be aware that some of the following stories mention sexual assault.
– In news we missed from May because it wasn’t reported in English, French cartoonist Jérôme Mulot has ended his collaboration with Florent Ruppert after the latter was accused of sexual misconduct. A report by newspaper Mediapart revealed Ruppert, 43, had been accused by several women of acts ranging from harassment and manipulation (similar to Warren Ellis’s behavior) to rape, prompting two criminal complaints in 2021. While police closed their investigation without pressing charges, Ruppert was banned from the workshop he worked at the following year.
Mulot responded on Instagram that he believed the allegations, and would no longer work with Ruppert. In the report, Mulot noted Ruppert would irritate him by boasting about his relationships, but was unaware of any worse behavior. The pair had worked together on several acclaimed comics like “The Extraordinary Part” and “The Grande Odalisque,” the latter of which was created with Bastien Vivès, who was similarly investigated last year over allegations that some of his work constituted child pornography. A film based on “Odalisque,” Voleuses (Thieves), directed by and starring Mélanie Laurent, is set to be released on Netflix on November 1.
– In lighter news, 2000 AD announced a new reprint of Pat Mills and the late Kevin O’Neill’s sci-fi classic, “Nemesis the Warlock Definitive Edition.” The five-volume collection will begin releasing on December 5. The comic, which ran from 1980 to 1999, followed the alien warlock Nemesis in his battle against the human dictator Torquemada, who sought to purge all alien life in the galaxy. The first volume will arrive 13 months after O’Neill died unexpectedly from a long, undisclosed illness, aged only 69.
– Tokyopop imprint Noir Caesar announced at Anime Expo that they will publish a graphic novel based on Osamu Tezuka’s manga “Alabaster.” Published in 1970, “Alabaster” was an Invisible Man reimagining following a disgraced Black athlete, who seeks revenge on society after his skin was rendered transparent by an experimental laser. Few details were given on the project, although Noir Caesar said their take will recontextualize the story during the African American civil rights movement in the 1970s.
Founded by basketball player Johnny O’Bryant III in 2017, Noir Caesar specializes in manga-inspired comics by BIPOC creators, and entered into a distribution agreement with Tokyopop earlier this year; their first direct market releases, “XOGenaSYS” and “Primus 7,” will hit comic book stores on July 26. The company also produces anime-inspired short films, and announced they are working with Kodansha on developing a live-action take on Akira Hiramoto’s “Me and the Devil Blues,” a manga about a young man from 1920s Mississippi, who literally sells his soul to become a great blues player.
– Last month, Canada’s Walrus magazine published a strip by Jillian Tamaki called “Life Lessons from Superman.” The comic offers a reflection on Tamaki’s relationship with her hometown of Calgary, Alberta, where Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies were shot. Among other topics, she contemplates the city’s past and future, her favorite moments from the movies, and her father’s own brush with film stardom, before concluding with an amusing realization about the Superman film with the location she recognizes the most.
– Skybound teased a crossover between “The Walking Dead” and zombie video game Dying Light 2: Stay Human, revealing an image of game character Vincenzo by “Walking Dead” artist Charlie Adlard. More details on the crossover, which is presumably a DLC based on the teaser’s promise fans will “survive, scavenge, and slay the undead like never before,” will be revealed at a later date. Dying Light 2, a game by Polish publisher Techland, was released early last year, and has so far had one DLC expansion.
– Finally, Smallville actress Allison Mack was released from prison earlier than expected on Monday, July 3. Mack, 40, had been sentenced to three years in 2021 for her role in NXIVM, a cult founded by Keith Raniere (who is currently serving a 120-year sentence), procuring women for him to groom and sexually abuse under the guise of a self-help guru. She had been given the already lenient sentence for cooperating with the authorities, expressing remorse for her crimes, and pleading guilty to racketeering. Having been incarcerated in September 2021, she ultimately only spent 21 months in prison.
