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.
– “Light Carries On,” an original graphic novel by Ray Nadine, will debut in March 2023, Dark Horse Comics revealed. “Light Carries On” follows Leon, a man trying to start his career as a photographer following his time in the military and after breaking up with his boyfriend, as his life becomes entangled with the ghost of a “a queer punk rocker [called Cody] who died decades ago.” Leon first sees Cody when he takes a photo with a camera from his mom’s antique store, as Cody was the previous owner of the camera, and together they set out to find out the truth behind Cody’s death. Nadine described the graphic novel as an “open love letter to the city of Chicago, to the thought that we’re not alone in our struggles, and to being unapologetically queer.”
– “New Mutants” #31 will mark the start of a continuation of the transgender mutant Escapade’s story, which began in this year’s “Marvel’s Voices: Pride.” Writer Charlie Jane Anders and artist Alberto Alburquerque will take over “New Mutants” for three issues, and chronicle Escapade moving to Krakoa to try to learn to control her “swap” abilities, and to hopefully get the X-Men to prevent the death of her best friend. Ro Stein & Ted Brandt, Escapade’s co-creators, will also be a part of the three-issue run, with as-yet-unspecified comic strips by the duo set to feature in the issues. “New Mutants” #31 is scheduled for release on October 26. You can check out the issue’s cover, by Rafael de Latorre, here.
– Publishers Weekly reported on two graphic novel deals this week. The first was First Second’s acquiring of “Love, Misha” by Jam Aden. The graphic novel will be aimed at a YA audience, and follow a non-binary teen and their mother finding themselves stuck in the Realm of the Spirits after their road trip goes wrong. PW reported that the graphic novel was pitched as “A Goofy Movie meets Spirited Away.” The second was Henry Holt’s acquisition of the middle grade-aimed “Magus Minor,” by writer Deniz Camp and artist Naomi Franquiz. A ten-year-old named Ekua will be the lead of “Magus Minor,” and readers will follow her as she learns to control her powers as an apprentice of “the world’s most powerful wizard and protector of Earth.” “Love, Misha” is currently set to arrive in Spring 2025, with “Magus Minor” following in Winter 2025.
– Shira Haas and Stephen Graham have joined the cast of Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the crime comic, “Bodies,” by Si Spencer, Dean Ormston, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick, and Tula Lotay. Haas is set to portray DC Maplewood, whilst Graham will be portraying Elias Mannix. “Bodies” is set in London across four different time periods (the 1890s, the 1940s, 2014, and 2050), and follows a detective investigating the circumstances surrounding a single dead body in each period. Haas and Graham join the already confirmed cast members Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Kyle Soller, and Amaka Okafor. Bodies does not currently have a release date.
– THR reported that Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) is set to take up the directorial reigns of Captain America 4. Details about the film’s story and cast are not known at this point, with the exception of Anthony Mackie returning as Sam Wilson, albeit this time taking up the titular mantle instead of Falcon after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Two writers from the show, Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, the creator/head writer and a staff writer respectively, are writing the film’s script. A release date for Captain America 4 has yet to be revealed.
– Finally, Playmates have announced a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure line called the Upside Down Remix, which will pair the turtles with characters from Netflix’s Stranger Things. The figures come in pairs with a character from each property, and the characters will be sold as follows: Leonardo/Eleven, Raphael/Hopper, Donatello/Dustin, and Michelangelo/Lucas. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has its origins in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comic book of the same name. The Upside Down Remix will be available exclusively at Target, though specific release dates for the sets are not listed on their website.
