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, we have exclusive previews of “Empyre: Avengers” #1 and “Billionaire Island” #3. Also, AfterShock announced “Shadow Doctor,” comiXology will release “Crema,” AHOY announced “The Wrong Earth: Night & Day,” and “American Vampire 1976” will mark the end of the decades-spanning horror series. Plus, Netflix is adapting “Usagi Yojimbo” as an animated series.
— DC announced a new “Batman: White Knight” spinoff series titled “Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn.” The six-issue miniseries is written by Katana Collins with art by Matteo Scalera and Dave Stewart, and takes place two years after “Curse of the White Knight.” According to a press release, “Azrael has wiped out criminals in Gotham, Jack Napier (formerly The Joker) is dead, Bruce Wayne (Batman) is in prison, and Harley Quinn is adjusting to life as a single mother, raising the twins she had with Jack. But as new villains arise, Harley is forced to dance with madness once again and confront her own past with The Joker and Batman, while helping the Gotham City police and an eager young FBI agent uncover the truth behind a series of gruesome murders.” It debuts on October 20, 2020.
— Archie Comics announced “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Presents: Madam Satan” #1, a new spinoff one-shot set to release on October 21. It will be written by Eliot Rahal and feature the art team of Julius Ohta, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. The story follows Madam Satan as she sets out to prove she’s the most powerful being in the Underworld.
— BOOM! tweeted out the the creative team for the previously announced “Dune: House Atreides.” The comic series will be written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson with art by Devmalya Pramanik and coloring by Alex Guimarães. BOOM! also shared a first look at the variant cover for issue #1 by Dan Mora.
— Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell has struck a deal to write two graphic memoirs exploring racism and his personal background. The first, titled “The Talk,” is set to publish next year, and will explore the conversation Black parents have with their children about racism, and the brutality that can accompany it. The second book, “Come Back Around To You,” tells the story of Bell’s discovery of art and his relationship with his grandfather, a direct descendent of slaves, as well as his complicated relationship with his father.
— Amazon has been quietly delisting several manga and light novels from its Kindle platform, according to an investigation by Crunchyroll. Publishers J-Novel Club and Yen Press spoke out about the move by Amazon/Kindle, noting that the company did not supply them with a reason for or clarification on the change. According to Yen Press’ Kurt Hassler, Amazon eventually informed the publisher that their books did not fall within Amazon’s global content guidelines. Interestingly enough, fans can still buy physical copies of the delisted books on Amazon. Digital copies are also still available on BOOK WALKER, NOOK, Google Books, Apple Books, Kobo, and many other outlets.
— Researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University and Magic Torch Comics will create two comic collections sharing Scotland’s rich history of social enterprise and community action. Dubbed The Common Good Comics Project, these will be shared at schools, online, and at national events. While work is already underway, the group is looking for more social enterprises and community groups to share their stories.
— AMC will broadcast Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar’s adaptation of “El Tesoro del Cisne Negro” (“The Treasure Of The Black Swan”) in the United States, Canada, UK, Latin America and the Caribbean. The series, based on the graphic novel by Paco Roca and Guillermo Corral, follows a young diplomat named Alex Ventura who, with the help of an American lawyer and a combative public official, works to recover stolen historic treasure from a man named Frank Wild.
— Finally, Noah Centineo (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before) is joining Dwayne Johnson in the Shazam! spinoff Black Adam. Centineo will play Atom Smasher, a character with the ability to control his molecular structure to manipulate his size and strength. Atom Smasher has previously made an onscreen appearance on The CW’s The Flash. It’s likely that more details will be revealed at DC Fandome, the virtual fan experience taking place on August 22.
