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, the “Afterlift” team of Chip Zdarsky & Jason Loo are reteaming for “The All-Nighter” at comiXology, Marvel has announced “Luke Cage: City on Fire,” and AfterShock have announced “AfterDark,” a one-shot horror anthology. We also have an exclusive preview of “Fantastic Four” #34.
– AWA has announced “Out,” a World War II-set horror comic. Via Bloody Disgusting, the five-issue miniseries finds a group of Allied POWs facing off with a vampire unleashed on them by the Nazis. The book comes from writer Rob Williams, with art from Will Conrad and colors by Marco Lesko. Williams told Bloody Disgusting the story was The Great Escape with a vampire added into the mix. The book will also feature a unique protagonist in Nocona, a gay Comanche code talker who tries to use his aptitude with language to find a way to communicate with the vampire. “Out” #1 hits shelves on October 6.
– Speaking of the undead, Image Comics announced “Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog,” a spin-off of Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander’s “Killadelphia.” As elaborated on in Barnes’s blog, Barnes and Alexander will return with artist Patric Reynolds to tell the story of Jimmy Sangster’s ex-girlfriend, Baltimore-based adjunct professor of parapsychology Dawnita Hawes, and the ghost of her younger brother Jason, as they set up a website offering help for those struggling with the supernatural. The first arc will see Nita battling the demon Corson, which has possessed a blues singer seeking revenge on the producers who stole the rights to his music. The first issue will be released on October 20.
– Image also announced the new series “A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance” from Rick Remender, André Araújo, and Chris O’Halloran. The story follows an unassuming man who stumbles upon a dark-web contract assassin’s plot to kill an innocent target, billed by the publisher as Léon: The Professional meets Road to Perdition. “After years of wanting to work with André I couldn’t be more excited to get this into the world,” Remender said. “It’s a decompressed atmosphere story unlike anything we’ve ever done before and the exact type of methodical crime book I’ve always wanted to do.” “A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance” is due out October 13.
– Marvel have announced the new origin series “Black Panther Legends.” Via Syfy Wire, writer Tochi Onyebuchi and artist Setor Fiadzigbey are teaming up for the project, which promises to “explore the moments that made T’Challa who he is.” The book kicks off by telling the story of T’Challa and his adoptive older brother, Hunter, and later recounts T’Challa’s first encounter with Ororo Munroe (before she became known as Storm) and the arrival of the Fantastic Four. “Black Panther Legends” #1 is scheduled for October 13. We’ll have more on Marvel’s October solicitations in our Soliciting Multiversity column next week.
– IDW has a new Dungeons & Dragons series on the horizon. “Dungeons & Dragons: Mindbreaker” is the sixth entry in the publisher’s ongoing Baldur’s Gate saga, which began with “Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur’s Gate” back in 2014. Writer Jim Zub has been the writer for the saga since its inception, and he’s joined on the next volume by artist Eduardo Mello. The new five-issue series will tie into the upcoming video game Baldur’s Gate III, with adventurers Krydle, Shandie, Delina, Nerys, Minsc, and Boo returning from their adventures to discover something insidious has taken root in their homeland. Max Dunbar returns to provide covers for the series, with variants for issue #1 coming from Max Davenport and Celia Lowenthal. “Dungeons & Dragons: Mindbreaker” #1 comes out in October.
– An interview with writer/producer David S. Goyer at The Hollywood Reporter has been making waves across social media for a number of juicy details, but it also includes some details about past adaptations he had a hand in. The two biggest insights Goyer offers are that a connection between Man of Steel and The Dark Knight was never really discussed, and that he was the person pushing for Bridgerton breakout Regé-Jean Page to be cast as Superman’s grandfather in the Syfy prequel series Krypton. The latter adds a dimension to The Hollywood Reporter’s previous reporting that Page had been in contention for the role, only to be blocked by Geoff Johns, who was overseeing the project.
Continued below– The upcoming Hollywood feature film adaptation of the anime series Battle of the Planets has enlisted its screenwriter. Via Deadline, Daniel Casey (F9) has signed on to work with the Russo Brothers, who announced they were developing a franchise based on the property through their company AGBO back in 2019. The original series, also known as Gatchaman in Japan, followed five orphans who are trained from a young age to form an elite team (known as G-Force) to protect Earth and its allies from otherworldly forces. Casey’s screenplay is planned to be the launching point for a larger franchise that will span multiple media platforms.
– Deadline also reports James Patrick and Rem Broo’s AfterShock series “The Kaiju Score” is being adapted into a screenplay by Brightburn writers Brian and Mark Gunn. The movie, which is being developed with AfterShock Media at Sony Pictures, will follow four criminals attemping an art heist during a giant monster attack.
– The fan-favorite band RADWIMPS (Your Name, Weathering With You) is teaming up with the “One Piece” franchise for a series of short dramas. Via Anime News Network, the collection of five shorts titled We Are One! will launch on the official One Piece website and the franchise’s YouTube channel in celebration of the 100th volume of “One Piece,” and the anime adaptation’s 1000th episode. Mika Ninagawa (Helter Skelter) will helm the dramas, which will feature a combination of animation and live-action, and center on readers of the “One Piece” manga. RADWIMPS will perform the theme song for the videos. The theme song debuted on YouTube yesterday, while the video series will premiere August 30.
– Fans have been eagerly awaiting the new Netflix Sandman series, but a different adaptation of the Neil Gaiman comic is up to bat first. Via Variety, the premiere date for Audible’s The Sandman: Act II, the second season of their audio drama adaption, has been set. The new season will cover the fourth and fifth volumes of the comic, ‘Season of Mists’ and ‘A Game of You.’ The returning ensemble cast includes James McAvoy as Dream (aka Morpheus), as well as Kat Dennings (Death), Michael Sheen (Lucifer) and Andy Serkis (Matthew the Raven). The remainder of the cast is filled out by the likes of Jeffrey Wright, Regé-Jean Page, Brian Cox, Emma Corrin, John Lithgow, David Tennant, Bill Nighy, Kristen Schaal, Kevin Smith, Bebe Neuwirth, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Niamh Walsh, and Arthur Darvill. The Sandman: Act II premieres on Audible on September 22. In advance of the premiere, the first installment of the audio drama will be available free to download or stream from Audible until October 22.
