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, DC announced Jock’s Black Label miniseries “Batman: One Dark Knight.” We also have exclusive previews of “Savage Avengers” #23, and the upcoming artbook The Art of AMC’s The Walking Dead Universe.
– The underground comic “The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers” by cartoonists Gilbert Shelton, Dave Sheridan, and Paul Mavrides will receive a new four-volume complete collection, timed with the release of a new animated series. Via SlashFilm, Fantagraphics will release the madcap stoner series, beginning with the first volume “The Idiots Abroad and Other Follies.” The classic comic, which debuted in 1968 and was named by The Comics Journal as one of the 100 Greatest Comics of the Century, follows the brothers Freewheelin’ Franklin, Phineas, and Fat Freddy through a series of madcap globe-trotting adventures. The animated series The Freak Brothers, which was announced back in 2019, has landed a star-studded cast including Woody Harrelson, Pete Davidson, Tiffany Haddish, John Goodman, Adam Devine, Blake Anderson, and Andrea Savage. Lionsgate TV is producing the project, which does not yet have a set network or premiere date. In the meantime, “The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: The Idiots Abroad and Other Follies” hits shelves in January 2022.
– DC Comics is teaming up with Walmart for a My First Comic program. The program will debut at 500 Walmart locations across North America and on Walmart.com, and consist of 48-page 2-in-1 flipbooks. “My First Comic – Batman” will be the debut comic in the line, and will feature reprints from DC’s “Batman Adventures” series. Also coming from the line is “My First Comic – Space Jam: A New Legacy,” a tie-in to the recent Warner Bros. film that will have three original stories featuring the Looney Tunes. The flipbook will also feature a preview of the “Space Jam: A New Legacy” graphic novel adaptation. The books will arrive at participating Walmart stores on August 3.
– Dark Horse Comics will be releasing an English-language translation of the manga series “Cat + Gamer” (“Neko Gurashi no Gamer-san”) by Wataru Nadatani. Via Anime News Network, the translation will be done by Zack Davisson. Dark Horse describes the story as following Riko, a “twenty-nine-year-old office worker with an obsession with video games… That is until a stray cat is found in the office parking lot and ends up coming home with her! Having no experience with pets, Riko uses lessons drawn from video games to guide her in cat care, while her cute companion tries to understand her behavior through a cat’s worldview.” The manga debuted in the magazine Shōnen Sunday S in November 2018. The new translation will be coming to comic shops on March 2, 2022, with bookstores following on March 15.
– Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is suing the Walt Disney Company for breach of contract over the company’s decision to make Black Widow available on the Disney+ streaming service at the same time as its theatrical release. Via The Wall Street Journal, her suit alleges that her contract guarantees an exclusive theatrical release, with her salary being based in part on the box office performance of the film. The lawsuit marks the first legal filing in an ongoing struggle between Hollywood studios, who have been increasingly emphasizing their streaming content, and the talent, who often have deals similar to Johansson’s that produce higher payouts for higher theatrical box office numbers. When Warner Bros. made a similar move to make all of their 2021 releases available on HBO Max day-and-date with their theatrical release, they reportedly paid out more than $200 million in contract renegotiations with those films’ stars, producers, and directors. Scarlett Johansson is one of the highest profile stars to be affected by the streaming shift; thanks in large part to her appearances in Marvel films, Johansson is the highest-grossing female star of all time, with her films grossing a combined $14.29 billion at the box office.
– Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall are set to leave the show in 2022. The pair will depart from the storied franchise in a trio of specials that will be a part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations. A six-part event serial will kick off this fall, followed by two specials in 2022 and a final, feature-length send-off in the fall of 2022. Both Whittaker and Chibnall joined the series in 2018 following the departure of longtime showrunner Steven Moffat and previous star Peter Capaldi. Whittaker has appeared as the Thirteenth Doctor in two series of the show since then, with this combination of events and specials marking her final stretch as the character. Series 13 of the revival series will premiere sometime later this year.
Continued below– J.K. Simmons is in talks to return as Commissioner Gordon for DC Films’ planned Batgirl movie. Via The Hollywood Reporter, the signing would place Batgirl in line with the Zack Snyder side of the DC franchise, as Simmons appeared in the role in the 2017 Justice League, as well as in additional material shot for the infamous Zack Snyder’s Justice League, aka the Snyder Cut. The Matt Reeves-shot The Batman features a different prestige actor as the commissioner, with Jeffery Wright stepping into the role for the upcoming film. Batgirl, meanwhile, will be directed by the Bad Boys for Life team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a script by The Flash and Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson. The film, starring In the Heights‘ Leslie Grace, is currently planned for a 2022 release on HBO Max.
– Netflix has confirmed that Sweet Tooth will be returning for a second season. Entertainment Weekly reports that the streaming platform sent mysterious packages out to a selection of media personalities and influencers with instructions not to open them until yesterday, July 29. Upon opening the box, they were greeted with a giant chocolate bar and a note announcing the series’ return. Based on the comics by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth follows a half-deer child named Gus who befriends a loner named Jepperd, and traverses what’s left of a post-apocalyptic America. No timetable for the second season has been announced.
– The TNT adaptation of an adaptation Snowpiercer will keep chugging along for a fourth season. Variety reports that the renewal comes ahead of the premiere of the show’s third season, which only recently wrapped production and has not yet set a premiere date; season 2 of the show premiered in January and finished at the end of March. Based on the comic “Le Transperceneige” by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette as well as the 2013 adaptation Snowpiercer from director Bong Joon-ho, the show follows an ensemble of passengers, commanders, and revolutionaries on a rigidly disenfranchised train hurtling through a frozen, post-apocalyptic wasteland in the year 2026.
– An early look at the upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye shows the meeting of the two titular heroes. Via Entertainment Weekly, the image features Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) standing in what looks like a basement gym with a large target. As expected, Hawkeye seems to be taking inspiration from the Matt Fraction and David Aja “Hawkeye” series that ran from 2012-2015, and featured both Barton and Bishop fighting side by side. Hawkeye premieres on November 24 on Disney+.
– Finally, Marvel and Square Enix have now provided a firm date for the release of the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers expansion Black Panther – War for Wakanda. Per the official site, the expansion will make Black Panther the third new playable character added to the game since its release, following Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. Further details for the expansion will be made available during a Marvel’s Avengers War Table stream on August 16 at 10 am PDT. The expansion itself will be come to the game as a free update on August 17. Marvel’s Avengers is currently free-to-play this weekend, for all curious newcomers on PlayStation, PC, and Stadia: you can read our review of the original campaign here.
