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.
– Image imprint Top Cow announced a second volume of “Syphon,” the 2021 fantasy noir comic created by writers Mohsen Ashraf — Patrick Meaney, and artist Jeff Edwards. It will see protagonist Sylas — an empath capable of siphoning pain away from others — embark on an expedition to the Amazon with scientist and trauma researcher Livia to uncover the origins of his powers. Ashraf will return for the new four-issue arc, this time joined by co-writer Arish Akanda and artist Thomas Hedglen (“Prophet: Remastered”). Like Ashraf, Akanda is a newcomer to comics whose background is in business. Issue #1 will be released on November 15.
– Drawn & Quarterly will publish “Declaration Illustrated,” a comedic take on the Declaration of Independence by R. Sikoryak (“Constitution Illustrated,” “The Unquotable Trump”). The book, due out Spring 2024, will present “the unabridged text of the Declaration, rendered in the bright, bold, and iconic styles of over 60 different American comics, cartoons, and graphic novels from over a century.” Head to the link to check out artwork of Superman as George Washington, and Marvel’s Invaders in Revolutionary garb.
– Fantagraphics revealed their Winter 2024 slate. As well as Emil Ferris’s “My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two,” new titles will include “How War Begins: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Invasion” by Igort, Manuele Fior’s dual timeline romance “Hypericum,” and Rick Altergott’s first full-length graphic novel, “Blessed Be.” Reprints will include “The Complete Web of Horror,” collecting the horror magazine from 1969, and Eleanor Davis’s memoir “You & a Bike & a Road,” originally released by Koyama Press in 2017. Head to the link for more on each book.
– Marvel Studios released the trailer for Loki season two, which finds the God of Mischief slipping between the past and future, and Owen Wilson’s Mobius seeking the help of Ke Huy Quan’s TVA repairman O.B. to figure out what’s going on. Along the way, we see variants of Sylvie, Hunter B-15, Ravonna Renslayer, Miss Minutes, and Kang the Conqueror (Victor Timely), plus Rafael Casal’s unnamed new character, and… Loki and Mobius eating at a pie cafe. The new season, also featuring Eugene Cordero, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, and Neil Ellice, premieres on Disney+ October 6.
– Titan Books announced Doctor Strange: Dimension War, a prose novel by James Lovegrove (The Age of Odin). The book will revisit Strange’s earliest adventures in the “Strange Tales” run, including his first encounters with Nightmare, Clea, Dormammu, Eternity, and the Living Tribunal. Lovegrove says, “My take on the early adventures of the Master of the Mystic Arts removes some of the original’s more outdated tropes, throws in a dash of Benedict Cumberbatch, and a pinch of wider Marvel lore.” It will be released on March 26, 2024.
– Finally, actor Paul Reubens died on Sunday, July 30, his estate announced. Reubens, 70, had been privately battling cancer since 2017. Best known for his childlike alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, whom he played on stage, in film and TV, Reubens also appeared as the Penguin’s father in Batman Returns (which reunited him with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure director Tim Burton) and Gotham, plus Mystery Men (as the Spleen), Batman: The Brave and the Bold as Bat-Mite, and Legends of Tomorrow (voicing Mike the Spike.) In his farewell message, Reubens asked for any donations to be made in memory of his late parents to Stand Up to Cancer, or organizations helping dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. He is survived by two siblings, Abby and Luke Rubenfeld.
