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 an exclusive preview of “Lowlifes” #3.
– Musician and freelance writer Jonathan Diener has put together a team of writers and artists from the Flint, Michigan area to create stories of hope. The comic, “HOPE: A Comic for Flint” will be an anthology published by Source Point Press, and they will be raising for The Compass, a program of Michigan Community Services Inc. This will be the first physical comic for the team and also the first to help the city of Flint after the water crisis, as Diener states in the press release: “The Flint Water Crisis is something everyone has heard about, but we have yet to see a resolution.” He continues, “When we realized the millions of dollars being pumped into Flint from donations around the world were not necessarily going where there supposed to, we decided to focus on underfunded nonprofits that could make a difference.” “HOPE: A Comic For Flint” will be released on September 1, at a release party and concert in Flint, Michigan at Foster Coffee Company.
– Comic book legend Stan Lee will no longer participate in public autograph signings, Bleeding Cool reports. Desert Wind Comics, the company that hosts signings for Lee, have stated that fans who would like comic books or merchandise signed by Lee can send their merchandise through the mail until August 18, 2018. Jonathan Bolerjack, who used to work for Lee’s ex-business manager Max Anderson, stated, “To be clear, Stan is 100% not doing any conventions/public signings. In the last few years his well-being had been compromised by people for monetary gain and that practice is over.” This comes after months of troubles Lee has had with his estate and POW! Entertainment, and Bleeding Cool states “his private signings had also been paused for a month while Stan’s life gets back to normal[,] and time could be given to review signing deals made by previous people involved in Stan’s life.”
– Marvel will pay tribute to Steve Dikto’s memory this month by adding a four page spread of art and notes, by and about the late artist. This will be in a number of issues this month, and there will be longer versions in titles that are associated with Ditko, such as “Doctor Strange,” “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Immortal Hulk,” and “Squirrel Girl.” The most prominent words in the spread are, “it was the work that mattered,” which was Ditko’s motto.
– Deadline has exclusively reported that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are developing a Supergirl feature film. Oren Uzbek will be working on the script, focusing on the heroine and cousin of Superman. There are no details about the movie at this time, although this wouldn’t be the first time a DC character has shared the small and silver screen, Superman himself having been played by Tyler Hoechin in the TV series Supergirl, and Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman and Justice League at the same time.
– Finally, Dave Bautista has told The ShortList he has no interest in returning as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 if James Gunn’s script isn’t used, otherwise, “I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me. I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t,” he said. His comments come after the whole Guardians cast signed a declaration of support for Gunn, who was fired by Disney after conservative opponents found old tweets by the director containing pedophilia and rape jokes.
