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, “Killadelphia” writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander are reteaming for a graphic novel trilogy starring the 1970s film character, Blacula.
– Newsarama reported that Marvel Comics have canceled “Runaways,” and that issue #38 (legacy number #100) will be the finale for the current iteration of the title. A reason for the cancellation has not been given. Story details for the issue have been kept to a minimum in the build-up to the title’s milestone issue, with the solicitation simply describing it as “biggest and craziest issue” of “Runaways” yet. The series’ co-creator, Adrian Alphona, has returned for the issue and provided a variant cover, with previous series artist, Kris Anka, giving the issue its primary cover. “Runaways” #38 by writer Rainbow Rowell, artist Andrés Genolet, and colorist Dee Cunniffe is set for release on August 11. You can check out an exclusive preview of the issue here.
– Through his newsletter, writer Ed Brubaker revealed the fourth book in his and Sean Phillips’s “Reckless” graphic novel series will be “The Ghost In You.” Brubaker kept details largely under wraps, only stating that it takes place “about a year after [the upcoming third book] ‘Destroy All Monsters,'” and so the “very tail end of the ’80s,” adding that it is “a lot different than the first three.” The “Reckless” graphic novel series follows the stories of the private investigator, Ethan Reckless, who is willing to solve people’s problems if they are willing to pay the right price. The next “Reckless” book, “Destroy All Monsters” is scheduled for release on October 13, with “The Ghost In You” currently without a release date. In the meantime, you can get a glimpse at the cover for the fourth book here.
– Marvel delayed Samira Ahmed and Andrés Genolet’s upcoming five-part series ““Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit.” The series was set to debut on September 15, a date that was expected to be in close proximity to the character’s Disney+ series; with the Disney+ series expected by the end of the year instead of the fall, the comic has been pushed back too. “Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit” will see Kamala Khan arriving on a Bollywood set with her powers out of control after being caught up in an explosion of “interdimensional proportions.” “Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit” #1 is now scheduled for December 1.
– Artist Bryan Hitch detailed that he has departed from Geoff Johns’s Justice Society project that was established with a short story in “Stargirl Spring Break Special” #1. The short story, called ‘Justice Society: Past is Prologue,’ unveiled a new group of individuals who were forming the titular group, but has never been followed up on, with Hitch implying that the project is still in development, just “not with me, I’m afraid.” He stated that he “tried but it didn’t come together.” In further conversation with a Twitter user, Hitch stated the story was never meant simply as a teaser for the team as “the intention was to do it,” citing the reason for his departure being due to him being unable to “get it over the finish line.” A replacement artist for the project and release date for the new “Justice Society” title have not been disclosed.
– Publisher’s Weekly reported on one Harley Quinn prose book and two graphic novel deals:
- Random House purchased the worldwide rights to Rachael Allen’s Harley Quinn: Reckoning. The book will be the first of a trilogy for the DC Icons line that chronicles the character’s origin story. It is set to be published in the Spring of 2022.
- HarperCollins/Balzer and Bray won the auction for Rachel Elliott’s debut graphic novel, “The Real Riley Mayes.” The graphic novel will tell the story of Riley Mayes as she takes on the girls being mean to her amidst the circulation of rumors about a queer crush in her small town. Riley will take them on with the help of her new friends and an old celebrity. “The Real Riley Mayes” is scheduled for release in May 2022. Continued below
- “Upstaged” by Robin Easter was acquired by Little, Brown. The debut middle-grade graphic novel will take place in the final summer at theater camp for nonbinary stagehand, Ashton, and best friend, Ivy, with Ashton finding it difficult to voice their feelings to Ivy. “Upstaged” is scheduled for Summer 2025.
– A trailer, cast and crew details, and a release window for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean were unveiled. The trailer depicts elements of the series’ story, showing Jolyne Cujoh being imprisoned in Green Dolphin Street Prison after a car accident, before receiving a charm that gives her access to powers referred to as The Stand. The trailer continues with Cujoh convinced that something “more terrifying than death” is happening in the prison. Toshiyuki Kato will direct the series, with Kenichi Suzuki, who previously directed the first three series of the manga’s adaptation, serving as chief director. It is set to debut on Netflix in December, with a release in Japan via Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS11 in January. For the full cast and crew details as well as a look at a promotional image and the trailer, head over to Anime News Network.
– Variety reported that Luis Guzmán has been cast as Gomez Addams in Netflix’s upcoming Addams Family spin-off series, Wednesday. Jenna Ortega had already been confirmed as Wednesday Addams in the series’ cast. The series will chronicle the titular character’s time at Nevermore Academy, and see her contending with her psychic abilities whilst trying to stop a killing spree that is terrorizing the local town, and solving a mystery that her parents got caught up in 25 years earlier. The series has an eight-episode order, with creators Al Gough and Miles Millar acting as showrunners and executive producers, and Tim Burton set to be involved as a director and executive producer. The Addams Family were created by cartoonist Charles Addams and first debuted in The New Yorker in 1938. Wednesday does not currently have a release date.
– Finally, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, best known as the creator of Riverdale, pleaded for information about his father, Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa, who has been missing in Nicaragua for over ten days. Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa served the country as its ambassador to the US from 1997-2000, and also worked as a foreign minister, but has recently been a “vocal critic of the current regime under President Daniel Ortega,” Roberto said. Francisco was last seen on July 27 trying to cross the Nicaraguan border into Costa Rica, to board a flight to Washington, D.C. to have surgery; Francisco’s passport was taken and both he and Roberto’s mother were instructed to return to Managua. Roberto’s sister Georgiana described how shortly after, a statement was released stating Francisco was “under investigation for treason and for being an enemy of the state,” and rather than reaching home together, Francisco was detained by the National Police, while Roberto’s mother returned to find their home ransacked. Police have taken Francisco’s documents and computer, Roberto and Georgiana detailed. His arrest has not been entered into the system.
Roberto believes that Francisco is a “political prisoner with an estimated 30 other people who have been detained similarly in past months in the lead-up to Nicaragua’s election in November. Both Roberto and Georgiana have been attempting to contact US government agencies in addition to human rights organizations about the ongoing issues in Nicaragua. The US State Department issued a statement in response to impositions to 50 family members directly related to individuals involved in the Nicaraguan National Assembly, saying that “the United States is committed to promoting broad accountability for anyone responsible for or benefiting from the Ortega-Murillo regime’s attacks on democratic institutions.” The Aguirre-Sacasa’s have set up a petition seeking ‘Justice for Francisco’ and have a Facebook page to keep people informed about the situation.
