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.
– Kicking off, DC has scheduled another previously announced series for November, the second of this week, in “Mystik U” from Alisa Kwitney and Mike Norton. The three-issue, prestige, miniseries will follow the likes of Zatanna, Sebastian Faust, the Enchantress, Sargon the Soreceror, and a new character Pia Morales, at a university for the magically gifted. The series was originally announced as part of the DC You slate of titles with a different artist. “Mystik U” debuts November 29 and then will run bimonthly.
– It appears the force is strong at Lucasfilm as it has been revealed that an Obi-Wan Kenobi prequel movie is in the earliest stages of development with director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot). No script has been created, but this would follow the previous pattern of developing Star Wars spinoffs like Rogue One and the upcoming Han Solo film. Obi-Wan has previously been played by Alec Guinness, who garnered an Oscar nom, and Ewen McGregor in the prequels who has stated in the past he’d be open to returning to the character.
– In Marvel Legacy news, the creative team behind the new “Moon Knight” series has been revealed. “Moon Knight” #188 will debut in November with Max Bemos and Jacen Burrows at the helm beginning an arc called “Crazy Runs in the Family” which will give Moon Knight his ultimate nemesis. Also coming in November is another Legacy one-shot, “Silver Sable & the Wild Pack” #36 from Christa Faust and Paulo Siquiera sending Sable and the team on a dangerous mission. Finally, the “Marvel Legacy” #1 creative team is expanding from writer Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, adding a whole 10 new artists. Steve McNiven, Chris Samnee, Alex Maleev, Stuart Immonen, Pepe Larraz, Jim Cheung, Daniel Acuna, Greg Land, and Ed McGuinness are all joining the September 27 start to Marvel’s newest relaunch. Quite the murderer’s row of talent.
– Showcased first from DC All Access earlier in the week, “The Jetsons” are getting the Hanna-Barbara relaunch treatment at DC. The six-issue miniseries will debut November 1 from Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Pier Brito with covers from Amanda Conner and see the Jetson family take on an incoming threat from the darkest parts of the galaxy. The series had an 8-page story back in March as part of the “Flinstones/Booster Gold” crossover issue. The futuristic family also landed a pilot commitment at ABC with Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) attached to executive produce.
– The Hulu adaption of the IDW series “Locke & Key” has found its lead in Australian actress Frances O’Connor (The Conjuring 2) who has been cast as Nina. The comic written by Joe Hill with art from Gabriel Rodrigues follows the story of three children moving back to their ancestral home in Maine to live with their mom Nina following the gruesome murder of their father to find that the house has magical keys that give them powers. The series was previously in development at Fox during the 2010-11 season. No premiere date has been announced.
– Jack Napier is getting his first appearance in comics as the alias for the Joker in Sean Gordon Murphy’s “Batman: White Knight” seven-issue miniseries. The name is a callback to the name of Jack Nicholson’s character in Tim Burton’s Batman In 1989 where he fought Michael Keaton’s Batman. This is the first time that that name has been use in comics and SGM took to Twitter to express his excitement over Warner Bros.’ decision. The series begins October 4th.
– So Jim Lee tweeted about avocados and now comicdom is freaking out. Not about the typically derided millennial superfood, but about his dining companion, writer Jonathan Hickman. Lee’s tweet has continue to fuel speculation that Hickman will soon be writing at DC for the first time, with the leading theory being he’ll take on the “Legion of Super-Heroes,” something he’s expressed interest in in the past. Could it be Legion? Or perhaps JSA or New Gods? Or just two dudes being healthy? Who knows.
Continued below– Titan Comics has provided preview pages for the upcoming first issue of the Doctor Who event comic, “Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension,” the first part of an eight-part series. From writer George Mann and Cavan Scot and artists Rachel Stott, Cris Bolton and Rod Fernandes, the series follows the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors as they team with Jack Harkness to save the universe from The Void. Check out the preview pages here, and look for the first issue August 30th.
– Sports anime are all the rage, and sports anime with queer characters are even better (looking at you Yuri on Ice). Trying to capture some of that spirit, author C. S. Pacat and artist Johanna the Mad are debuting “Fence” as part of Boom! Studios experimental Boom! Box imprint in November. The series follows 16-year old Nicholas in the world of competitive fencing at an all boys school and the rivalries, friendships, and romances that ensue. You can check out an interview with Pacat here.
– Finally, if you like to kick ass, then check out the “Kick-Ass” board game coming in 2018 from CMON which will go right to retail and not Kickstarter. The original “Kick-Ass” miniseries was written by Mark Millar with art from John Romita Jr. as a part of Marvel’s mature Icon imprint. Since then the series has gotten two spinoffs and two live-action movies starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular character.
