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, Ryan North and Iban Coello are relaunching “Fantastic Four,” and Leila del Duca is penciling the second arc of “Once Upon a Time at the End of the World.” We also interviewed translator Ryan Holmberg about his work on Drawn & Quarterly’s release of Yamada Murasaki’s “Talk to My Back.”
and Rico Renzi
– Image Comics has announced a new horror-comedy series from the team of writer Doug Wagner and artist Daniel Hillyard (“Plastic,” “Vinyl”). Colorist Rico Renzi and letterer Ed Dukeshire join the pair for the six-issue miniseries “Plush,” which features a group of serial-killing, cannibalistic furries. The series follows Devin Fulcher as he reluctantly attends his first furry convention, only to stumble upon a group of furries eating a human. “‘Plush’ is our most ambitious serial killer, dark comedy, ridiculously bloody, love story yet,” Wagner said. “This time we just put everyone in fursuits.” The first issue will feature a main cover by Hillyard and Renzi, with variants by Tony Fleecs and Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern. “Plush” #1 takes a bite out of the shelves on November 30.
– The long-promised Batman/Joker team-up series from writer and artist Marc Silvestri will finally hit shelves this fall. Via Newsarama, the seven-issue Black Label series “Batman/Joker: Deadly Duo” will feature the Dark Knight teaming up with his greatest foe in a “fragile alliance” after Harley Quinn is kidnapped by a “strange, mysterious, and brazen villain.” The series was first announced more than four years ago at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018. A host of great artists will provide covers for the series, including Greg Capullo, Kyle Hotz, Jorge Fornes, Jim Lee, Yanick Paquette, Christopher Mitten, and Silvestri. “Batman/Joker: Deadly Duo” #1 delves into Gotham’s underbelly on November 1.
– Marvel’s all-ages ‘Double Trouble’ franchise from Mariko Tamaki and Gurihiru is getting a new entry. Via ComicBook.com, Vita Ayala will join the team as a co-writer for “Peter Parker & Miles Morales: Spider-Men Double Trouble,” a four-issue miniseries that finds Peter and Miles butting heads over which of them is the sidekick. “There’s very few things in comics I have enjoyed more than collaborating with Gurihiru on previous ‘Double Troubles,'” Tamaki said in a statement. “I feel doubly fortunate to be able to work with Vita on this latest series. Vita is a treasure. I hope everyone enjoys this strange spider-ride.” Tamaki and Gurihiru’s previous collaborations have included “Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble,” and “Thor & Loki: Double Trouble.” “Peter Parker & Miles Morales: Spider-Men Double Trouble” swings to shelves in November.
– DC Comics will release the holiday anthology special “DC’s Grifter Got Run Over by a Reindeer” later this year. AIPT has the exclusive first look at the special issue, which will feature contributions from John Layman, Max Bemis, Cavan Scott, Michael Conrad, Dustin Nguyen, Christopher Mitten, Skylar Patridge, and more. Though the solicit doesn’t pair any of the creators with their subject matter, the text teases stories with Harley Quinn, Batman, Hawkman, Black Canary, Animal Man, and (of course) Grifter, among others. “DC’s Grifter Got Run Over by a Reindeer” #1 brings the holiday cheer on November 29.
– Marvel has launched a pair of new Infinity Comics on Marvel Unlimited. The first, the latest arc of “Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic” shines the spotlight on America Chavez for a six-part arc that sees Loki recruiting her to “liberate” an artifact from the vaults of Asgard, bringing them into conflict with the Warriors Three. “Marvel’s Voices: America Infinity Comic” comes from the creators Juan Ponce, Alba Glez, Jose Marzan Jr., and Pete Pantazis. Marvel also dropped “Strange Tales: She-Hulk,” a one-shot Infinity Comic that finds Jennifer Walters drafted as a lawyer for a long dead ghost, in a supernatural trial facing off against the prosecuting attorney Blackheart. “Strange Tales: She Hulk” #1 comes from Steve Foxe, Ramon Bachs, Javier Tartaglia, and VC’s Joe Sabino. Both titles are available now on Marvel Unlimited.
Continued below– The upcoming Netflix series Wednesday has brought its first full trailer out from the shadows. Based on the comic strip and characters of “The Addams Family,” created by cartoonist Charles Addams, the show stars Jenna Ortega as the titular Wednesday Addams, as she is sent to the spooky Nevermore Academy and stumbles upon a deadly supernatural mystery. The trailer offers a first look at the dark and colorful world of the series billed as being “from the mind of Tim Burton;” Burton directed some episodes of the series, including the pilot. Created by Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and also starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Riki Lindhome, Gwendoline Christie, Percy Hynes White, and Christina Ricci, Wednesday will snap its way to Netflix later this year.
– The upcoming animated “Garfield” film from director Mark Dindal (The Emperor’s New Groove) is expanding its cast. Via Deadline, the adaptation of Jim Davis’s iconic comic strip has added Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Waddingham, and Cecily Strong to the cast, joining an already announced Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson (who will play Garfield and his father, respectively). The details for the new cast members’ roles have not been announced. Working from a script by David Reynolds (Finding Nemo), Garfield will lazily make its way to theaters on February 16, 2024.
– The Boys star Jack Quaid has signed on to a new scripted podcast from “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola. Via Deadline, he will star in the podcast company Echoverse’s adaptation of the series Grim Death & Bill The Electrocuted Criminal, from Mignola and co-author Thomas Sniegoski. The writers will adapt their own work for the audio drama. Quaid play Bentley Hawthorne, the titular Grim Death, who avenges “the wrongful deaths of those in need of justice.” No release date was announced for the series.
– News Corp Australia, which publishes around 100 newspapers, will stop carrying comic strips in its papers starting next month. Via The Daily Cartoonist, the editorial cartoons will remain in the pages. “The decision to end comic strips reflects the changing readership habits of our audiences and this is why we are increasing our focus as a business on puzzles, games, and crosswords,” the company said in a statement. Cathy Wilcox, president of the Australian Cartoonists Association, noted that for some Australian cartoonists, News Corp was their sole employer. Comic strips and panels will stop running in News Corp papers on September 11.
– Finally, a school district in suburban Fort Worth, Texas has ordered librarians to remove the graphic novel adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” from circulation, along with dozens of other books challenged by parents last year. Via the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the Keller Independent School District’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, Jennifer Price, sent an email to its librarians ordering that the list of books be removed from their shelves and digital libraries. Other books affected by the purge include the Bible, Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home,” Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Jon Ronson’s So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed. The move comes after a campaign by right-wing activists – backed by a PAC affiliated with the conservative cell phone company Patriot Mobile – managed to win a majority of seats on the school board in May’s elections. In 2021, the district had been accused by Republican Governor Greg Abbot of making “sexually explicit” books available to children.
