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 had exclusive previews of “Skybound Presents: Afterschool” #3, and “Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty” #4.
– IDW will publish a new edition of “The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures.” Originally released in 2009 (winning an Eisner for Best Archival Collection in 2010), “The Complete Adventures” collects Dave Stevens’s “Rocketeer” comics, with colors by Laura Martin. The book is due out this November, honoring the 40th anniversary of the character, who debuted in a backup from Mike Grell’s “Starslayer” #2. The new collected edition will be 276 pages, and be printed in a slipcase hardcover retailing for $100.
– Will Eisner’s “A Contract With God” is getting a Broadway musical adaptation. The stage rights for the 1978 graphic novel, which follow the lives of Jewish New Yorkers in a single tenement house, have been secured by arts and entertainment venture TEG+, and is set to feature original music from the all-Jewish songwriting team of Sam Hollander, Lisa Loeb, Matisyahu, Ryan Miller and Jill Sobule. Hollander will produce all the original songs.
– Beginning this October (for books due out in January 2023), Universal Distribution will handle DC’s distribution needs. Despite the new distribution deal, Lunar Distribution and Diamond UK will continue to oversee distribution of periodicals and graphic novels, while Penguin Random House will still handle worldwide graphic novels and collected editions. A Canadian company, Universal has been supplying retailers in the Great White North with comics, toys, and card & role-playing games for over 30 years.
– In Bruges star Brendan Gleeson has joined the cast of Joker: Folie à Deux. He joins a cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, and the recently announced Zazie Beetz. Todd Phillips will return to direct the sequel, which is scheduled to begin production this December, for a planned October 4, 2024 release.
– With the release of his first comic (“Monsters of Metal”) this October, Guns Akimbo director Jason Howden has already announced plans to co-write and direct the film adaptation. Published by Opus Comics, the series is pitched as “a cross between Spinal Tap and The Monster Squad,” following a metal band of classic Hollywood monsters and their adventures on the road. Howden writes the series with Opus (and parent company Incendium) founder Llexi Leon. Luis Guaranga provides art with Ryan Christensen on covers. Issue #1 is due out October 19.
– Finally, Disney is exploring a potential membership service similar to Amazon Prime, which would offer perks relating to the company’s streaming services, theme parks, resorts, and merchandise. The new program would be different from Disney’s already existing D23 Official Fan Club, which offered fans exclusive merchandise and a discounted three-year subscription to Disney+. While details are still scarce on “Disney Prime” (the unofficial name insiders are calling it), it is apparently using Apple’s AppleOne as a point of reference, and discussing third party merchandising (such as tickets to Disney shows on Broadway.)
