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, DC announced a few new titles, including “Batgirls,” “Swamp Thing Green Hell,” and the 12-week ‘‘Shadows of the Bat’ event; also, J.M. DeMatteis and David Baldeón will revisit the ’90s in “Ben Reilly: Spider-Man.”
– Ethel Muggs is growing up and getting her own solo series with “Big Ethel Energy.” Spinning off from Riverdale, the comic will be produced by Archie and Webtoon as part of their new partnership. Writer Keryl Brown Ahmed and artist Siobhan Keenan will tell the story of the newly graduated character, revisiting her former classmates as she chronicles the history of the town. The first three episodes of the series will debut on September 21, with new episodes going up weekly.
– ComicBook.com reports that Marvel’s X-Men are getting their own Captain America. “X-Men” #6 will feature the debut of Captain Krakoa, who — according to writer Gerry Duggan — is “another gift to their home planet: a selfless hero from the shores of Krakoa who will defend Earth to their last dying breath.” Solicitations for the issue, from Duggan and artist Pepe Larraz, ask who the new member of the team is, and why Cyclops doesn’t want him there. “X-Men” #6 hits shelves this December.
– In more Spider-news, Marvel revealed December in the Spider-line will see Ben Reilly squaring off with Miles Morales in “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” #33 (on sale December 1) and “Amazing Spider-Man” #81 (December 8), while Aunt May and Doc Ock will possibly rekindle their 1970s romance (or at least come to terms to save Peter) in “Amazing Spider-Man” #81.BEY (December 1). Three more issues of “Amazing Spider-Man” will follow, bringing the month’s number of ‘Beyond’ comics to a total of six. Each issue will be written by a member of the “Beyond Board” of Patrick Gleason, Cody Ziglar, Zeb Wells, Kelly Thompson, and Saladin Ahmed.
– The Stray Dogs are back in a new two-issue cartoon/horror miniseries from Image. “Stray Dogs: Dogs Days” is scheduled for release this winter, with creators Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner returning to tell “a series of vicious short stories howling straight out of the pages of ‘Stray Dogs.'” Issue #1 drops on December 29, with a special horror movie homage variant cover available that same day.
– “Nocterra” villain Blacktop Bill is getting an origin story courtesy of writer Scott Snyder and legendary artist Denys Cowan. “Nocterra Special: Blacktop Bill” hits shelves on December 22. While no preview pages have been released, all six variant covers have.
– Joining a cast that already includes Winston Duke, Lance Reddick, and Ashley Burch, Hasan Minhaj will voice classic villain the Riddler on Batman Unburied. The Daily Show alum is the latest casting announcement for the narrative podcast, joining Reddick (Thomas Wayne), Burch (Vicki Vale), Toks Olagundoye (Martha Wayne), and John Rhys-Davies (Dr. Hunter). Produced by David S. Goyer, Batman Unbound is the first podcast to come from DC’s recent deal with Spotify.
– Game of Thrones and Star Wars star Gwendoline Christie has joined the cast of Wednesday, the Netflix Addams Family series from Tim Burton. Christie will play Nevermore Academy principal Larissa Weems, who has a complicated history with Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones.)
– Empire released its list of The 50 Best Animated Movies. Topping the list, which includes adaptations such as Akira and Persepolis, is Academy Award-winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. “If Toy Story was the biggest leap forward for mainstream feature animation since Snow White,” the list states, “it took another 23 years for the needle to shift so significantly once again.” Empire praised both the “layered and lovely” characters of the feature, and the cutting edge animation techniques employed by it.
– Record-breaking anime smash Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train will be available on Blu-ray in the US on December 21. The Standard Edition Blu-ray will be available from Funimation, with a Limited Edition available from Aniplex of America. The Standard Edition is available for preorder from all major retailers and the Funimation shop. The Aniplex Limited Edition is available from RigthStuf, and comes with a soundtrack CD, deluxe booklet, rigid box with exclusive art by character designer Akira Matsushima, and a special digipak featuring art by ufotable. It also features a subtitled commentary track from the Japanese voice cast.
