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, “Fables” writer Bill Willingham declared (and DC swiftly denied) that the series is now public domain. We also have an exclusive preview of Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos’s upcoming graphic novel, “Project Monarch.”
– Marvel announced Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio’s “Moon Knight” run will be relaunched as “Vengeance of the Moon Knight” in January. The series will follow the Midnight Mission as they pick up the pieces after the ‘Death of Moon Knight’ arc (unfolding in October to December’s “Moon Knight” #28-30), when they’re confronted by a new Fist of Khonshu, who’s described as being deadlier than Marc Spector. The newcomer has a black costume with white accents, and weapons inspired by plants in Ancient Egyptian art. The first issue will be released with a cover by David Finch on January 3.
– Marvel also announced their second “Star Wars: Visions” one-shot, a follow-up to “The Duel,” and the previous tie-in from last year, by writer/artist Takashi Okazaki. The comic will lift the lid on the backstory of the Ronin, the wandering Sith from the short film, which Okazaki wrote. It will be released on January 3, shortly after Peach Momoko’s “Visions” one-shot kicks off the new run on November 15.
– Image will release “Pete Townshend’s Life House” in bookstores on December 5, and comic book stores the following day. The long-gestating sci-fi graphic novel, which was originally announced by Heavy Metal in 2019, is based on an unproduced sci-fi screenplay by The Who guitarist Pete Townshend from 1970. The comic book version was penned by James Harvey and David Hine, with art by Max Prentis, and will retail at 172 pages in a record sleeve-style hardcover for $49.99.
– Veteran actress Miriam Margolyes will lend her voice to the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials as furry alien Beep the Meep. The 82-year old, whose roles include Romeo + Juliet, and the Audible version of The Sandman, said “I’m relieved I got to work on Doctor Who before I died. With sci-fi you never know. Thank you for making an old woman very happy.” Beep first appeared in the 1980 comic strip ‘Doctor Who and the Star Beast,’ written by Pat Mills and John Wagner with art by Dave Gibbons. The specials will air in November.
– “Spy x Family” will make its video game debut with Spy x Anya: Operation Memories. A daily life sim, the game will follow the youngest member of Loid Forger’s adoptive family as she completes a a photo diary for homework. Gameplay will consist of family outings to the park, beach et al., minigames like cards, and customizable costumes. (No word yet on whether Anya can use her psychic powers though.) It will be released by Bandai Namco on PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam sometime next year, and you can watch the trailer here.
– Rebellion are collaborating with England’s Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum for an exhibit about British war comics. The exhibit, titled Into Battle: The Art of British War Comics, will display original art from satirical comic strips of the 19th century, to the groundbreaking, gritty war comics of the 1970s, and everything in-between. It will be held in the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, from October 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024.
– J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman’s “Echolands” has won the Prix Comics 2023, awarded annually by the Association of French Comics Critics to the best comic book originally published in English. The 2021-22 fantasy series, originally published by Image, was released by Panini Comics in French earlier this year. Other shortlisted books this year included Jim Terry’s “Come Home, Indio,” Zoe Thorogood’s “The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott,” Peach Momoko’s “Demon Days,” and Daniel Warren Johnson’s “Do A Powerbomb!” The award will be presented at the Quai des Bulles festival in Saint Malo, Brittany, on Saturday, October 28.
Continued below– Korean webcomic “Knuckle Girl” has been adapted into a live-action film for Amazon Prime Video. A Korean-Japanese co-production starring Ayaka Miyoshi (Alice in Borderland), the action crime film follows a young underground boxer, who must rescue her sister after she is kidnapped by a gang. The comic was created by Jeong Sang Young, and debuted on KakaoPage in 2014, while the film was directed by Chang (Yoon Hong-seung), who helmed Reset, Canola, The Target, and Death Bell. It will be added to the streamer on November 2.
– Meanwhile, Webtoon have pulled “Get Schooled” after criticism of a racist storyline. The Korean webcomic, by writer Chae Yongtaek and artist Han Garam, revolved around a Ministry of Education agent, who battles disruptive students. The most recent installment introduced a school where all but one of the kids are mixed race, and featured numerous racial slurs, including one used by a teacher against a Black teen. The comic has been pulled permanently from the site’s English platform, while the Korean version has been suspended until review; the book’s creators have also apologized, promising to educate themselves about racism, and racist art. Ablaze Publishing, who have released a volume of the comic in print, have yet to comment.
– Finally, The Hollywood Reporter states the lawsuits over the alleged abuse of Stan Lee in his final years have ended. The trade states a judge threw out the suit against Uri Litvak, an attorney hired by Lee’s ex-business manager Jerardo Olivarez, because it had been filed after the statute of limitations had passed. Olivarez settled his suit with the estate last year, while Keya Morgan, another business manager of Lee’s, was acquitted after a judge declared a mistrial.
