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, the announcement of Image’s ”Lucy Claire: Redemption” has sparked controversy, and DC Comics have announced James Tynion IV as their newest writer for “Batman,” beginning with issue #86 in January.
— IDW Publishing have cancelled issues #2-4 of Magdalene Visaggio and Marley Zarcone’s “Marilyn Manor.” The series was a part of the Black Crown publishing line and after rescheduling the releases of issues #3 and #4, the series has been discontinued and will not be released in its planned collected edition. The series followed a punk rock party at the White House set in Reagan-era America. IDW say they “hope to have the opportunity to work with these talented creators on future projects.”
— Book 9 of Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin and Brett Grunig’s “Princeless” will now be released as a single graphic novel rather than four individual issues. The news comes in the same week as the cancellation of Whitley’s “Future Foundation” series at Marvel. The story arc, ‘Love Yourself,’ was initially set to release late 2019, but the new book will release at an undetermined date in 2020.
— DC Comics have put an end to their decades long Specialty Retailer Co-Op Advertising Program. The program incentivised comic book stores to buy advertisements for upcoming comics, with companies partially reimbursing them for the publicity. The program involved newspaper, social media and retailer advertisements. The discontinuation will come into effect at the end of 2019.
— To commemorate the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre, The Age of Revolution national educational project have released “Peterloo: Imagine a World,” a graphic novel made available in schools across the United Kingdom. The novel adapts a historical fiction piece by historian Ben Marsh, and follows a family on their journey to the march and their experiences during. Victoria Nielson, the CEO of Waterloo200, hopes “the resource helps to inspire a great deal of creative teaching and learning about Peterloo, keeping this story of radicalism and revolt alive for a new generation in animated form.” The first printing has already sold out and a second printing will soon be available.
— To celebrate Batman Day, Fortnite has added a limited time Batman-themed event. The celebration replaces Tilted Town with Gotham City and adds explosive batarangs and a grapnel gun. The update also adds a cosmetic Batman Caped Crusader Pack, which includes skins for Batman’s comic book outfit and the costume from The Dark Knight. A slew of new individual items are also available, such as a Catwoman outfit, and a Catwing glider that can be unlocked by completing the heroic challenges by the end of the month. The event ends October 6th.
— The CW’s “Crisis On Infinite Earths” seems to just keep getting bigger, with the announcement that Erica Durance will be reprising her role as Lois Lane from Smallville. She will be rejoining Tom Welling, with the two showing how Lois and Clark have changed ten years on from Smallville. Just as there will be three different Supermen appearing (Tyler Hoechlin, Tom Welling and Brandon Routh), Durance’s Lois will appear alongside Elizabeth Tulloch’s version from “Elseworlds.” Durance has previously appeared as Kara’s mother Alura Zor-El on Supergirl. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will air across Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman in a five-episode crossover beginning this December.
— Ben Hatke, the creator of “Nobody Likes a Goblin” and “Julia’s House for Lost Creatures,” recently underwent a family tragedy. His four-year old daughter Ida Hatke was trampled by a horse at their Virginia home and passed away. The family have put together a fundraiser to help pay off the medical fees and funeral costs. Fellow artist Gene Luen Yang has shared his solidarity, urging people to donate “if Ben’s work has brought joy to your life, please consider helping.”
— Finally, in much happier circumstances, cartoonists Noelle Stevenson (“Nimona”) and Molly Knox Ostertag (“The Witch Boy”) tied the knot this weekend. Both brides wore wedding dresses, and used a She-Ra-style sword they received as a present to cut the cake. Congratulations to the couple!
