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 have an exclusive look at tomorrow’s “Dial H for Hero” #7, and interviews with John Allison, Bryan Edward Hill, and “The Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask!” creators Christopher Cantwell and Patric Reynolds.
— Newsarama reports IDW Publishing has shuttered Vertigo alum Shelly Bond’s Black Crown imprint. The news comes after Black Crown’s most recent series, “Marilyn Manor,” was cancelled after its first issue. Initially announced back in 2017, Black Crown Comics was billed as the “cross street of comics + chaos.” Bond told Newsarama, “Philip [her husband] and I are extremely proud of the nine series and killer creative teams who made Black Crown unlike any other curated imprint. Viva comics!”
— Writer Kyle Starks has confirmed on Twitter that the main “Rick and Morty” ongoing comic series will be ending early next year with issue #60. “I think as a group, everyone involved contributed something great and unique and incredible to the Rick and Morty universe I really hope all the R&M fans actually get out and read,” he said. The popular series has been one of Oni Press’s best-sellers since the beginning of its run. Artist Marc Ellerby confirmed that, though the ongoing is ending, there will still be more “Rick and Morty” comics published in the future.
— Following its surprise finale in July, “The Walking Dead” will return for a swan song of sorts for Local Comic Shop Day in November. Bleeding Cool states Image Comics will publish “The Walking Dead: Alien” for the first time in print for the occasion. The in-continuity comic from Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin was originally published by BKV’s digital publisher Panel Syndicate, which also published Vaughn and Martin’s “The Private Eye.” Local Comic Shop Day will be held on November 23, 2019.
— CNN anchor Jake Tapper has teamed up with cartoonist Scott Adams to guest-cartoon this week’s “Dilbert” comics. Tapper shared the first of their collaborations on Twitter. The unholy unlikely alliance comes less than two months after Adams was seen exploiting the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting to promote his app, but it will support a good cause, as the original strips will be auctioned off in support of wounded veterans, benefitting the charity Homes for Our Troops.
— The cast is filling out for Matt Reeves’s The Batman: via The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, Jeffrey Wright and Jonah Hill are in talks to play Commissioner Gordon and an unnamed villain, respectively. This is the first casting news since Robert Pattinson was confirmed to take over the role from Ben Affleck back in May. J.K. Simmons previously played Commissioner Gordon opposite Affleck’s Batman in Justice League, while Hill voiced Hal Jordan in the LEGO Movie franchise. The Batman bows June 25, 2021.
— Director Dean DeBlois, whose critically acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon trilogy concluded this year, has set a live-action Micronauts as his next film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on the action figures and comics of the same name, Paramount and property-owner Hasbro — who are producing via the company’s film division, AllSpark Pictures — are said to be seeking a family-friendly tone, making DeBlois a natural choice. Paramount has set a June 4, 2021 release date.
— Syfy’s Vagrant Queen, based on the comic from Magdalene Visaggio and Jason Smith, dropped its first trailer. Visaggio shared the first look on Twitter. Vagrant Queen will premiere sometime in 2020.
— Image Comics is joining forces with the American Library Association for Banned Books Week, producing a week of Library Livestream webinars. The webinars will feature a diverse array of voices–including Ron Wimberly (“Black History in Its Own Words”), Nate Powell (“March”), Grace Ellis (“Moonstruck”) and David F. Walker (“Bitter Root”)–in conversation with librarians about a number of pressing topics. The webinars are scheduled daily during Banned Books Week – September 23–27 at 12 pm CT (1 pm ET / 10 am PT) and will be hosted on the Zoom platform and live-streamed to the American Library Association YouTube channel.
— And with a loud, resounding klang, Valiant Comics has teased the return of “Quantum and Woody” on Twitter. The hashtag #Valiant2020 accompanied the teaser image, suggesting more announcements to come. The previous “Quantum and Woody” ongoing series wrapped at the end of 2018.
