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 third wave of comics from TKO Studios are coming in November.
– Mad Cave Studios is set to get a little ‘Maverick’ as it enters the Young Adult market. The Florida-based indie publisher is set to launch the Maverick imprint in fall 2021 with new content every two weeks, featuring the talents of Jay Sandlin (“Over The Ropes”), Lela Gwenn (“Bad Luck Chuck”), and David Pinckney (“Fight Like A Girl”) alongside new creators.
Five launch titles have already been announced: “Good Game, Well Played” by Rachael Smith, Katherine Lobo, and Justin Birch; “Needle and Thread” by David Pinckney, Ennun Ana Lurov, and Micah Myers; “Nightmare in Savannah” by Lela Gwenn, Rowan MacColl, and Micah Myers; “Of Her Own Design” by Birdie Willis, Jess Taylor and Stephanie Palladino; and “World Class” by Jay Sandlin, Patrick Mullholland, Rebecca Nalty, and Justin Birch. Chris Sanchez, editor-in-chief of Maverick, stated that he hoped the imprint “becomes a place where readers can find stories that mirror their own and understand that they’re not alone in their struggles.”
– In other Mad Cave Studios news, Cullen Bunn and Sweeney Boo will headline the Mad Cave Showcase 2.0 slated for October 3, 2020. The event, once again hosted by comics marketer and writer Jazzlyn Stone, will kick off from 12 pm ET/9 am PT. The event is billed as an exciting four hours filled with major announcements from the publisher, unmissable interviews with talented creators, and exclusive offers on a limited amount of Showcase exclusive variant covers from creators like Liana Kangas (“She Said Destroy”) and Hannah Templer (“Cosmoknights,” “GLOW”). Check out the full event itinerary here.
– The Kickstarter for the super-spy comic book “Thomas River” blew past its US$20,000 goal within 24 hours last week, but backers can now enjoy new comic strips every single week until the campaign’s end on October 15, starting with the prelude titled “The Bravest Soldier,” in which the titular character tackles a hostage situation with speeding armored cars and multiple gunmen in the mix. The Kickstarter for “Thomas River,” an original 40-page first issue from Brian Stelfreeze (“Black Panther”), Doug Wagner (“Plastic,” “The Ride”), colorist Michelle Poust, and letterer Ed Dukeshire, has – as of writing – 20 days left to go.
– The highly respected 2021 Angoulême Comics Festival (aka the FIBD/Festival de Bande Dessinee) will be split into two events. Thanks to the global pandemic, organisers recently announced that while they will be holding on to the original January 28 – 31 dates, the plan would be to scale down the event, potentially moving it online. Tentatively, the second part of the FIBD, an in-person event, is slated for either spring or summer 2021. France, like a number of other European countries, is currently battling a second wave of COVID-19.
– Look for the work of New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine to grace the silver screen in the near future. “Killing and Dying,” the best selling 2018 graphic novel, is currently in production outside Paris with Palme d’Or and Oscar-nominated French director Jacques Audiard. Plot details for the cinematic adaptation, titled Les Olympiades, are scarce, but reportedly the script, co-written by Audiard, Léa Mysius, and awarding-winning director and screenwriter Celine Sciamma, will feature female protagonists and revolve around adolescence.
– Disney honored the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman yesterday with a mural at Anaheim’s Downtown Disney. Nikkolas Smith, a concept artist and former Disney Imagineer, created the installation. The mural’s inscription states: “As a former Disney Imagineer, I had the honor of working on a major children’s hospital initiative and Avengers Campus as my final two assignments. Seeing Chadwick’s heart for people in-person, and later discovering his courageous battle with cancer, I was inspired to create this tribute to honor his life and legacy. To us, he was and will always be T’Challa. Long Live The King.” Boseman, also known for his portrayals of Thurgood Marshall, James Brown and Jackie Robinson, passed away last month at the age of 43, after a four-year fight against colon cancer.
– Though some cast members of the Justice League movie will be reuniting to film additional footage for the Snyder Cut, one prominent member will not be joining. The Man of Steel himself, Henry Cavill, will be on the sidelines for shooting slated for October. According to Cavill, he has no involvement at the present in any new photography for Zack Snyder’s return to the Justice League film-turned-four-part-series. Cavill is presently in London on production of Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher.
– Finally, Amazon is looking to double down on the success of its original series The Boys, with a spinoff already on the fast track to development. The untitled spinoff series is set at an exclusive Vought International college for superheroes, and is described as “part college show, part Hunger Games,” and “irreverent, R-rated – with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.” The second season of the hit show, based on the bestselling comic of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, has already premiered; with a third season also already been greenlit.
