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.
– Ten Speed Graphic will publish “Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir,” an autobiography by Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei, written with Elettra Stamboulis, and illustrated by Gianluca Costantini. The book will portray Ai’s life and family history in non-linear fashion, reflecting the 12 Chinese zodiac signs and their characteristics. The book marks Ai’s first foray into comics, while Stamboulis and Costantini (who are married) are Italian veterans of biographical and journalism comics. “Zodiac” will be published in hardcover and paperback on January 23, 2024, with a cover by Ai himself.
– Today marks National Comic Book Day, and in advance, Casino.org ran a survey on the country’s most popular superheroes and villains. While Batman emerged as the most popular hero in 34 states, 66.8 percent of those polled said they preferred Marvel to DC. Similarly, while Joker topped the villain poll with 28.7 percent of the vote, Doctor Doom was the only villain to emerge as a state (namely North Dakota)’s most popular character. The most popular heroine was Wonder Woman (who won in Hawaii), while Catwoman and Harley Quinn followed Joker as the nation’s favorite villains.
– Avery Hill announced their Spring 2024 releases, consisting of four graphic novels: “Barking,” an exploration of grief and depression by Lucy Sullivan; “Safer Places,” an anthology “about isolation, memory, liminal spaces, and small magic” by Kit Anderson; “Catalytic Conversions: Infinite Wheatpaste Vol. 1,” a series of interconnected sci-fi stories by L. Pidge; and “Disciples of the Soil,” the fourth entry in B. Mure’s fantasy series ‘Ismyre.’ “Barking” will release first on February 27, and “Disciples of the Soil” will arrive last on July 9.
– The WGA and AMPTP reached a tentative agreement to end the writers’ strike last night. Details for the new three-year contract were not disclosed, as they will need to be approved by the guild’s board and membership first, before the strike can officially end. Regardless, picketing will end in the meantime, while the WGA negotiating committee says “with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.” At 146 days, the strike marked the WGA’s longest since 1988. The SAG-AFTRA strike remains ongoing.
– Spawn is coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone in Season 06: The Haunting, launching Wednesday, September 27. The games will add Spawn (voiced again by Todd McFarlane’s Spawn star Keith David) as a playable character, plus skins for others based on the hero and his foes (including the Clown.) The season will also introduce Halloween-appropriate characters from other series, such as Skeletor, Evil Dead II‘s Ash, and Alucard from the manga “Hellsing.”
– The BBC released a new trailer for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary specials, while revealing Neil Patrick Harris’s villain is the Toymaker, a godlike being who previously only appeared on the show in 1966 (when he was portrayed by Michael Gough, later best known for playing Alfred Pennyworth in Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films.) The specials will air in the UK and Ireland on BBC One in November, and will be released in the rest of the world on Disney+.
– Variety reports DC Studios will establish a primary production base at England’s Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. Warners announced they will expand the location with 10 soundstages, and additional production and support space, bringing the total area from 1.14 million square feet to 1.78 million. James Gunn and Peter Safran will be consulted on the project to “ensure that their ideas are incorporated.” The expansion will begin construction next year, and is expected to be completed in 2027.
– Britain’s Professional Cartoonists Organisation have created Welcome to Britain, a coloring book for migrant children that will be distributed by various refugee charities and support groups. Featuring art by Quentin Blake, Ralph Steadman, Chris Riddell, Ros Asquith, Nicola Jennings, Terry Gilliam, and more, the 62-page book was created after Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, had a mural of cartoon characters painted over at a reception center in April, reportedly for being too welcoming. It was created via a crowdfunding campaign by charity 38 Degrees, and there are currently plans for a second book that will go on general sale, with proceeds going to charity.
– Tunisian cartoonist Tawfiq Omrane will appear in court today over mocking Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani. The artist, 64, was arrested and detained on Thursday, September 21, over an apparently insulting cartoon, and was interogated without a lawyer until the early hours of Friday morning. If convicted, he could face a year in prison. Omrane’s arrest comes amid an increasing crackdown on free speech and press in the country, two years after President Kais Saied executed a self-coup and dismissed parliament. Hachani has only served as prime minister of Tunisia since August 1, 2023.
– Finally, bodybuilder Lisa Lyon, whom Frank Miller disclosed was the physical model for Elektra Natchios, passed away earlier this month. Lyon, who was 70, died from stomach cancer on Friday, September 8. A trained dancer, kendo fighter, and performance artist, Lyon won the International Federation of BodyBuilders’ first Women’s World Pro Bodybuilding Championship in 1979, and was one of the first bodybuilders to appear in Playboy magazine. She acted in films like the Grace Jones horror comedy Vamp, and was also the muse of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. She is predeceased by her third husband, actor Alan Deglin, and survived by her stepson Jay Schwartz, as well as her sister Duffy Hurwin; the family have asked for donations to Stand Up to Cancer in lieu of flowers.
