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, Drawn & Quarterly announced a graphic memoir called “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” by cartoonist Kate Beaton.
– Marvel launched lawsuits against the estates and heirs of several historic comic book writers and artists, such as Steve Ditko, who are seeking to terminate the publisher’s copyright to various Avengers. Marvel are seeking to have a declaration that the characters are not within the grounds of copyright termination because they were works for hire. The notice of copyright termination enables authors or their heirs to regain rights to a creation after a fixed period of time; this means that if the estates and heirs are successful, Disney, by way of Marvel, would no longer have full ownership of the characters in question, though only the US-based profits from the characters would have to be shared, due to the law being an American one. In the particular case relating to Steve Ditko, his estate filed a notice of termination for copyright for Spider-Man in August, and the termination would come into effect in June 2023 if Marvel’s lawsuit is unsuccessful. To read the full list of creators involved in the multiple legal battles, in addition to a summary of similar legal battles in the past, you can read THR‘s report here.
– IDW Publishing revealed that their middle-grade Marvel Comics line, ‘Marvel Action,’ has ended following the expiration of their license, with the anticipated new “Marvel Action: Avengers” series being cancelled in its entirety. The publisher described making titles for the line as “a great pleasure,” and said, “We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Marvel on other projects.” A reason for the lack of renewal has not been specified. The ‘Marvel Action’ line was launched in late 2018 following IDW’s acquisition of a Marvel license earlier that year.
– Publishers Weekly reported on five children’s graphic novel deals, including “The Harrowing,” a YA Abrams/Amulet book, by writer Kristen Kiesling and artist Jen Hickman, which follows a teenage psychic girl tracking down killers with her powers. Other projects include writer Nadia Shammas and artist Molly Murakami’s First Second graphic novel, “Everyone is White on the Internet,” which will tell the true story of an Arab American girl who grew up in Brooklyn in the early 2000s, and who pretended to be white on her favorite online forums. Both books will be published in 2024. You can read about the rest of the week’s here.
– The film and TV rights to George Gately’s comic strip “Heathcliff” were bought by Legendary, with the company set to develop both imminently. The comic strip stars the titular cat, and was first published in 1973. The strip is now written and illustrated by Peter Gallagher, Gately’s nephew, and Gallagher is also listed as a producer on Legendary’s productions. Steve Waterman (Stuart Little) will also produce. Further details regarding the adaptations, such as whether they will be live-action or animated, and when they will be released, have not been revealed.
– The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, and Vincent Regan have all joined the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Zhao will play the original character Stingray; Moore will play the highly intelligent tiger shark villain Karshon; and Regan will play Atlan, the original ruler of Atlantis. In the first Aquaman, Atlan was portrayed by Graham McTavish. THR also confirmed that Randall Park will be reprising his role of Dr. Stephen Shin in the sequel. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to debut on December 16, 2022.
– The first two episodes of Lupin the Third: Part 6, and the newly dubbed first episode of Lupin the Third: Part 1, will be screened in select US theaters at the end of October, TMS Entertainment and Sentai Filmworks announced. The Lupin the Third anime adapts the “Lupin III” manga by Monkey Punch, and the new dub marks the first English language version of the original series. The latest series, Part 6, sees the titular thief seeking out a treasure that has been hidden by a mysterious British organization known as The Raven, all while becoming the prime suspect of Sherlock Holmes’s investigation into who murdered his partner Watson. Its first two episodes will be screened in Japanese with English subtitles. Lupin the Third: Part 6 is set to debut in Japan on October 10, while the triple-bill US theatrical run is scheduled for October 22-28.
Continued below– A host of Demon Slayer announcements were made by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV. Firstly, it was revealed that the upcoming Entertainment District Arc will debut on December 5, with Miyuki Sawashiro being added to the cast in the role of Daki. Secondly, the Mugen Train movie is being re-edited into a seven-part arc, the first episode of which is entirely new, and tell the story of Rengoku travelling to the Mugen Train. The Mugen Train series is set to debut in Japan on October 10, with Funimation and Crunchyroll set to stream both series in the US, the UK, and more at unspecified dates. Finally, the artists providing music for both series were announced: LiSA did the opening and closing songs for Mugen Train, “Akeboshi” (Morning Star) and “Shirogane” (Silver) respectively, whilst Aimer’s “Zankyō Sanka” (Song of Reverberation) and “Asa ga Kuru” (Daybreak) are likewise scheduled for Entertainment District Arc.
– Marvel Comics announced a new YA novel by Ibi Zoboi called Okoye to the People. The novel will see Okoye making her first trip to America, and uncovering the secret plans of a property mogul for the gentrification of the Brownsville neighborhood. She becomes torn between acting on behalf of Wakanda, and acting for the population of Brownsville. March 1, 2022 is the currently scheduled release date for Okoye to the People. You can read an interview with Zoboi about the book and see its cover over at Marvel.com.
– BBC Studios announced that Russell T Davies will be returning as Doctor Who‘s showrunner in 2023. Davies was the individual behind the show’s relaunch in 2005 before departing in 2009. Along with Davies’s return, BBC Studios announced that the series will be produced by them in partnership with Bad Wolf. The first project of Davies’s second tenure on the sci-fi series will be as part of the show’s 60th anniversary celebrations, though details as to whether this will be a single special episode akin to the 50th anniversary’s “The Day of the Doctor” remains to be seen. Current showrunner Chris Chibnall and star Jodie Whittaker will be leaving the show in 2022, following a six-part series due later this year, and three specials in 2022, the air dates for which have still not been revealed.
– Finally, at Netflix’s first ever fan event, Tudum, the streaming service made multiple reveals regarding upcoming projects:
