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, Bad Idea has announced its first five titles starting from March 2021, and we interviewed Marguerite Bennett and Renato Guedes about one of the launch titles, “The Lot.” AfterShock has also announced its new post-apocalyptic series “Scout’s Honor,” by writer David Pepose and artist Luca Casalanguida.
Allen Passalaqua
– DC has released the first of its Milestone digital collected editions. 2010’s “Hardware: The Man in the Machine” is now available on DC’s website, as well as comiXology, Amazon Kindle, Apple, and more. Next month will see the release of 1999’s “Icon: A Hero’s Welcome” on the 6th, and “Icon Vol. 2: The Mothership Connection” on the 13th. More titles are expected to be announced between these releases and February 2021, with a brand new “Static Shock” series set to debut in that time.
– David S. Goyer will be writing and producing Batman Unburied, an audio drama premiering on music streaming service Spotify. While no plot details have been revealed, Warner Bros. has revealed that the narrative podcast “will explore the darker aspects of Bruce Wayne’s psychology.” The audio drama is part of last June’s deal between Warner Bros. and Spotify.
– Oni-Lion Forge has announced its lineup of YA and middle-grade graphic novels for Spring 2021, which includes “Delicates” by “Sheets” creator Brenna Thummler, and “Secrets of Camp Whatever” from Chris Grine (best known for “Time Shifters” and “Animorphs: The Graphic Novel”). The first of these newly announced books, “Lemonade Code” (written by Jarod Pratt with art by Jey Odin), will hit shelves in January.
– The release of “Web of Venom: Empyre’s End” #1, Marvel’s transitional one-shot connecting its “Empyre” and “King in Black” events, has been postponed until November 4th. Originally scheduled to hit shelves on October 14, no reason has been given for the three week delay, and “King in Black” is still scheduled to begin the following December. “Web of Venom: Empyre’s End” #1 is written by Clay McLeod Chapman, with art by Guiu Villanova.
– A Kickstarter hopes to bring Hugo Award-winning webcomic “Girl Genius” to the Nintendo Switch. A collaboration between InkyPen, Rain Games and Studio Foglio, Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne will not only feature action/adventure Metroidvania gameplay, but will also contain the entire 20-year run of the webcomic, allowing players to (according to the official press release) “seamlessly read the comics as you play.” As of this writing, the Kickstarter has funded $191,944 of a $200,000 goal.
– Several episodes from multiple Adult Swim series are missing from HBO Max, due to issues of cultural sensitivity. These include The Boondocks episode “The Story of Jimmy Rebel.” According to an Adult Swim spokesperson, the episodes have been “permanently retired,” and were intentionally left out of their deal with HBO, though one (unnamed by the report) was uploaded and promptly removed due to a software error.
– Gillian Anderson is now a comic book superspy, and for a good cause: inspired by a 2016 tweet, writer/artist Gary Yap has created “55,” starring Anderson as Agent 55. The comic was pitched to the Neurofibromatosis Network, which Anderson is the chief spokesperson for, as a fundraiser item. Anderson became part of The Neurofibromatosis Network after her brother passed away from the disease. “55” #1 is available on comiXology and Amazon Kindle today. Yap and Anderson will be signing 55 copies for auction.
– Finally, Hazel Newlevant’s self-published graphic novels will now be distributed by Silver Sprocket. These include “Sugar Town,” the “Chain Mail Bikini” anthology, and the Ignatz Award-winning “Comics for Choice.” Their work for Lion Forge (which merged with Oni Press to create Oni-Lion Forge) are now part of the Oni Press backlist, and will be handled by their distributors.
