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 interviewed Hunter Gorinson on the Multiversity Coffee Break, as well as “Shadow Roads” creators Brian Hurtt, A.C. Zamudio, and Carlos N. Zamudio.
– Having just passed the one month anniversary of Chadwick Boseman’s death, many creators in the comic industry have paid tribute to him and his legacy in their work. Cartoonist Todd McFarlane depicted Boseman on the secondary cover for “Spawn” #311, due out October 28. Similarly, Marvel Comics included a memorial section in their new releases to remember the death of Boseman, featuring a portrait by artist Brian Stelfreeze, and a euology by “Black Panther” writer, columnist and personal friend of Boseman, Ta-Nehisi Coates. He wrote, “My recourse is inadequate, but it’s all I have to make meaning of this tragedy. It is the idea of ancestry. It is the notion that when someone like Chad wields their weapons as fiercely as he once did, they are remembered. It is the idea that Chad’s wisdom and power are still with us in ancestral form. It is the thought that just as Chad once walked into the City of the Dead and harnessed the energy of those who’d gone before him, so he too may be harnessed, by all those warriors to come.”
– Image Comics and Humble Bundle are collaborating on a new Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie Showcase bundle. For as little as US$1, fans can get DRM-free copies of “The Wicked + The Divine” Vol. 1, “Die” Vol. 1 and “Ludocrats” #1, while those who pay the maximum US$20 will receive the entirety of “The Wicked + The Divine” in both digital trade paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as the entirety of “Phonogram,” “Long Hot Summer,” and “Three,” plus “Die” Vols. 1-2 and “Ludocrats” #1-4. McKelvie’s next project, “Killing Horizon,” is set for a Summer 2020 release and Kieron Gillen is currently writing “Die,” “Ludocrats,” “Warhammer 40,000: Magnus Calgar,” “Once & Future,” and “The Eternals.” All proceeds from the bundle will go towards the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which helps provide for LGBTQIA+ girls and women.
– The BINC Foundation have announced a new charity initiative to support bookstores and comic shops affected by the wildfires in the West and Northwest of the United States. The Book Industry Charitable Foundation have pledged their support to those in need of personal funds while their stores try to recover, as well as those who need financial aid with their business directly. The current wildfires are some of the worst on record, especially this far after the summer season. Binc made a point to emphasize the underreporting of the wildfires, and lack of appropriate support for all those affected.
– DC Comics’ “Amethyst,” by cartoonist Amy Reeder, has had its final issue delayed. “Amethyst” #6 was originally solicited for a September 22 release date following the COVID-19 Diamond Distribution shutdown, but was later pushed back to October 20 and now back to November 24. “Amethyst” follows an orphan girl from Earth who found a surrogate home on Gemworld, and returns years later to try and repair the damaged realm. The trade paperback collection of the series will release on February 16, 2021.
– The Guardian has been critisized for hiring homophobic and Islamophobic cartoonist Andrzej Krauze. LGBTQIA+ activist Peter Tatchell led the charge, stating “just because Krauze is only publishing his hateful cartoons in Poland does not absolve The Guardian of a responsibility to take a stance consistent with its values and ethics. If Krauze was producing similar bigoted cartoons about Jewish people in the Polish press I am certain The Guardian would have no hesitation in dispensing with his service.” Krauze’s political views became most infamous in 2009 when he released a cartoon comparing same-sex marriage to bestiality, releasing the cartoon around the same time as a Polish referendum on the issue. Since then the cartoon has been used frequently by homophobic politicians in the Polish electoral cycle. The Guardian has been reported to actively rebuff letters of criticism around their relationship with Krauze, and have been argued to give legitimacy to his bigotry.
Continued below– Actor Alex Morf will be adding a new superhero universe to his repertoire next year, having just been cast as Victor Zsasz in Batwoman season 2. Morf will be facing off against Javicia Leslie’s brand new Batwoman, Ryan Wilder, as the masochistic serial killer. Morf has previously played hitman John Healy on Netflix’s Daredevil and gang leader Sykes on Gotham, making this his third and likely largest superhero outing.
– That said, Batwoman’s filming will be interrupted alongside a host of other shows undergoing production in Vancouver, due to a new wave of COVID-19 testing in British Columbia. Riverdale, Big Sky, Batwoman, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Nancy Drew and Charmed have all halted filming for the temporary delay after the province opened for filming back in June. No shows have announced whether this will lead to a delayed release as of yet.
– Netflix’s Locke & Key has added three new regulars to its season 2 cast. Season 1 alums Aaron Ashmore and Hallea Jones, who play Duncan Locke and Eden Hawkins respectively, have both been promoted to series regulars. They will be joined by Brendan Hines, who plays Josh Bennett, a history teacher who’s equal parts charming and conceited. The series just resumed filming in Toronto as COVID-19 restrictions eased, meaning the three will be able to join the series’s regular cast, as well as guest star Liyou Abere (playing pre-teen ally against evil Amie Bennett), in preparing the series for its as-of-yet unannounced release date.
– The PS5 remaster of Marvel’s Spider-Man released a host of new footage yesterday, including the reveal of a new motion capture actor for Peter Parker. While voice actor Yuri Lowenthal’s voice and expressions will carry over, they will now be embodied by actor Ben Jordan rather than the original John Bubniak. Players will also be able to enjoy the game at 60FPS with enhanced graphics and textures.
– Finally, Marvel Studios found its Ms. Marvel at last with newcomer Iman Vellani taking up the mantle. Vellani will be starring in a Disney+ series centered around the character with Bisha K. Ali as showrunner. Kamala Khan was introduced in 2014 by writer G. Willow Wilson and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, and went on to star in some of Marvel’s best selling graphic novels of the 2010s, receiving six different Eisner nominations, as well as winning both a Hugo and an Angoulême. Ms. Marvel has no set release date as of yet, but it has been confirmed that Vellani’s character will have cinematic appearances in the future.
