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.
– The New York Daily News have the first look at “Old Man Hawkeye,” a 12-issue spin-off of “Old Man Logan.” Written by former NYDN entertainment editor Ethan Sacks (who wrote a Daily Bugle story for “Secret Empire: Brave New World”), and pencilled by Marco Checchetto (“Star Wars: Shattered Empire,” “Captain Phasma”), the comic will follow Hawkeye five years before the events of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s original story. The first issue will be out in January.
– Bleeding Cool were informed Dark Horse senior editor Scott Allie has left the publisher to go freelance: he is still employed by the company, but also intends to work for other publishers. The news comes almost two years after Allie stepped down as editor-in-chief, and underwent alcohol rehab as reports emerged that he was often drunkenly abusive to employees.
– Rebellion are bringing back the football comic strip “Roy of the Rovers.” Published weekly by Fleetway from 1976 to 1995, the comic was incorporated into the BBC’s Match of the Day magazine until 2001, and the character has not been seen since. Rebellion, who acquired the Fleetway library last year, announced a series of graphic novels starring the soccer player will be published next year to coincide with the 2018/19 football season.
– CBR published an editorial arguing original Wonder Woman artist Harry George Peter should receive co-creator credit for the character. Given the successful campaign for Bill Finger to receive credit for Batman with Bob Kane, one hopes DC will also correct this oversight so future media will list Wonder Woman as “created by” William Moulton Marston and HG Peter.
– Marco Lopez (“Grimm Tales of Terror”), Derek Ruiz (“The Alchemist”), Lion Forge editor Desiree Rodriguez, and Nickelodeon manager Neil M. Schwartz are organizing an anthology to raise funds for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Their book will “highlight the beauty, culture and history of Puerto Rico told by the voices of Puerto Rican creators along with other Latinx and non-Latinx allies.” Hopefully it can attract as many creators as DC and IDW’s successful charity anthology “Love is Love.” Meanwhile, if you’re not sure how to help, the Simpsons have got you covered.
– Sony have fast-tracked a new Men in Black film for May 17, 2019. The screenplay by Iron Man writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum clearly impressed producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, who called it a “spin-off that somehow is true to the core of the MiB world and yet expands the franchise to a fresh new place.” Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will not return for the fourth film inspired by Lowell Cunningham’s out-of-print series. It was also clarified the film is not the long-mooted Jump Street crossover, which remains in development.
– Lindsey Gort (Lucifer) has joined Titans as Amy Rohrbach, the police detective partnered with Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites). The character was first introduced by Chuck Dixon and Greg Land in October 2000’s “Nightwing” #48. Titans will be released next year on the as-yet-unnamed DC streaming service.
– Vulture have an extensive interview with Geoff Johns and Diane Nelson about the future of DC Films, which DC Entertainment have gradually gained control of from Zack Snyder, and how the TV approach of having an interconnected universe and unrelated projects (like Titans) influenced their direction. Writer Abraham Riesman also had fun uncovering the origins of the term “DC Extended Universe,” which is not an official term DC uses internally.
– The American Library Association celebrated Banned Books last week, and revealed Mariko and Jillian Tamaki’s “This One Summer” was the most challenged book in 2016. Objectors to the book being stocked cited its “LGBT characters, drug use and profanity,” as well for being “sexually explicit with mature themes.” The Tamakis told NBC they were surprised the graphic novel drew so many complaints two years after it was published.
– Neal Adams has recorded a homage to his “new favorite comic book,” Tom King and Lee Weeks’s “Batman/Elmer Fudd.” It’s quite an impressive 13-minute motion comic, with Adams doing a decent job of portraying how Arthur Q. Bryan and Mel Blanc may have done these takes on their characters (though his Porky Pig impression leaves a lot to be desired), and it even uses Carl Stalling’s original score.
– Finally, we asked whether you preferred “DC Rebirth” or “Marvel Legacy.” 82% of you responded that you found DC’s one-shot prelude superior, explaining that it was more coherent and emotional than Marvel’s latest jumping-on point.
