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, Legendary Comics announced “Bram Stoker’s Dracula Starring Bela Lugosi,” and BOOM! Studios announced “The Down River People,” the latest addition to their Archaia imprint. We also have an exclusive preview of next week’s “History of the Marvel Universe” #4.
— Scout Comics has announced a new four-issue sci-fi series, “Canopus” from cartoonist and musician Dave Chisholm (“Instrumental”). The series follows a woman who wakes up marooned on a lifeless alien planet 300 light years from Earth, with no memories beyond a hazy sense of an extinction-level urgency to return to Earth. “‘Canopus’ is ultimately an exploration of resentment, memory, identity, and the idea of forgiveness–of letting go,” says Chisholm. “But it’s also a sci-fi story with cool monsters and fun characters! That’s the great thing about sci-fi–you can tell a personal, meaningful, poignant story through these big, imaginative, exciting ideas.” “Canopus” debuts in February 2020.
— As part of today’s National Coming Out Day, Archie Comics is partnering with the It Gets Better Project to create “A Better Universe.” The new comic series, written and drawn by veteran creator Dan Parent, will feature Archie Comics characters in different scenarios where friends come out to them and are greeted with love and support. “At Archie Comics, being inclusive and welcoming is a major part of who we — and Riverdale — are,” said Archie Comics Co-President Alex Segura. “It’s a place where friendship and unity are essential, integral elements.”
— Writers Garth Ennis and Alex de Campi announced they would be contributing to a new “Battle Special” from Rebellion in 2020, with Ennis contributing a new story featuring the Rat Pack. The news comes from the latest episode of the 2000AD Thrillcast (and to us via DownTheTubes).
— Via Variety, director Pierre Morel (Taken) has signed on to adapt Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman’s “The Blacksmith” from a script by Ben Ripley. The graphic novel follows a weapons expert who goes on the run after his lab is destroyed and his colleagues are murdered. No cast has yet been confirmed, but production is set to begin in 2020.
— A judge has allowed the lawsuit against AMC by the family of deceased stuntman John Bernecker to move forward. Bernecker’s family filed suit in January 2018 alleging that the network cut corners on safety precautions when Bernecker fell to his death on the set of The Walking Dead in 2017. AMC claimed that under Georgia law, Bernecker had legally assumed the risks of the fall. The judge dismissed this claim, allowing the case to go before a jury. A trial is set to begin in Georgia on December 9th.
— Via THR, Marvel Studios VP Victoria Alonso is set to be honored with the Filmmakers’ Award at the Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards in January 2020. “The MPSE is proud to recognize Victoria Alonso not only for her role in producing some of the most successful films of all time, but also as a champion for women, minorities, the LGBTQ community and others,” said MPSE president Tom McCarthy. Alonso first joined Marvel Studios back in 2005, and has been an executive producer on every Marvel Studios film since 2012’s The Avengers.
— Wayne Brady is set to carve out a role for himself in the CW’s DC Comics universe as the Gravedigger on Black Lightning. The busy performer will jump into the third season of the series as Tyson Spikes, a WWII-era member of the U.S. military who became a “super soldier” after a secret experiment gifted him with enhanced strength, agility, tactical genius and hand-to-hand combat expertise. Brady is first set to appear in early 2020, following Black Lightning’s appearance in the upcoming blockbuster crossover event ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths.’
— According to Deadline, The Jim Henson Company is joining forces with Webtoon to adapt Rachel Smythe’s Eisner-nominated webcomic “Lore Olympus” as an animated series. A stylized reworking of Greek mythology, Lore Olympus will be aimed at young adults.
— IGN have revealed Disney Junior’s The Rocketeer update will jet onto Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and DisneyNOW on Friday, November 8th. The series will feature Kit Secord, a young girl “who takes to the skies to protect her community after becoming the surprise recipient of a rocket-pack that gives her the ability to fly.” Billy Campbell, the titular Rocketeer of Disney’s 1991 adaptation of Dave Stevens’s comic book creation, will play Kit’s father in the new series.
— And finally, history repeats itself as Jason Todd finds himself in the fans’ crosshairs once again, this time courtesy of a poll on DCUniverse for the Titans TV show. Just like in the legendary fan stunt during the 1988 Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo “Batman” storyline ‘A Death in the Family,’ fans can vote at this link to determine whether the young Robin–played by Curran Walters on the show–will live or die following his plunge off a building in the most recent Titans episode.
