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.
Her Gang of Harleys
– Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner have announced the end of their run on “Harley Quinn” with issue #34 in December. The couple have overseen Harley Quinn’s solo title since 2014, during which the character’s popularity soared with the release of the Suicide Squad movie. They said they felt they could “take a nice break while the character is essentially as hot as ever,” revealing they have so many story ideas that DC are open to them returning to the title at some point. Frank Tieri (who co-wrote “Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys” with Palmiotti and Conner) will succeed them with artist Inaki Miranda (“Catwoman,” “Ragman”). Conner will remain as cover artist.
– At NYCC, Ta-Nehisi Coates teased a new “Storm” comic. Now it has been confirmed, in an interview with The Inquirer that Coates will be writing a new solo for the X-Man, with Jen Bartel (“Jem and the Holograms,” “America”) as the artist. It is unknown when the title will be released, and whether it will be an ongoing or not.
– Also during NYCC, Marvel announced January’s “X-Men Gold Annual #1” will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Excalibur.” They have now provided a cover by co-creator Alan Davis which reveals Captain Britain and Meggan are now parents. Alitha E. Martinez (“Iron Man,” “Batgirl”) will draw the interior art for the annual written by Marc Guggenheim and Leah Williams. It has also been confirmed the “Venom” crossover starting in the “X-Men Blue” annual that month will be six issues.
– Tom King has been teasing a secret project with “Batman” and “Justice League” artist Jason Fabok. Now a new page posted on Twitter reveals the comic will feature Swamp Thing, whom King used in “Batman” #23 earlier this year.
– Michel Fiffe (“All New Ultimates”) revealed he is attached to a revival of Rob Liefeld’s Image Comic series “Bloodstrike,” due out next year. The original comic from 1993 was about superpowered assassins who have been resurrected by the government to do their bidding.
– Marvel’s chief creative officer Joe Quesada was the victim of an art theft, NorthJersey.com reports, after a contractor stole $239,000 worth of artwork from his house. Police have arrested and charged the suspect, 64-year old Francesco Bove, who sold comic books and art owned by Quesada to various dealers in New York under the pretence that he had been given them due to water damage. Quesada has declined comment.
– Brian Fies, author of the Eisner Award-winning webcomic “Mom’s Cancer,” informed The Comics Reporter he has lost all his original artwork following the wildfires in Santa Rosa and other parts of northern California. He reported Jeannie and Craig Schulz (The Peanuts Movie) lost their homes but escaped, while the Schulz Museum, Studio, and Ice Arena complex are fine, with Paige Braddock (“Jane’s World”) adding the Schulz Studio staff are all safe and accounted for. Confirming various other cartoonists are fine, he said “There’s a lot of cartooning talent around here; I’m sure we’ll be commiserating for a long time.” The death toll currently stands at 17, with hundreds missing. The San Francisco Chronicle have a page on how you can help here.
– Victor Garber, who plays Prof. Martin Stein on Legends of Tomorrow, is leaving the series. His character arc in season three of the show was written with this decision in mind, and he has already moved on to headline Hello, Dolly! on Broadway from January 20. We’ll have to keep watching the show, which just resumed airing, to learn the fate of Stein and Firestorm.
– Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s “eight years later” caption threw a wrench into the assumption of many (including the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. production team) that The Avengers took place when it was released in 2012. In response, Kevin Feige has declared plans for an official timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be published at some point.
– Current Batman actor Ben Affleck has apologized for groping TRL host Hilarie Burton in 2003. The accusation came after Affleck was accused of helping to bury a story about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual aggressions. Afterwards, an accusation came from makeup artist and author Annamarie Tendler that he assaulted her at the 2014 Golden Globes. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on the promotional tour for Justice League.
