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.
ICYMI, there was a notable update in the story of the death of Kazuki Takahashi, with the U.S. military disclosing the “Yu-Gi-Oh!” creator gave his life trying to assist in the rescue of three people.
– Hot off the heels of the release of “Sea Serpent’s Heir Book One: Pirate’s Daughter,” Skybound’s YA and middle-grade graphic novel imprint Skybound Comet has unveiled its follow-up. “Sea Serpent’s Heir Book Two: Black Wave” is the second book in the planned trilogy from creators Mairghread Scott and Pablo Tunica. Picking up the story of Aella, a teenage girl who has discovered herself to be the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent that is destined to end the world, “Black Wave” finds Aella beset by religious zealots, warriors, and pirates all looking to destroy the world-ending serpent. “Sea Serpent’s Heir Book Two: Black Wave” crashes to comic shops on September 6, 2023, with a release on all other platforms and stores on September 12.
– Via AIPT, Dark Horse Comics has announced the new graphic novel “Prism Stalker: The Weeping Star” from writer and artist Sloane Leong. The sequel to 2018’s “Prism Stalker” returns to the planet Eriatarka, following the returning character Vep as she and her fellow students attempt to further the Chorus’s colonization of the wild and unruly planet. “Prism Stalker: The Weeping Star” shines down on comic shops on June 24, 2023, before making its way to bookstores on July 4, 2023.
– Rapper Chuck D is providing a special variant cover for the new comic “Rogue State,” written by Black Mask Studios founder Matteo Pizzolo with art by C. Granda. Via Rolling Stone, the new comic takes place in an alternate reality where an authoritarian regime has taken hold of the United States after a contested election, and the Supreme Court OK’d militias based on the wording of the Second Amendment. Public Enemy rapper Chuck D’s variant cover comes in the form of a triptych depicting three aspects of the societal unrest depicted in the comic: “dirty water,” “food shortage,” and “homelessness.” Each of the panels will be available as connected variants for the series. “Rogue State” #1 launches on November 9.
– Jeremy Holt and Felipe Cunha’s upcoming project “Gatsby” will now be released as AWA Studios’ first original graphic novel. Holt announced the format change for the modern YA update of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby on Twitter, saying this was always the format they had envisioned for the project. “We are standing on the very tall shoulders of F. Scott Fitzgerald and want to align our reimagining of his work with how the source material debuted almost a century ago: as a complete, self-contained work of fiction.” The change in format means the project will be delayed until next year, however; though the first issue was scheduled for release November 2, the “Gatsby” party will now begin in Spring 2023. For more information about the graphic novel, you can check out our interview with Holt from earlier this month.
– Creator David López is crafting an illustrated book as part of the month-long daily drawing challenge Inktober. As described in his newsletter, his goal is to produce a series of drawings that function as a coherent story with a beginning, middle and end titled “Trail to Lost Forest.” The image series will follow the pair of heroes Karona and Strelka on their journey through the fantasy realm of Rôros, in search of the Lost Forest. After each drawing is posted on social media, López will post the page for sale on his online store for the fastest purchaser to claim.
– Chapter one of the DoorDash/Marvel custom sponsored comic book is now available as a motion comic. “The Dashers” focuses on the “real life heroes” that deliver for the service, shining a spotlight on “the work and lives of those who deliver with DoorDash,” and telling the story of four Dashers who save the city of “Dashville.” “The Dashers” was released last week as a comic book during New York Comic Con. You can read the first chapter of the motion comic here.
Continued below– The upcoming HBO Max drama series Dead Boy Detectives has added more members to its cast. Via Deadline, Michael Beach (Dahmer: Monster), Joshua Colley (Senior Year) and Lindsey Gort (All Rise) have all joined the cast in recurring roles. Beach is set to play Tragic Mick, a “melancholy walrus trapped in a human body;” Colley will portray Monty, a teenager who can see ghosts; and Gort portrays Maxine, the town librarian. Based on DC characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, Dead Boy Detectives stars George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri as the titular deceased British teenagers, and Kassius Nelson as their living best friend. The eight-part series comes from showrunners Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant) and Beth Schwartz.
– Cambridge University’s Lucy Cavendish College has launched a new permanent collection of graphic novels. The announcement refers to the collection as “one of the world’s most ambitious compilations of the works of artists and writers” in the field. The college has begun by establishing a core collection that includes works by John Lewis, Alison Bechdel, R. Crumb, Phoebe Gloeckner, Thi Bui, and Art Spiegelman, among others; the plan is to expand on the collection over the coming years, aiming to build a library that “supports interdisciplinary research by curating influential graphic novels from groundbreaking indie and LGBTQ+ authors, women and people of color.”
– A new comic book festival is coming to Arizona, founded by comics artist and colorist Ryan Cody. The Arizona Comicbook Arts Festival will be held next year at the Phoenix Shrine Auditorium and Event Center. The event is billed as a smaller, focused show that is “all about comics and the creators.” “When you’re at a show with thirty thousand other people in the room, it’s easy to feel left out,” Cody said. “Our show is small, intimate, and focused. I think it’s just what Arizona comic fans have been wanting.” The guest list currently includes Mitch Gerads, Darick Robertson, and Andrew MacLean. Pre-sale tickets will be on sale through a Kickstarter campaign on October 19, with general sales opening on November 21. The Arizona Comicbook Arts Festival takes place on February 25, 2023.
