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, Marvel Comics have announced “The X-Cellent,” Peter Milligan and the Allreds’ “X-Statix” sequel, is arriving in February. We also talked to Si Spurrier about his new series “The Rush,” which unfortunately because of the paper shortage crisis, has been delayed until next week.
– Via Screen Rant, Z2 Comics have announced Jefferson Starship’s seminal 1970 concept album, Blows Against The Empire, will be receiving an adaptation in comic book form. Jefferson Starship’s first album, which celebrates its 51st anniversary, tells the story of a young couple making their way under the yoke of an oppressive fascist state. “Blows Against The Empire” is written by Ben Kahn with art from G. Romero-Johnson, and will be available in March 2022.
– Marvel have announced “Savage Spider-Man,” written by Joe Kelly with art by Gerardo Sandoval. Spinning out of “Non-Stop Spider-Man,” this limited series sees Peter Parker turned into an eight-legged beast. According to the official description, “Forget everything you know about Spider-Man. All rules and regulations are out the door and Peter Parker may never be the same!” “Savage Spider-Man” #1 will be released in February, and features a cover by Nick Bradshaw.
– Marvel also announced “Mighty Marvel Holiday Special: Halloween With The Rhino.” This Marvel Unlimited debut is written by Ryan North with art by Tom Reilly, and colored by Chris O’Halloran. The official description reads “it’s time to celebrate Halloween in New York — and in a city full of heroes and villains, dressing up to trick-or-treat can bring more trouble than you might think… One of Spider-Man’s oldest foes, the Rhino, learns this the hard way.” “Mighty Marvel Holiday Special: Halloween With The Rhino” will be available Friday October 29, 2021.
– Via IGN, Legendary Comics have announced that the graphic novel of Dune: Part One will be launched via Kickstarter. The publisher states that there is little risk in backing the project due to the fact that the graphic novel has already been completed, which has left some fans confused as to why such a big studio would need to use Kickstarter. According to a representative, it’s not that the studio is unable to fund the comic, but instead that it is using the Kickstarter to produce extra content. You can check out the Kickstarter here.
– Speaking of Dune, Legendary and Warner Bros. announced that Dune: Part Two will be released in theaters on October 20, 2023. Director and co-writer Denis Villeneuve will return to adapt the rest of Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel. Dune: Part One performed above expectations at the box office, and on HBO Max, after its dual release in the US last week, and has so far grossed $223.2 million worldwide. You can read our review of the movie here.
– Following up on a story about the mistreatment of “Supermom: Expecting Trouble”‘s writer, Gordon McLean, Comic Book Yeti have extensive coverage about the allegations against Action Lab regarding their business practices. Comic Book Yeti have talked to other creators as well as Action Lab. They have compiled a timeline of events and Claire Napier, the original investigator, did a deep dive into Action Labs contracts and how they are presented to creators. For continuing coverage, check out The Comic Book Yeti.
– Deadline reports Darnell Metayer & Josh Peters (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) will write the HBO Max series Val Zod. The show, which is being developed by Michael B. Jordan’s production company Outlier Society with DC and Warner Bros. TV, will revolve around the Black Superman of Earth 2. According to Deadline, the writers have “got an unexpected take on the iconic Earth-2 character’s origin story.” Outlier Society are also involved in a live-action film version of Static Shock.
– Bill Murray has revealed in a German interview that he will be appearing in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The comedy icon did not mention which film he would be in, or who he would play, but stated he loved director Peyton Reed’s 2000 classic Bring It On, which is why “I agreed, although I’m not interested in these huge comic book adaptations as an actor otherwise.” Quantumania will be released on July 28, 2023, while Bill Murray will be next seen in theaters (along with Paul Rudd) in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, out November 19.
– Netflix released the official trailer for Cowboy Bebop. It hints at Spike Spiegel (John Cho)’s backstory, and shows his and Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir)’s first meeting with Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda), as well as the Bebop itself. The show will be released on November 19.
– Finally, the 46th annual Saturn Awards were held last night. The awards, which had been delayed from last year, honored the best genre entertainment from July 2019-November 2020. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director for J.J. Abrams, and Best Music for John Williams, while Joker won Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture. Winners in the TV categories included Star Trek: Discovery, The Walking Dead, The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Boys, as well as Patrick Stewart (for Picard), Doug Jones (Discovery), Danielle Panabaker (The Flash), Brec Bassinger (Stargirl), and Jon Cryer (Supergirl.) You can read the full list of winners here.
