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 announced “Giant-Size X-Men,” “X-Men/Fantastic Four,” “Spider-Man Noir” and much more. Additionally, we had an exclusive preview of “Archie: 1955” #2, and an interview with Ezra Claytan Daniels on the relaunch of his comic “Upgrade Soul.”
– “Sex Criminals” is approaching the beginning of the end with issue #26. Written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, the series has received critical acclaim and a cult fanbase for its sex positive portrayal of modern romance and relationships. The series follow Jon and Suzie, a couple who learn they can stop time when they have sex and use it in the most logical way possible: to rob banks. ‘The End: Part One’ releases in January 2020 with a variant cover by Jason Latour. When asked about the series, Matt Fraction commented that “Riding a bike is just like working with Chip Zdarsky: it’s really cool, and I want all my friends to see me doing it, and it once busted out all my front teeth! We make a comic called ‘Sex Criminals’! I love Chip! Siri stop dictation stop stop no Siri stop stop.”
– Acclaimed webcomic “Homestuck” has received a sequel in the form of “Homestuck^2: Beyond Canon,” with story input from original creator Andrew Hussie. The series uploads monthly, with each new addition featuring a fan decision on where the plot should advance in the next update, a design choice that appeared in the first “Homestuck.” The original series followed John Egbert after he accidentally started the apocalypse by playing the video game Sburb, leading him and his friends to try beat the game in the hopes of putting the world back to normal. “Homestuck^2” is based on epilogues by Hussie and is penned by a group of different writers.
― Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s “Second Coming” #6 has been lengthened to thirty pages. The issue serves as a finale to season one of the comic series. Readers can look forward to Sunstar and Jesus meeting Satan; Sheila and Sunstar going on a long awaited honeymoon; and a preview of Mark Russell’s next AHOY Comics title.
― “New Kid” by Jerry Craft has won the 2019 Kirkus prize for Young Readers’ Literature. The book will sit alongside other Kirkus winners like The Marrow Thieves, As Brave as You, and “Echo.” “‘New Kid’ is a laugh-out-loud combination of art and story that showcases the beauty of graphic novels,” said the Kirkus judges. “Author and illustrator Jerry Craft, along with colorist Jim Callahan, illuminate the angst of an African American child leaving his neighborhood to start seventh grade in a predominantly white private school.” They continued, “In this intergenerational story, every character is treated compassionately. It could only be written by someone who himself has responded to microaggressions and successfully navigated power structures. Jordan Banks is a code-switcher, an activist, and a peacemaker, a superhero for us all.” Craft will receive a $50,000 cash prize for his efforts.
― The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute have announced The Color of Power: Heroes, Sheroes, Their Creators, a New York exhibit that aims to highlight and promote the work of comic book artists of African descent. The exhibit will be held at the landmark firehouse from November 16, 2019 until June 13, 2020, and will feature works by Billy Graham, Sanford Greene, Nilah Magruder, Alitha Martinez, Afua Richardson, and Ronald Wimberly. Also present are the works of curator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, who is known for his slew of other art exhibitions and his career at Marvel and Somos Arte. The exhibition will have a special opening event including a curated tour and family activities.
― Batwoman has been ordered for a full season by the CW. The series has received a generally positive critical reception and has accrued a large viewership due to its ease of streaming. Batwoman spun out of the CW’s “Elseworlds” crossover where audiences were first introduced to Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane, since then the series has cast a spotlight on the Arrowverse’s Gotham City with appearances from Luke Fox, Beth Kane and Tommy Elliot (better known as Hush). The series will be crossing over with the rest of the Arrowverse and a vast tapestry of DC’s TV and Cinema catalogue in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” later this year. Alongside Nancy Drew the series will complete its full first season in 2020.
― Paramount Pictures have announced that a film adaptation of Paul Constant and Alan Robinson’s “Planet of the Nerds” is in development. Angela Cheng Caplan secured the film deal between Paramount and AHOY Comics. AHOY made their debut in 2018 with titles like “The Wrong Earth” and “Dragonfly & Dragonflyman.” “Planet of the Nerds” follows a trio of 1980s high school jocks who are inadvertently put into a cryogenic sleep, only to awaken in the modern day where technology, superheroes and general geekdom dominate pop culture. The series will be available as a trade paperback in stores on October 29th with cover art by David Nakayama.
― Finally, The End of the F***ing World writer Charlie Covell announced in an interview with Radio Times that the show won’t be returning for a third season. “I think, for me, that’s it now. Yeah, that’s done. I think to try and eke more out would be wrong, I like where we’ve left it,” she said. The British series, based on a graphic novel of the same name by Charles Forsman, tells the story of Alyssa, a teenager who falls in love with her psychopathic classmate James. The second season of the show premieres in the UK on Channel 4 tonight, and will be released in the rest of the world on Netflix tomorrow.
