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.
– Via CBR, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures have announced the creative team for their new ongoing “Conan the Barbarian” series. The book will be written by Jim Zub, and feature art by Roberto De La Torre with colors by José Villarrubia. Zub and De La Torre both previously contributed to Marvel’s Conan revival. Titan and Heroic Signatures previously announced its partnership in June. In addition to the new series, Titan will continue the “Savage Sword of Conan” omnibus line, previously published by Marvel. “Savage Sword of Conan” Volume 9 will launch in Fall 2023. Titan’s “Conan the Barbarian” is set to begin in June 2023.
– Via AIPT, Tokyopop have announced the third installment in their line of original graphic novels set in the Nightmare Before Christmas universe, “The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Battle for Pumpkin King.” Written by Dan Conner from a story by Shaun McLaughlin and D.J. Milky, and featuring art from Deborah Allo and Roberto Scalia, the book details the history between Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie, once good friends turned bitter rivals. This five-issue series is set to begin in March 2023.
– Deadline reports that DC’s Stargirl will conclude with its third season, which is currently airing on The CW. Stargirl is the latest CW series to come to an end following Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of the network. The series was created by Geoff Johns and stars Brec Bassinger as the titular Courtney Whitmore, a character Johns created when he first began his career in 1999. Johns said “we were aware this was possibly the last season, so we wrote with that in mind and have delivered what I believe to be the best season of Stargirl yet.” The third season also stars Joel McHale as Starman, as he offers to train Courtney. DC’s Stargirl airs on Wednesdays through December 7, 2022.
– Variety reports Cristin Milioti has been cast as Sofia Falcone in HBO Max’s upcoming The Batman spinoff series centered on Colin Farrell’s Penguin. Sofia Falcone is the daughter of Carmine Falcone, portrayed by John Turturro in The Batman. Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot served as his right hand man. It is believed the series will pick up in the immediate aftermath of the film. The Penguin is one of three spinoffs of The Batman currently in the works at HBO Max.
– Via Deadline, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been cast as the lead in Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series Wonder Man. Abdul-Mateen will star as Simon Williams, the actor who becomes Wonder Man. The series will be helmed by Shang-Chi‘s Destin Daniel Cretton and Hawkeye‘s Andrew Guest, with the former serving as director and executive producer, and the latter serving as head writer. The series will also see the return of Sir Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery. Wonder Man is currently in development.
– Marvel have announced that they have partnered with EA in a long-term deal for at least three action adventure games that will be available for consoles and PC. Each game will feature its own story set in the Marvel Universe, starting with the currently in-development third-person Iron Man game by Motive Studio. The team creating the game is led by Olivier Proulx, who previously worked on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game.
– Publishers Weekly reports a federal judge has blocked Penguin Random House parent Bertelsmann’s planned buyout of Simon & Schuster. The merger would’ve given Bertelsmann unprecedented dominance of the U.S. book market, with Penguin Random House already having a 24 percent market share. The acquisition came about after Simon & Schuster’s parent company, Paramount Global, decided to sell off the company in 2020, as part of a decision to focus on film, TV, and Paramount+. Random House plans to appeal the decision.
– Finally, Heartstopper star Kit Connor has come out as bisexual, tweeting “I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye.” Variety states Connor made the decision after he was accused of “queerbaiting” on social media. Alice Oseman, who wrote the show and the comic it’s based on, expressed support for Connor, stating “I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed as FUCK. Kit you are amazing.”
