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 has announced “Black Widow & Hawkeye,” celebrating the 60th anniversary of both characters. We also have exclusive preview of next week’s “What If…? Dark: Tomb of Dracula” #1.
– DC has unveiled a new line of Compact Comics, collected editions of classic DC graphic novels at a reduced size and price. These Compact books will be $9.99 and 5.5″ x 8.5″ in size, both of which are more comparable to manga than American graphic novels, though they will still be full color. DC hopes the new format will attract new readers, pushing for these books to be shelved in big box and transit stores, and in bookstores outside of dedicated graphic novel sections. The first books to receive the Compact treatment will be “Watchmen” and “All-Star Superman,” both of which are set to drop June 2024. Other stories expected to receive the treatment include “Far Sector,” “Batman: The Court of Owls,” and “American Vampire.”
– Dark Horse has revealed the hardcover graphic novel “Assassins Creed Valhalla: The Hidden Codex.” Written by Mathieu Gabella, with art from Paolo Traisci, the Ubisoft video game adaptation follows Edward, a monk searching for his brother with the help of a Viking wiseman and a secret society. It will be available in bookstores on April 30, 2024, and comic shops the following day.
– Vault Comics has launched The Vault Cast, a new podcast hosted by Daniel Crary and produced by Kyle Faucher. In the first episode, Tim Seely and Jim Terry discuss their upcoming book “Deathstalker,” which they created with former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. The book is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.
– Superman & Lois’s upcoming fourth season will be its last. The CW series will air its final ten episodes sometime next year. Brad Schwartz, the CW’s president of entertainment, calls them “an absolutely epic 10-episode must-watch-every-minute farewell to one of the most legendary CW families ever.” The announcement comes after Nexstar’s acquisition of the network. With its cancellation, it leaves the network with only three original programs (All American, All American: Homecoming, and Walker.) DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran had previously hinted that show would only run for one or two more seasons.
– Hulu’s revival of Futurama has been renewed for two more seasons. The series, created by Matt Groening, “crawled triumphantly from the cryogenic tube” after a “brief ten-year hiatus,” according to the official synopsis, bringing back most of the original cast. The current relaunch first premiered on the streamer this year, anchoring its Animayhem brand. Twenty episodes were previously ordered, with the next ten debuting sometime next year. The new seasons will be the 13th and 14th.
– The second annual Children’s and Family Emmy Award nominations have been announced. Sweet Tooth picked up 11, including three in Outstanding Supporting Performance for Adeel Akhtar, Nonso Anozie, and Neil Sandilands, while Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur earned eight, including Outstanding Animated Series, and Outstanding Voice Performance for Laurence Fishburne. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special picked up seven, including Outstanding Fiction Special, while Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures and Baymax! were respectively nominated for five and four awards. The winners will be announced at an unspecified date because of the SAG-AFTRA strike; until then, hit the link to find out all the nominees.
– GKIDS released the English dub trailer for The Boy and the Heron. The film is director Hayao Miyazaki’s latest after ten years. Voice talent includes Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh. Special preview engagements begin in LA and New York on November 22, with a wide release on December 8.
– Finally, a new gameplay trailer gives us an extended look at Invincible’s Omni-Man in Mortal Kombat 1, showing off the Viltrumite conqueror’s moveset and fatality (inspired by the scene from the Amazon Prime Video series.) J.K. Simmons reprises his role from the animated series. He will be released on November 9 as part of the Kombat Pack 1 DLC set, which will also include Peacemaker and The Boys‘ Homelander. You can view the trailer here.
