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, Valiant Comics announced a new “Doctor Tomorrow” series, AfterShock Comics announced “Godkillers,” AHOY Comics announced their fourth wave of comics for 2020, and Marvel announced “Falcon/Winter Soldier,” “Gwen Stacy,” and more.
– DC Comics announced a new one-shot, “Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P.” by writers James Tynion IV (“Justice League”) and Peter J. Tomasi (“Detective Comics”), and a host of artists including Eddy Barrows (“Freedom Fighters”) and Eber Ferreira (“Wonder Woman”). Following the death of Alfred Pennyworth at the hands of Bane in “Batman” #77, “Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P.” will celebrate the life and influence of the long-time Wayne family servant as well as answer questions surrounding the future. The 48-page one-shot will be in DC’s Prestige Format, and released on February 12.
– Tom Taylor tweeted two fragmented teaser images for an upcoming project at DC, along with the hashtag “Unkillables” and two quotes: “We lost so much we didn’t think there was anything else to lose,” as well as “I know, boy.” “Don’t worry. We’re not gonna leave them like this.” Taylor’s most recent project at the publisher, “DCeased,” ended with issue #6 last week and given the partially obscured “DCeased” logo in Talor’s second image, this new project seems to be a sequel. Given the fragmented forms of the teaser, it can be assumed that the full images will be revealed over the coming days. In the meantime, you can check out the teasers here and here.
– The Beat revealed the details for the first graphic novel to have been borne out of Scholastic’s talent hunt in 2016, “Trespassers” by Breena Bard. It will tell the story of a thirteen year old, Gabby, as she goes on summer vacation to her family’s lake house and befriends Paige, “a snarky kid from Chicago.” Together, they get caught up in the local mystery surrounding a couple that disappeared and left an extravagant lake house behind, with Paige convincing Gabby to trespass to uncover the truth. “Trespassers” will be released in May 2020. You can check out the cover for the graphic novel here.
– First Second revealed that they have acquired the rights to Danica Novgorodoff’s graphic novel, “Climate Change.” The graphic novel is aimed at young adults and depicts the impact of climate change, ranging from tsunamis and hurricanes to the warming weather that has gradually influenced our ecosystems. “Climate Change” is scheduled for a release in 2021. When announcing the acquisition, First Second released a page from the graphic novel which you can see here.
– A new Battlecats mini-series called “Battlecats: Tales of Valderia” was announced. A variety of writers and artists will be working on the series, with their identities not being announced at this time. The mini-series will act as a companion piece to “Battlecats: Volume 1 & 2” by showcasing pivotal moments in the history of Valderia with each issue set to enhance the “characterization and lore of some of the most important felines in the millennia since Valderia’s inception.” “Battlecats: Tales of Valderia” #1 will be released in February.
– BOOM! Studios announced the new creative team and story for the next arc of “Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Starting with issue #5, writer Adam Cesare and artist French Carlomagno will be telling the story of Hup, a Podling cook, and a brand new character, Barfinnious. When Barfinnious visits Hup’s village telling stories of his former glories, Hup is inspired and follows him, only to doubt the truth about Barfinnious’s stories the further he travels. “Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” #5 will be released on January 15.
– It was revealed that director and manga artist, Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) will be providing the illustration for the cover of Italian jazz pianist Giovanni Mirabassi’s upcoming cover album, Mitaka Calling. The album consists of covers of music featured in various Studio Ghibli films, the film studio that Miyazaki co-founded. Miyazaki commented on Mirabassi’s new album, “I love Mirabassi-san’s piano. Freedom and passion, that’s exactly what he is.” Mitaka Calling will be released on December 18. You can check out the artwork and the full track list here.
