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, we interviewed Mike Costa about his “Blackhawks” run.
– Marvel Comics are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Carnage with the one-shot special “Carnage Forever” #1, an anthology featuring stories from Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Ram V, Ty Templeton and Edgar Salazar, among others. The one-shot promises to feature stories from all across the history of Carnage, even giving readers a first look at the next major story for the character. “I’m a huge fan of horror stories in any medium, and getting to lean into the unbridled violence and terror of Carnage — while also finding new ways to subvert reader expectations — has made it a complete thrill,” said Johnson. “For ‘Carnage Forever,’ I wanted to show Carnage in an almost Exorcist-like setting. Without spoiling it, we see him make an unexpected bond with a very unexpected kind of character, with all the grisly and horrifying consequences Carnage fans have come to expect.” “Carnage Forever” #1 releases February 23 with a cover by Kendrick Lim
– Jace Fox, the next Batman, will be leaving Gotham City alongside the whole Fox family, and relocating to New York City in “I Am Batman” #6. The story ‘Empire State of Mind,’ by John Ridley, Ken Lashley, Rex Lokus and Troy Peteri, will bring the Batman to New York in a shift DC promises to be permanent, as he develops his own new allies, rogues and relations with the City that Never Sleeps. “I’m incredibly excited about charting this new direction for Jace and the Fox family,” said Ridley. “This new setting is a great opportunity to do some really creative world building and give Jace his own allies, adversaries, and challenges that will continue to shape and define him as his own character under the cape and cowl.” This will leave Gotham City without a Batman, after the announcement that Bruce Wayne will be leaving the city to re-evaluate himself following the events of ‘Fear State.’ “I Am Batman” #6 releases February 8 with a cover by Olivier Coipel.
– The webcomic platform Tapas Media have announced that they’re signing with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) in an effort to adapt their library of comics and media to the screen. “Tapas Media is aggressively moving into producing feature films and television series based on its rich content library of webcomics and webnovels,” said Tapas Media’s head of film and TV Kevin Nicklaus. “CAA will be a vital partner in our strategic growth, connecting us with the right partners to bring our inclusive stories to audiences in exciting new ways.” Tapas was founded in 2012 under the name Comic Panda, and as of February of this year hosts roughly 61,000 creators. It was acquired by Kakao Entertainment this year in a US$510 million deal.
– DC Comics will be designing a series of posters to help encourage childhood COVID-19 vaccination, as a part of a wider collaboration with the Biden-Harris administration. The posters will be distributed across children’s hospitals in the US and provided to children after vaccination as an incentive. DC and WarnerMedia have previously collaborated with the administration on a series of health and safety campaigns, and this latest campaign comes after First Lady Jill Biden met with children in the Texas Children’s Hospital with Wonder Woman and Superman as part of a pro-vaccine awareness event.
– PBS have announced the newest resident of Sesame Street, the Korean-American muppet Ji-Young, puppeteered by veteran cast member Kathleen Kim. To help celebrate the occasion will be celebrity guests Jim Lee and Simu Liu, among others. “I am so excited, thrilled and honored to announce that I’ll be appearing on [Sesame Street] this Thanksgiving day, welcoming its newest resident, a 7-year-old Korean-American girl named Ji-Young,” said Lee. “It’s crazy and surreal to even write these words but as a young immigrant boy who literally learned English from reading comic books AND watching Sesame Street — I can say this is a dream I hadn’t ever imagined even possible.” Alongside Lee and Liu, special guests Anna Cathcart, Melissa King, Padma Lakshmi, and Naomi Osaka will appear. Sesame Street’s “See Us Coming Together” special releases November 25 on HBO Max, PBSKids, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
– The NBC live musical event Annie Live! has announced that the supporting role of prior US President Franklin D. Roosevelt will be played by actor Alan Toy, the first actor to play FDR and have also survived polio, mirroring the journey of the president who contracted the illness aged 39. Toy joins Celina Smith as Annie, Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, and Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks. “It is a huge honor to join such a talented ensemble,” said Toy. “FDR has always been a role model of accomplishment for me, and I’m thrilled to be able to play him.” Andrea McArdle, the first actor to play Annie on stage, will also cameo alongside Toy as Eleanor Roosevelt. Annie Live! airs on December, 2 at 8:00 p.m ET on NBC.
– Alongside the new trailer set to release tonight, Sony have announced that Spider-Man: No Way Home will release on December 15 in the UK, two days earlier than the US. This makes the UK, alongside other countries in the region, the first place to see the film internationally. The new trailer will be released today at a fan event before releasing online at 8:30pm ET.
