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, the Silver Tier Free Comic Book Day titles were announced, Dark Horse’s “Ghostbusters: Back in Town” will set up the new film, and J. Michael Straczynski is returning to the Resistance Universe with Mike Choi for “U And I.” We also have exclusive previews of next week’s ”Moon Knight: City of the Dead” #5, and January’s “Thanos” #2.
and Andrew Hennessy
– “Super Sons” co-creator/writer Peter J. Tomasi is joining up with artist David Lafuente to examine what life is like for the kids on the other side. “Sinister Sons” will star Lor-Zod, son of Superman nemesis General Zod, and Sinson/Korg, who may be the offspring of Sinestro. The series will see them decide whether or not to follow their infamous fathers, or rise against them. Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy provide cover art, with variants from Jamal Campbell, Dan Mora, V. Ken Marion and Danny Miki, Ramon Perez, and Pete Woods. Issue #1 drops February 13, 2024.
– Chip Zdarsky will tackle the origins of the Clown Prince of Crime with ‘The Joker: Year One‘ story arc. Kicking off in February 6’s “Batman” #142, and running weekly until issue #144 on February 20, the arc will re-examine the Joker’s traditional origin, and see the Red Hood Gang reform under a new leader. Zdarsky will be joined on the book by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, Andrea Sorrentino, Alejandro Sánchez, and Dave Stewart.
– “Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum” will now hit shelves on February 6, 2024. The five-issue miniseries is a prequel to Rocksteady Studios’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the upcoming video game available for PS5, Xbox X/S, and PC, and sees Amanda Waller take over Arkham Asylum, staging a free-for-all deathmatch between patients to find new recruits for Task Force X. DC moved the comic’s release date forward from March 2023 to correspond with the game’s rescheduling (Kill the Justice League is set to hit shelves on February 2, 2024 now.) John Layman writes with art from Jesús Herás. It will be for readers ages 17+, echoing the game’s ESRB M rating.
– Writer Cody Ziglar and artist Justin Mason will helm a brand new “Spider-Punk” solo comic. The four-issue miniseries will see Hobie Brown go up against Doc Ock and Justin Hammer’s Spider-Slaying Sentinels. In a statement, Zigler promises “there’ll 100% be a Spider-Punk Playlist Vol 2!” Issue #1 (of four) is due out February 2024. Marvel also revealed in their February 2024 solicitations that Ed Brisson and Francesco Manna will launch a third “Predator” run, and full details on Marc Bernardin and Georges Jeanty’s “Mace Windu” series; we’ll have a look at all those in Soliciting Multiversity later this month.
– Image revealed “The Cabinet,” a new series from its Syzygy imprint, described as a combination of “Constantine with Clarissa Explains It All through a Lisa Frank-esque lens.” Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated writer Jordan Hart (“Ripple Effects”) and co-writer David Ebeltoft join artist Chiara Raimondi (“Memories of Alexandria”) for the five-issue miniseries, which follows two teens in the early ’90s collecting artificials to re-seal an ancient evil. The first issue will be available on February 14, 2024.
– Mad Cave Studios will release Tony McMillen’s experimental graphic novel “Attaboy.” The science fiction OGN, which was crowdfunded on Kickstarter before being picked up by Mad Cave, is disguised as a classic video game instruction manual. “Attaboy, the ‘byte’-sized hero, is forced to avenge the destruction of his father and creator, Dr. Atta, by the sinister rebellious mechazoid Motherboard,” reads the official synopsis. “However, the turn of each page unravels a much deeper story of pixelated thoughts, real-world references, and heartbreaking truths.” The book is due out May 7, 2024.
– Oni Press is launching Rick and Morty‘s first comic book event, “Finals Week.” The event will be a series of bimonthly, interconnected one-shots, each one adding to the greater narrative, and all with their own creative team. The first issue will be “Rick and Morty Finals Week: SheRick Holmes and Mortson” #1, seeing the title duo solving a sci-fi locked room mystery doing their Watson and Holmes impression. Writer Daniel Kibblesmith handles creative duties with artist Patricia Tamontano. It’s due out February 21, 2024.
Continued below– Two months after it wrapped up its fourth season, Max’s Harley Quinn has been renewed for a fifth season. The renewal also comes after the announcement of spin-off series Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, coming to Max next year.
– Cartoonist Jen Sorensen has been awarded the 2023 Clifford K. and James T. Berryman Award for Editorial Cartoons by the National Press Foundation. She will accept the award, which comes with a $2500 prize, at the foundation’s annual awards dinner on February 15, 2024. Sorenson’s work has appeared in The Nib, The Nation, and Politico, and various other outlets.
– Finally, Dan Santat has won the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for his graphic memoir “A First Time for Everything.” Published by First Second, the book follows Santat during a trip to Europe as a child. Santat congratulated his fellow finalists, and the judges, before thanking his editor, Connie Hsu, his wife Leah, Macmillan’s staff, and finally his mother during his acceptance speech.
