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, Marvel announced their early 2019 event ‘Age of X-Man.’ We also have an exclusive commentary from artist Colin Lorimer on “The Prisoner: The Uncertainty Machine.”
– Radio Canada International (the international arm of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) have produced a digital graphic novel about detained Saudi activist Raif Badawi. Written by Geneviève Proulx with art by Marie Eve Lacas, and Myriam Roy, the comic is a 127-page introduction to Badawi, who was sentenced by Saudi authorities in 2012 to ten years in prison, and 1000 lashes of the whip. Last week, the comic was the subject of a poster campaign that ran in approximately 1000 metro and train stations in Paris, France. You can read it in English here.
– Deadline reported Jeff Lemire’s Vertigo series “Sweet Tooth” has been optioned for a pilot at Hulu. The comic was a coming-of-age tale for Gus, a human/deer hybrid living in a post-apocalyptic world filled with animal/human children. The project will be overseen by Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s production company Team Downey, and it will be written and directed by Hap and Leonard co-creator Jim Mickle. Keep an eye out for word on all of Lemire’s creator-owned projects in our column Lemire County.
– In a press release, Scout Comics announced Peter Ricq’s series “Once Our Land” will be adapted into an animated feature film at Goodbye Productions (which produced Ricq’s film Dead Shack). Ricq will adapt his comic with Phil Ivanusic-Vallee, who was his co-creator on the cartoons The League of Super Evil and Freaktown. Released in 2016, “Once Our Land” was set in a post-apocalyptic version of 1830s Germany, and followed two survivors, Ingrid and Fritz, as they battled mysterious invaders from below the surface. A second volume of the series is also due out next year.
– Actor Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) will portray Lex Luthor on Supergirl: the character will debut in episode 15 of season 4, which will air on the CW early next year. Cryer has also voiced Felix Faust on Justice League Action, and, coincidentally, portrayed Luthor’s nephew Lenny in 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
– DC also announced Young Justice: Outsiders – the long-awaited third season of Young Justice – will debut on DC Universe on January 4, 2019. The 26-episode season will roll out its first half before taking a break until June.
– Marvel have renewed Agents of SHIELD for season 7, ahead of season 6’s bow next year: it is believed both seasons will consist of 13 episodes. Star Chloe Bennet also took to Instagram to unveil Quake’s season 6 look, which will incorporate the purple hair streaks from the character’s Marvel Rising incarnation.
– Marvel sent out several retailer updates, which includes December’s “Fantastic Four” #5 expanding to 72 pages (and a $7.99 price tag); the apparent scrapping of a Jar Jar Binks story by Chip Zdarsky planned for January’s “Star Wars: Age of Republic Special;” and Daniel Kibblesmith taking over from Sholly Fisch on that month’s “Marvel Super-Hero Adventures: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” They also released the spectacular first artwork for Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman and Matt Wilson’s April 2019 event “War of the Realms.”
– The New York Daily News reported last week that Ike Perlmutter, the Chairman of Marvel Entertainment, was named in a trial as being among several VIPs who bribed ex-NYPD Sgt. David Villanueva to expedite the renewal of their gun licenses. Villanueva, who was fired from working in the NYPD’s License Division in 2016 after pleading guilty to accepting bribes, testified at the trial of Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg and Deputy Inspector James (Jimmy) Grant. The former sergeant stated he received tickets to Marvel film premieres in Los Angeles from Perlmutter’s assistant. Perlmutter, whose attorney did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily News, is not alleged to have been part of Reichberg and Grant’s wider scheme.
– Video game publisher Bandai Namco announced One Piece: World Seeker – the first open world game based on Eiichiro Oda’s manga – will released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in the Americas and Europe on March 15, 2019. This will be a month after the release of the fighting game Jump Force, which includes Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Blackbeard, and Sabo.
– Finally, to mark the 90th anniversary of Steamboat Willie during the weekend, we asked you to vote for your favorite classic Disney comic. “Uncle Scrooge” won with an overwhelming 75.9 percent, followed by “Donald Duck” at 17.2 percent. There were no votes for Mickey Mouse’s title during his birthday.
