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.
– “The Legend of Kamuy,” Shirato Sanpei’s historical action manga, will be released for the first time in English by Drawn and Quarterly next year. The manga, which was the first to run in Japan’s Garo magazine, follows a young ninja grappling with the rigid caste system in feudal Japan. Dr. Richard Rubinger translates, with Ryan Holmberg editing. The original series ran from 1964 to 1971 under the title “Kamui-Den.” While this is the first English translation, its sequel “Kamui Gaiden” was one of the first manga to be translated, being released as “The Legend of Kamui” by VIZ Media and Eclipse Comics in 1987. The first volume is due out Fall 2024.
– Dave Filoni has been promoted to chief creative officer of Lucasfilm. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Ahsoka and Mandalorian producer spoke about his new position, which will see him work directly with company president Kathleen Kennedy. It was disclosed he is outlining Ahsoka season two, and the future of breakout character Baylan Skoll, played by the late Ray Stevenson, was also mentioned. “Obviously, there’s a story there,” Filoni says of future plans. “We’re in a wait-and-see pattern at this point. But I’m glad the conversation is about Ray and how great he was.”
– Mad Cave Studios has announced a new horror series inspired by the works of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg. “Morning Star” is written by Vault Comics designer Tim Daniel and David ‘DB’ Andry, and features art from Marco Finnegan, with Jason Wordie and Justin Birch on colors and letters respectively. The story follows a grieving widow in 1950s Montana, who travels with her two kids to the woods to scatter her late park ranger husband’s ashes, only to discover the mysterious horror that lurks within them. Issue #1 is due out March 27, 2024.
– In more Mad Cave news, the company’s YA imprint (Maverick) will publish “Scoop” by Richard Ashley Hamilton and Joseph Cooper. The graphic novel, originally released by Insight Comics, follows Sophie Cooper, a Cuban-American high schooler and Miami TV station intern, as she tries to free her jailed father, encountering “UFOs, Miccosukee ghost tribes, Chupacabras, alligator men, and time travel” along the way. Hamilton, who was born in Miami, called working with the Miami-based publisher a “homecoming of sorts,” adding “‘Scoop’ has always been a love letter to South Florida, and everyone at Maverick has put in just as much love in remastering, supporting, and expanding our supernatural sleuth series across several volumes.” It’s due out April 30, 2024.
– Former Marvel writer and editor Danny Fingeroth has written a history book about the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald’s Assassin began life as a graphic novel, before Fingeroth switched to prose. Unlike his previous books (Superman on the Couch and A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee), this text is entirely unrelated to the comic book medium. The book is available now.
– Finally, Righteous Gemstones actor Skyler Gisondo has been cast as Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy. The news comes alongside the announcement that Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has been cast as Eve Teschmacher, and right after Nicholas Houston was revealed as the next Lex Luthor. He joins a cast that includes David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. With the actor’s strike ending, shooting is set to begin this year, for a scheduled release date of July 11, 2025.
