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.
– IDW Publishing imprint Top Shelf Productions announced “Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz,” created by writer/artist Luca Debus and co-writer Francesco Matteuzzi. The book will chronicle the life of the “Peanuts” creator, who would’ve turned 100 this year, in a non-linear manner and a style resembling those of his characters, with the framing device of Schulz looking back on his past towards the end of his career in 2000. It will be released in hardcover in August 2023, and retail at 440 pages for $39.99.
– Bad Idea disclosed they released an unannounced comic this week, “The First Seven Days,” a surreal tale by Joshua Dysart and Kano about humanity turning on puppets after they mysteriously come to life. Unlike most Bad Idea comics, the book was available to all Diamond-stocked comic book stores, as it was solicited under the pseudonym B-Side Press in Previews magazine. Bad Idea are now challenging readers to find a copy at their local comic store(s), in exchange for undisclosed prizes by Wednesday, December 7, the details for which you can read at the link.
– Marvel unveiled more plans to celebrate Black History Month in February, revealing four of the month’s comics will have back-up stories: “Thor” #31, by writer Cheryl Lynn Eaton and artist ChrisCross, guest starring Black Panther; “Moon Knight” #20, by Danny Lore and Ray-Anthony Height, co-starring Blade; “Spider-Man” #5, by Justin A. Reynolds and ChrisCross, featuring Monica Rambeau/Photon; and “Scarlet Witch” #2, by Stephanie Williams and Chris Allen, guest starring Storm. The company also outlined the contents of February’s “Marvel’s Voices: Wakanda Forever” special, featuring stories by The Atlantic‘s Adam Serwer, Marvel Studios storyboard artist Todd Harris, and more.
– Speaking of Marvel’s Voices, this week’s issue of the Marvel Unlimited series, “Marvel’s Voices” #27, saw the launch of the six-part ‘Family SNIKT Infinity Comic.’ The arc, written by Stephanie Williams with art by Alan Robinson and KJ Diaz, sees the Wolverine family (Logan, Laura, Daken, and Gabby Kinney) embark on a family vacation to their homeland of Canada. New chapters will release on the app every Wednesday. The publisher also added “Midnight Suns” #1 early on Unlimited, just in time for the release of the video game of the same name tomorrow.
– Dark Horse put out a press release for “Masters of the Universe: Masterverse,” which was previously revealed in February’s solicitations. It states the first issue of the anthology miniseries, written by Tim Seeley, will feature a story with Sergio Aragonés about a “dim, barbaric” He-Man, resembling the version from the original mini-comics, and “a horrific ghost story” with Kelley Jones. Featuring a framing story drawn by Eddie Nuñez, “Masters of the Universe: Masterverse” #1 (of 4) releases February 15, 2023.
– IDW have put six comics into development as TV shows, namely Eddie Campbell’s “Bacchus;” James Kochalka’s “Dragon Puncher & Spoony;” Christian Slade’s “Korgi;” David and Maria Lapham’s “Lodger;” Adrian Benatar and Miguel Ángel García’s “Relic of the Dragon;” and Steve Horton and Stephen Thompson’s “Satellite Falling.” These respectively have the following showrunners attached: Will Davies (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) and Chloe Moss (Switch); Holly Huckins (Recess); Aury Wallington (Veronica Mars); Max and Adam Reid (Sneaky Pete); Bryan Q. Miller (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe); and Will Pascoe (Orphan Black). At the time of writing, only Bacchus has been confirmed to be live-action.
– Warner Bros. Discovery is closing a major deal with Amazon for Prime Video to carry the studio’s DC animation projects. Channing Dungey, chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios, disclosed the deal at the Content London convention, saying “With animation we used to be about staying in-house but now we are doing it on different platforms. HBO Max is the first stop but we are in the process of closing a big deal with Amazon featuring DC branded content in animation.” The news comes after Discovery pulled several animation projects intended for Warner Bros.’s streaming service, including the upcoming animated series Batman: Caped Crusader.
– Finally, Disney announced they are expanding their partnership with Kodansha, to license and co-produce anime based on the publisher’s manga for Disney+. The expanded slate, which was announced at a showcase at Disney’s annual Asia-Pacific Content Showcase, will include Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc, which premieres on the streaming service this January. Carol Choi, Disney’s executive vp of original content strategy in APAC, said “We believe this expanded collaboration will be a game changer in Disney’s future animation strategy in Japan. We look forward to bringing the anime titles and prized IP by Kodansha to the world stage.”
