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 published the second part of our interview with cartoonist Tony Wolf.
– “2000 AD Regened” is returning next year for four issues, releasing February through November 2020. “Regened” will begin with the 48-page issue “2000 AD Prog 2170″ on February 26, which features four stories: ‘Cadet Dredd: School Trip’ by Rory McConville and Ilias Kyriazis, ‘Rogue Trooper: Savage Swamp’ by Cavan Scott and Nick Roche, ‘Finder & Keeper: Dead Signal’ by Leah Moore and John Reppion, and ‘The Gronk: The Trouble with Gronkses’ by David Baillie and Rob Davis. “2000 AD’s 2019 ‘Regened’ takeover issue was the best-selling issue of the year, so I’m excited to bringing the all-ages concept to four issues across 2020,” said “2000 AD” editor Matt Smith. “We’ve got some great stories and artwork lined up – many by creators making their debut for the title – so I hope these will go down equally as well with readers young and old.” “Regened” continues with “2000 AD Prog 2183” on May 27, “2000 AD Prog 2196” on August 26 and “2000 AD Prog 2206” on November 4.
– Quantum and Woody have a new arch-nemesis on the rise in the “Quantum and Woody” 2020 relaunch. “Dr. Toilet (pronounced “Twa-lay”) is a parasitic brain monster born of mad science,” said series writer Christopher Hastings in an interview with Newsarama. “He likes to wrap his nerve endings around a host human and take control of their body, and he particularly has a taste for top level athletes. If he’s gonna steal a body, he’s gonna steal the best.” Artist Ryan Browne, who has just concluded his series “Curse Words,” added, “skull-head brain-man with heterochromia eyes! There was a lot of debate about just how huge that brain should be. We landed on ‘mediumly huge.’ We should be applauded for our restraint!” Dr. Toilet will be one of many new villains in “Quantum and Woody” #1 coming January 29 2020.
– This week comic book piracy was a contentious issue, with many industry professionals speaking up about how often their work is illegal viewed and torrented. Jim Zub has been vocal on the issue for a while, saying he doesn’t “want pirate readers to think it’s no big deal or victimless. Content worth reading is content worth supporting,” citing a culture of rapid consumption as a main cause. “Remember … when I mentioned that comic piracy numbers were easily 20x legitimate buyers and it was a real problem? Sometime yesterday a bunch of other comic pros looked closer, saw the numbers and the cold chill of it really hit.” Other creators like Matthew Rosenberg, Ted Brandt and Donny Cates have taken the opportunity to argue against piracy. Other creators like Dave Gallaher have begun posting their comics on legal, free, online platforms like Paste and Tapas and now earn from ad revenue, stating that torrented comics received over 30 million views per month, far overshadowing legitimate purchases.
– The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo faced widespread criticism for publishing five different cartoons satirising the death of 13 military servicemen in a helicopter collision over Mali last Monday. One comic featured president Emmanuel Macron in front of a coffin adorned with the tricolour, with the caption “I joined the ranks to stand out from the crowd,” one of the French Army’s recruitment slogans. The magazine itself was a target of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack in January 2015. Its offices were stormed by two gunmen, claiming the lives of 12 people, including cartoonists Stéphane Charbonnier and Jean Cabut. Charlie Hebdo is known for its opposition of organized religion and anti-militarist editorialising.
– Black Mask Studios released ten previously unpublished issues from five different series. “Snap Flash Hustle,” “Sex Death Revolution,” “We Are The Danger,” “Lab Raider” and “Transference” had their final single issues cancelled and were instead released as a part of trade paperback editions; but Black Mask are printing a limited, self-distributed run of these final issues. “Snap Flash Hustle” #4, “Sex Death Revolution” #4-5, “We Are the Danger” #5, “Lab Raider” #2-4 and “Transference” #3-5 are available here for a limited time only.
– The BAFTAs held their annual British Academy Children’s Awards over the weekend, with comic book properties raking in a huge portion of the awards. Teen Titans Go! won the award in the international animation category, Hilda (based on the graphic novels of the same name by Luke Pearson) won for Best Animation, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took the BAFTA for Best Feature Film, making it one of the few comic book films to win both an Oscar and a BAFTA.
– Lastly, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doraemon’s first appearance, a mechanical clock based on the character has been unveiled in the Odaiba waterfront district of Tokyo in front of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. The clock has a curtain that opens a couple times a day while a miniature orchestra play Doraemon’s theme song. Doraemon first appeared as an advertisement in six magazines published by Shogakukan Inc in 1969. Since then the futuristic feline has appeared in anime, video games and merchandise. “Fifty years on, Doraemon is still alive and kicking. I’m grateful,” said Zensho Ito, the president of Fujiko Pro Co. A Doraemon store also opened yesterday as a part of the celebrations.
