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, IDW are releasing an all-ages “Godzilla” comic, and we have an exclusive preview of next week’s “Spider-Man #5”, the conclusion to Henry Abrams, J.J. Abrams and Sara Pichelli’s Spider-Man story.
– Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth is breaking into comics with his own brand of interactive graphic novel, “The Roth Project.” The book mixes prose with accompanying illustrations in an endless scroll format featuring its own soundtrack by Roth. The comic, narrated by Roth, looks at a world where artificial intelligence can effectively imitate human beings in a story of noir paranoia. “The Roth Project” is currently available for free online.
– Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande’s “Black Widow” will be returning for issue #6 in March. Readers were left unsure of the series’s longevity after its absence from the February solicitations, but Thompson confirmed that the second arc will begin in March, and that the comic will run up until issue #10, after which any continuation would rely on good sales. “Black Widow” #4 released this week, with a trade paperback collection of issues #1-5 releasing on March 16.
– Following the announcement that “That Texas Blood” will return in 2021, writer Christopher Condon has clarified that the series will likely return in the summer of next year, and is intended to be a 30-issue run overall. “That Texas Blood” #6 released this week.
– Lucasfilm are gearing up for their 50th anniversary next year with new Star Wars products launching in January and beyond. Lucasfilm was founded in 1971 by George Lucas, releasing its debut film American Graffiti two years later. The studio became most famous for Indiana Jones and Star Wars in the 1980s, and was eventually purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2012. “Consumer products have always been an integral part of the Star Wars fan experience, and they remain a constant force in pop-culture today,” says Lucasfilm Senior Vice President of Licensing Paul Southern. “To commemorate Lucasfilm’s 50 years of storytelling, we look forward to honoring this consumer products legacy and bringing to life brand-new products, games and publishing offerings.”
– The Disney+ Hawkeye series is starting to take shape with six new cast members. Alongside Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld as the titular Hawkeyes of the series (Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, respectively), the series will feature Tony Dalton (Better Call Saul) as Swordsman, Hawkeye’s old mentor; Vera Farmiga (The Departed) as Eleanor Bishop, Kate Bishop’s mother; and Fra Fee (Les Misérables) as Kazimierz Kazimierczak a.k.a the Clown, a villain introduced in Matt Fraction, David Aja and Annie Wu’s “Hawkeye” run. The series will also feature the return of Florence Pugh’s (Midsommar) Yelena Belova, a character set to make her first appearance in Black Widow., and the introduction of Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez a.k.a Echo, a deaf indigenous American superhero created by David Mack and Joe Quesada. Zahn McClarnon will be playing Willie Lincoln, Echo’s father. Hawkeye is currently under production in Atlanta under the supervision of creator Jonathan Igla. It is also important to note that fan-favourite canine hero, Lucky the Pizza Dog, will be appearing in the series.
– Fear the Walking Dead will officially be back for a seventh season at AMC. The Walking Dead spin-off series is currently at the midpoint of season 6, with the upcoming season promising to take its crew of survivors deeper into the south of Texas. The show continues to follow crossover protagonist Morgan Jones, played by Lennie James. AMC have not revealed a set number of episodes for the season or a release window.
– Following the theatrical release of The Empty Man, BOOM! Studios have announced a reprint of the original series slated for January, and released the first issue of the series for free. The comic by Cullen Bunn and Vanessa R Del Ray follows a retired cop, whose missing persons investigation leads him to revelations surrounding a disease-worshipping cult who idolize ‘The Empty Man.’ The film, written and directed by David Prior, starred James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, Stephen Root and more, and will release digitally on January 12, 2021.
Continued below– Warner Bros. have announced that, following Wonder Woman 1984’s HBO Max debut, all their films slated for a 2021 release date will also receive a same-day release on the streaming service. All films will be available for 31 days following their release, before leaving the platform to play in theaters and at an eventual home release. HBO Max have also announced that they will be ending their one week free trials for the streaming service ahead of Wonder Woman 1984’s release; WarnerMedia will instead be offering a 22% discount for those who prepay for 6 months or more of HBO Max. 2021 Warner Bros. releases include Godzilla vs. Kong (May 21), The Suicide Squad (August 6), Dune (October 1), and Matrix 4 (December 22).
– In further Wonder Woman 1984 news, Collider have revealed that the film has a confirmed runtime of 151 minutes. This makes it the second longest DCEU film, after Batman v Superman (which was 152 mins), and one of the longest DC films, alongside Superman Returns (154), The Dark Knight (152), The Dark Knight Rises (164), Watchmen (162), and the TV edit of Superman: The Movie (182 mins). The first Wonder Woman clocked in ten minutes shorter at 141 mins.
– Finally, with HBO Max looking to expand beyond the USA in terms of programming and distribution, WarnerMedia are looking to make more DC films and TV series outside of the US, and cater to wider audiences. “We will and need to be a global service. It’s an imperative to achieve scale,” said Andy Forssell, Head of HBO Max Global. “We’re also going to work to see DC content in other countries outside of the U.S,” continued Casey Bloys, the Chief Content Officer at HBO. There is no word as of yet about what these products would be specifically, or what creators would be attached.
