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, the trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 was released, Marvel announced a new “Hellions” comic, and BOOM! Studios revealed a new miniseries titled “King of Nowhere.” We also have an exclusive interview with comic book creator Phillip Sevy (“Triage,” “Tomb Raider”), and an exclusive preview of “Heist, or How to Steal a Planet” #2 from Vault Comics.
– Comic book creator Joshua Luna (“Spider-Woman: Origin,” “The Sword”) wrote on Twitter about the years of abuse and manipulative business practices he endured in his working relationship with his brother and fellow comic book creator Jonathan Luna. The tweets come following the debut issue of Image Comics’s “20XX” last Wednesday, which Jonathan Luna co-wrote and drew. Jonathan has tweeted in response to the allegations.
– Amnesty International published a graphic novel depicting the true stories of LGBTI people and the injustices they face in Sri Lanka entitled “Spectrum: Four Stories of Discrimination Faced by LGBTI People in Sri Lanka.” Current laws under Sri Lanka’s Penal Code have been used to target and mistreat LGBTI people on a myriad of issues ranging from workplace and housing discrimination, to violence and police harrassment. The graphic novel is free and available digitally through Amnesty International’s website in English, Sinhalese, and Tamil.
– Yahoo! News profiled Lebanese cartoonist Mohammad Nohad Alameddine as his country faces economic and social upheaval anchored by $86 billion in public debt and an absent government. Because Alameddine is unable to publish his politically charged cartoons in local newspapers, the cartoonist has taken to the streets and posted his content for people to see in public places. Also profiled is artist Bernard Hage, who publishes his own satirical cartoons on social media and in foreign press.
– From IGN, Titan Books will publish a prequel novel to the video game Marvel’s Avengers, written by Greg Keyes, entitled Marvel’s Avengers: The Extinction Key. The novel will follow the Avengers team consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Hulk joining forces with SHIELD, Brother Voodoo, and Doctor Strange as they stop the Zodiac organization from obtaining a weapon known as the Zodiac Key. The Extinction Key will debut March 31, 2020. The Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal-developed video game will be released by Square Enix on Google Stadia, PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One on May 15, 2020.
– In television and film news, Newsarama reports that actor Peter Sarsgaard has joined Matt Reeves’s The Batman in an unnamed role. The Batman will debut in theaters June 25, 2021.
– Deadline reported the third season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will be released on Netflix on January 24, 2020. The official synopsis states “Part 3” will see Sabrina and friends venturing into Hell to rescue her boyfriend Nicholas Scratch, after he sacrificed himself to contain the Dark Lord Lucifer last season. Sabrina must also assume the title of Queen of Hell to see off a contender who’s emerged in Lucifer’s absence: the handsome Prince of Hell Caliban.
– Deadline also reported that screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster will make their directorial debuts with a film adaptation of Dash Shaw’s graphic novel “Bottomless Belly Button.” The story is about the dysfunctional Loony family and the sudden divorce of parents Maggie and David Loony. The screenwriters stated, “We’ve loved this book for so long.”
– Comicbook.com writes that Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor award from the New York Film Critics Online for his performance as Arthur Fleck in Joker. (The movie was also named one of their top 10 films of the year.) Warner Bros. is promoting the film through the awards circuit with the hopes of securing Phoenix an Academy Awards nomination.
– Lastly, the Associated Press reports actor René Auberjonois died from of metastatic lung cancer yesterday. The 79-year old was best known for playing Constable Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Father John Mulcahy in Robert Altman’s M.A.S.H., and he also had voiceover roles in Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and more. Auberjonois was married to his wife Judith, and had two children, Tessa and Remy.
Sesame Workshop also announced Muppet performer Caroll Spinney died over the weekend: he was 85. Spinney, who portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from 1969 until his retirement last year, was also a cartoonist who wrote and illustrated “Harvey,” a comic strip about military life, while serving in the US Air Force. He is survived by his wife Debra, and their children and grandchildren.
