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, Image will release “Shadecraft,” from the team behind “Skyward,” this March, and “Avatar: The Last Airbender – Suki Alone” will explore the Kyoshi Warrior’s time imprisoned in Boiling Rock. We also unveiled our Holiday Gift Guide for 2020.
– Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper: Volume Three” has won the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award for Graphic Novel & Comics. Released on February 6 of this year, the new volume follows the high school romance of shy student Charlie Spring and rugby team star Nick Nelson, with Nick struggling to come out to his friends and family. “Heartstopper” has been running online since August 2016 on Tapas, Webtoon, and Tumblr.
– Funimation Global Group has signed an agreement to buy Crunchyroll from AT&T for $1.175 billion. Colin Decker, the CEO of Funimation (which is owned by Sony), said, “The union of Funimation and Crunchyroll is a win for anime fans around the world that will elevate the art and culture of this medium for decades to come. Combining these two great companies will be a win for fans, and enable us to compete at a truly global scale. I am honored to welcome the wonderful Crunchyroll team to a shared mission — to help everyone belong to the extraordinary world of anime.” Both companies will continue to operate independently until regulatory review and approval of the deal is completed.
– Marvel is cancelling plans to publish more twice-monthly issues of smash-hit “Immortal Hulk.” The creative team of write Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett plan to end the series at issue #50, tentatively planned for a September 2021 release. Both issue #41 and tie-in one shot “Immortal Hulk: King in Black” hit shelves on December 16.
– Annalise Bissa announced on Twitter that she has been promoted to Associate Editor of Marvel’s X-Men line. Bissa has been active on the X-line throughout Hickman’s run, including the most recent ‘X of Swords’ story arc.
– DreamWorks Animation has announced plans to adapt Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” into a feature film. “Dog Man” is a series of original graphic novels from Scholastic following a half-man/half-dog police officer, and his team of “Supa Buddies.” This will be DreamWorks’ second adaptation of a Pilkey property, following 2017’s Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.
– 2021’s Kajko and Kokosz animated series will be Netflix’s first original animated series from Poland. Based on the 1972 comic series, itself based on the 1958 strip “Kajtek and Koko,” the series follows the adventures of two Slavic warriors from the tiny village of Mirmiłowo. The comic (and original strip) was created by artist Janusz Christa, who passed away in 2008, and executive producer/showrunner Ewelina Gordziejuk has dedicated this new series to his memory and legacy.
– The CW has revealed Superman & Lois star Tyler Hoechlin’s new costume for the series. Hoechlin, who plays Clark Kent/Superman in the new series (alongside Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois Lane), called the new suit “representative of the show,” saying “just as this suit is unique and set apart from the ones that preceded it, the story we’re telling about Clark/Superman at this point in his life is unique and something we’ve never seen before.” The suit was designed by Black Lightning/Titans costumer Laura Jean Shannon, and Creative Character Engineering.
– Wonder Woman 1984 will have a post-credits scene, despite it not being present in screeners provided to critics. “Let that be something to save for the audience,” WW84 director Patty Jenkins said of her decision. The end credits scene will follow both the theatrical and HBO Max streaming releases when the film opens on Christmas Day.
– IGN has produced a brief documentary about the making of acclaimed DC animated series Batman Beyond, and the low expectations its staff had going into it. The documentary, titled Batman Beyond – The Classic Nobody Wanted, follows the development of the series with interviews from cast and crew, showing how initial pessimism from producers Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami gave way to one of the most successful classics of the Kids’ WB era. The documentary can be viewed on IGN’s YouTube.
– Finally, IDW Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier announced on Twitter that he would auction off an unpublished Alan Moore script, with the “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta” writer’s full blessing. The script, which as of this writing is up to $2,425 on eBay with six days left to bid, was for a 1997 “Gen13” annual issue titled ‘The Coming of the Collector.’ The auction is to benefit artist/inker Bob Wiacek, who suffers from severe glaucoma affecting his ability to create art.
