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, Disney’s Investor Day offered a first look at upcoming films and TV shows from Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and Disney/Pixar animation — we ran through the big takeaways. Also, Image announced the livestreamed comic “Hell to Pay” from Charles Soule, Will Sliney, and Rachelle Rosenberg, Z2 announced “Elvis: The Graphic Novel,” and artist and illustrator Richard Corben passed away at 80.
We also have exclusive previews of next week’s “Magnificent Ms. Marvel” #17, and next month’s “Haha” #1, and we began our Festival of Lightsabers celebration with an Abrams Star Wars Books giveaway.
Diego Rodriguez
– As DC’s upcoming event ‘Future State’ heads towards its beginning in January, DC has finally confirmed that Tim Fox will be taking on the titular role in “Future State: The Next Batman.” DC revealed the news alongside a variant cover for “Future State: The Next Batman” #2 from artists Doug Braithwaite and Diego Rodriguez. The brother of former Batwing Luke Fox, and the estranged son of Bruce Wayne’s longtime ally Lucius Fox, Tim Fox first appeared way back in “Batman” #313 in 1979, but he has rarely appeared after the linewide reboot in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in the ’80s. As DC notes in their announcement, he has been teased a few times in recent issues, including a story from “The Next Batman” creators John Ridley and Olivier Coipel in “Batman: The Joker War Zone.” “Future State: The Next Batman” runs biweekly through January and February, with issue #1 dropping on January 5.
– Simon and Schuster has acquired the graphic novel “Kitty Quest” from cartoonist Phil Corbett. Via The Bookseller, “Kitty Quest” is an adventure set in the magical world of Pawdor. Per the synopsis, “Perigold and Woolfrik are two down-on-their-luck cats in need of some extra cash, so they decide to become professional monster slayers. Only thing is, they have no experience of either monsters or slaying.” Book One of “Kitty Quest” will publish as part of Penguin/Random House’s Razorbill imprint in June 2021, with Book Two set to follow in summer 2022.
– Comic-Con International has announced the nominating committee for next year’s Eisner Awards. The judges, which are tapped from a variety of areas of the industry, include ComicsPRO executive director and Alakazam Comics owner Marco Davanzo; Comic-Con Board of Directors member Shelley Fruchey; San Diego State University librarian and archivist Pamela Jackson; KID Comics founder Keithan Jones; Little Fish Comic Book Studio co-founder Alonso Nuñez; and comics scholar Jim Thompson. Although normally the judges are selected from a wider geographical area, due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year’s judges all reside in Southern California. Details for submitting material to the judges will be announced in January, with the winners announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July.
– Comics writer Brian K. Vaughn is set to write a new Buck Rogers TV series for Legendary. Via The Hollywood Reporter, the “Y: The Last Man” and “Saga” writer will pen the new adaptation of the classic pulp hero for producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford at Angry Films, as well as Flint Dille, the grandson of the original publisher of “Buck Rogers,” John F. Dille. First appearing in 1928, Buck Rogers became an early comics sensation when he starred in his own syndicated comic strip the next year. He starred in numerous serials, comic books, and screen adaptations over the years, with the 1979-1981 TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century being the most recent. The project falls under Brian K. Vaughn’s overall deal with Legendary Pictures.
– The CW dropped new trailers for their upcoming programs, including two of their comics adaptations. First up, the teaser for Riverdale offered a glimpse of the subversive Archie Comics adaptation’s season 5. The video teased a plot that seems to show unknown actors dressing up as members of the Archie gang—complete with plastic masks—to commit and record various acts of violence. Season 5 of Riverdale premieres on Wednesday, January 20 on The CW.
Continued below– Second, a new trailer unveiled the retooled Batwoman, which sees new star Javicia Leslie taking over from Ruby Rose, who departed the series after the first season. The trailer gives us a hint at the story of season 2, including a missing-in-action Kate Kane and a Gotham City that, according to Kate’s stepsister Mary, “needs a Batwoman,” opening the door for Leslie’s Ryan Wilder to take the cowl. Batwoman season 2 premieres on Sunday, January 17 on The CW.
– New Yorker cartoonist Danny Shanahan has been arrested on child pornography charges. From the Putnam Daily Voice, police apprehended Shanahan after a warranted search of his laptop uncovered the materials. The New Yorker have not yet made a public statement about the charges.
– Via The Wire, over 600 artists have come together to protest the contempt proceedings being conducted against Rachita Taneja, the creator of webcomic “Sanitary Panels,” in India. “We believe this is an attack on her right to free speech and expression and, by extension, an attack on us all,” the statement from the artists read. K.K. Venugopal, the Attorney General for India, approved contempt proceedings against Taneja last week over drawings that were critical of the Supreme Court. The collective demanded that contempt proceedings against “Sanitary Panels” be dropped, and urged the court to uphold “creative and critical debate.” You can find the full text of the statement, as well as its signatories, at The Wire.
– Finally, actor and professional wrestler Tommy “Tiny” Lister has died, aged 62. Via Variety, Lister was found unresponsive at his home in Marina del Rey, after displaying symptoms of COVID-19 in recent days. According to his manager, Lister had been working on a film, and had to cancel shooting after becoming ill. Lister, who was 6 foot 5, was best known for playing neighborhood bully Deebo in Friday, and also had roles in The Fifth Element, Jackie Brown, and The Dark Knight. He is survived by his daughter.
