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 have an exclusive preview of next week’s “Star Wars: Darth Vader” #41.
– Writer Mark Russell and artist Mike Allred will take a look at the Dark Knight’s origins through the lens of actual historic events in “Batman: Dark Age.” While the creators have not commented on the specifics of the era, it will be much like how their last book, “Superman: Space Age,” took the Man of Steel through the Cold War and Space Race, setting the familiar story of young Bruce Wayne in a similar real-life historical context. Issue #1 (of 6) hits shelves March 24, 2024. Each issue will be a double-sized 40 pages.
– William Shatner is the latest celebrity to make a “cameo” on a DC variant. The Star Trek actor will grace the cover of “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest” #25, drawn by series artist Dan Mora. Other celebrities who have appeared on recent DC covers include Nicolas Cage, Paul McCartney, Jack White, and Jerry Seinfeld. “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest” #25 will be released on March 19, and feature Mora and Mark Waid’s reimagining of the first meeting between Lex Luthor and the Joker.
– From Berger Books, legendary editor Karen Berger’s Dark Horse imprint, comes “The Sunny-Luna Travelling Oracle.” The upcoming graphic novel from Warren Pleece takes place in a dystopian, dust storm-afflicted world, and follows a bookish teenager who may have discovered the magic that can save her world — that’s if the titular fortune tellers don’t get to it first. The 128-page OGN will be available in bookstores on August 13, hitting comics shops the following day.
– As Marvel celebrates 50 years of “Giant-Size” storytelling, it’s announced the latest edition to its anniversary line-up, “Giant-Size Hulk” #1 . Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art from Andrea Broccardo, the one-shot will see Bruce Banner go up against a new threat: Patchwork Jack. Bryan Hitch provides cover art. The book will also contain a reprint of Peter David and Dale Keown’s “Incredible Hulk” #372 (which saw the return of the Savage Hulk) from 1990. It hits shelves April 3, 2024.
– Lionsgate’s Wonder spin-off White Bird has been given a new release date: October 4, 2024. This would put it in direct competition with Todd Phillips’s Joker: Folie a Deux. The film was originally slated for a August 18 limited release this year, with a wide release following on the 25th, until it was delayed due to the actors’ strike. Bryce Gheisar returns as Julian, with Helen Mirren as the grandmother who survived Nazi-occupied France, thanks to the help of a boy, his mother (Gillian Anderson), and the world they create together.
– Amazon Prime Video announced that Good Omens will get a third and final season. The upcoming season will be based on a conversation between the authors of the original book, Neil Gaiman and the late Sir Terry Pratchett, from nearly 35 years ago. “I’m so happy finally to be able to finish the story Terry and I plotted in 1989 and in 2006,” Gaiman says about the project. “Terry was determined that if we made Good Omens for television, we could take the story all the way to the end.” The series follows the sometimes contentious relationship between the demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale. Filming is set begin in Vancouver some time next year.
– Oni Press announced sequels to two middle-grade releases for Summer 2024. “Quinnelope and the Mystery of the Missing Moon,” HF Brownfield and Kayla Coomb’s follow-up to this year’s “The Cookie King Catastrophe,” will be released first on June 11, while “Frankie and the Beastly Bog Song,” Caitlin Rose Boyle’s sequel to the 2020 release “Frankie and the Creepy Cute Critters,” will follow on August 27. Senior Editor Grace Scheipeter says, “Both of these books are fun, adventurous, and heartwarming, with characters that really shine. I’m thrilled for readers to dive into all new stories with Quinnelope and Frankie Fairy!”
– Following up on this year’s “Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe of Horrors,” Archie Comics has announced “Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe of Horrors: Fresh Meat.” The new anthology will feature three new stories, while explaining the origins of Pop’s Diner from Hell. Those stories are ‘The Lord of the Fries’ by Amy Chase and Federico Sabbatini, ‘Feed Me, Jughead’ by the Eisner-nominated Jordan Morris and Liana Kangas, and ‘Free Market, Free Range’ by Ryan Cady and Chris Panda. It’s due out March 20th, 2024.
– Finally, Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland will helm The Age of Legends, the first in a planned Wheel of Time prequel trilogy. Written by Zack Stentz, the film will tell the story of the Forsaken, the leaders who were seduced to the Dark One’s side during the War of Power. It is the second Wheel of Time prequel in development, following the animated The White Tower, also written by Stentz, and produced by iwot productions who are co-executive producers on the TV series. Eva Longoria will be among the executive producers joining this project, which does not have a distributor at the time of writing.
