Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the weekend. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
– In what’s becoming a common trend in these mainstream comic book adaptations, Joseph Gordon-Levitt announced that he was leaving the Sandman adaptation. This comes after New Line announced they had fired initial writer Jack Thorne (notably a playwright, whose upcoming work includes the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) in favor of Eric Heisserer, whose credits include the scripts for the remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing, and Final Destination 5. What this implies most of all is that New Line, who received the rights to Sandman after DC Comics became DC Entertainment and they received all the Vertigo titles, is after a more horror feel, specifically a bland jump-scare shock-based nonsensical horror feel.
Gordon-Levitt said: “I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don’t see eye to eye on what makes ‘Sandman’ special, and what a film adaptation could/should be.”
On Twitter, Neil Gaiman seemed disappointed, though civil: “My respect for [Joseph Gordon-Levitt] is undiminished. Getting to know him was the best bit of the last round,” he wrote in one tweet, before saying, “Reminder for the curious: I don’t own “Sandman.” DC Comics does. I don’t choose who writes the scripts, the director, producer or cast.”
– This June, Marvel presents its newest Star Wars book: “Star Wars: Han Solo.” They’ve tapped Marjorie Liu to script it — who calls it “Han Solo in Cannonball Run in space” — and Mark Brooks for the art. Personally, I’ve been disappointed with the recent “Star Wars” books, probably because of Marvel’s insistence to put Charles Soule on everything, but everything I’ve come across this book just makes it sound more and more fantastic.
– Steven Universe fans! Check out this interview with Josceline Fenton and Chrystin Garland, the creative team behind the new comic, “Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems.” And remember: keep Beach City weird.
– Farhad Mirza has been using comics stories to help combat terrorism in Pakistan. With a team of other writers and artists, Mirza has made a collection of human stories. “”We wanted to present different cases of violence and tie them together with a narrative of how physical bullying, gender marginalization, or other types of bigotry eventually lead people toward extremes to solve their problems.” It’s a powerful read and a strong indicator of the medium’s evolution.
– Maclean’s published a nice profile of Jeff Lemire. I don’t know if I agree with Lemire being the next best thing in comics, mostly because he’s been around for a while now. Regardless.
