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.
– Comics Reporter‘s Tom Spurgeon has launched a Patreon campaign in support of his efforts to not only expand the reach of that site but also put out a PDF-format magazine called (appropriately) “The Comics Report”. Spurgeon makes a pretty compelling case (which you can read here) for the type of journalism he’s hoping to practice with this funding.
In particular, this bit struck a chord: “If journalism is the first draft of history, a lot of comics history over the last decade has been carved with a stick into the sand on a beach, instagrammed if we’re lucky.”
As someone who not only has at least a couple of shortboxes filled with old issues of “The Comics Journal” and “Amazing Heroes” but also uses them from time to time, it’s a real gift to have that ‘first draft’ still available after 30 years, when so much equivalent coverage of much more recent events is lost to 404 error pages and deleted webpages. So anyone trying to make sure today’s comics news and commentary doesn’t suffer a similar fate gets my dollars, and I would hope yours as well.
– I swear it’s not “Open Your Wallet” day here at the Rundown, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake are Kickstarting an OGN about a vampire hunter going after vampires who are descending on the Battle of Gettysburg as a huge feeding opportunity. So, just to reiterate: Mandrake & Ostrander, vampires, horror, Mandrake drawing horror, Mandrake drawing vampires, almost 50 different pledge levels and rewards (including original art from some of the duo’s most celebrated runs like “The Spectre” and “Martian Manhunter”), and a completely detailed operating plan that can only fail if they don’t get enough money to start it in the first place. Please do what you can to see that doesn’t happen; I need my Mandrake/Ostrander Civil War vampire epic.
– With all the positive attention “Archie” comics have been recently with the Riverdale revamp, it’s sad to see news like this: long-time “Archie” illustrator Tom Moore passed away this week at age 86.
– This interview with “Legends of Tomorrow” showrunner Phil Klemmer has me excited for the show now. This talk of it being a more anthology-style show with story shifts from season to season sounds like a real winner.
– Unfamiliar with the cinematic universe Marvel has been building since 2008? Do yourself a favor and read this handy beginner’s guide to the MCU to find out what is essential viewing and what’s essentially optional.
