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.
– Yvonne Craig, originator of the Batgirl role in the 1966 Batman TV show, passed away yesterday at the age of 78 after a two-year-long battle with breast cancer. Craig not only set an example for the female superhero actresses like Lynda Carter and Scarlet Johannsson that followed her, she was also an accomplished ballet dancer, voice actress, and advocate for women’s health issues such as universal access to free mammograms.
– Rick Obadiah, one of the co-founders for 80’s independent publisher First Comics, passed away this weekend from a massive heart attack. First Comics was the home of such critically acclaimed comics as “Nexus,” “Grimjack,” and “American Flagg,” in addition to being one of the many companies to hold the Classics Illustrated license for a time. That venture produced 27 issues in under 2 years, showcasing work from such creators as P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, John K. Snyder III, Gahan Wilson, Kyle Baker, Mike Ploog, and more. On top of that, First was the initial company to publish “Lone Wolf and Cub” in the United States, helping seed the readership and creator base for accepting Japanese comics storytelling. Obadiah was also known for his business savvy and willingness to take on larger opponents in the pursuit of a good cause. First Comics editor and fellow co-founder Mike Gold posted the news on ComicMix, which includes both funeral information and news of a remembrance for Obadiah at this weekend’s Wizard World Chicago.
– This might qualify as someone having too much free time on their hands, but a Reddit user poking around on Netflix URLs managed to come up with what might be the episode title list for the upcoming Jessica Jones Marvel/Netflix show coming later this year. There were no official stills or video to go along with it, but the titles themselves might be considered spoiler territory, so consider yourself warned before you click on the link (if you went ahead and read this far before that).
– Over on the DC/CW side of things, Flash executive producer Gabrielle Stanton spilled some beans about that show’s second season.
– UFC champion and all-around badass Ronda Rousey has another celebrity championing her qualifications as a perfect casting choice for Carol Danvers in the MCU: Kevin Smith.
