Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Marvel Animation has moved the release date of Eyes of Wakanda all the way up to this Friday, August 1, and accordingly dropped a full trailer. The animated series, which follows the Wakandan intelligence agency the Hatut Zeraze/War Dogs through history, was originally set to drop on Disney+ on August 27. All four episodes will be released simultaneously. You can also take a closer look at the show before Friday in an interview with showrunner Todd Harris at Entertainment Weekly. Eyes of Wakanda was co-produced by Ryan Coogler, and features the voices of Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Anika Noni Rose, Jona Xiao (as Iron Fist), and many more.
§ In more MCU-related news, The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened with $117.6 million domestically, marking a record for the series and the film’s cast, as well as the MCU’s strongest opening weekend of the year. The film has so far grossed $216.7 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Superman has surpassed $503.6 million worldwide, including $289.5 million domestically, while the Smurfs reboot, which released on July 18, continues to crater at the box office, having grossed only $22.8 million domestically, and $69.1 million worldwide.
§ BOOM! Studios announced Marian Heretic, the tale of a witch-hunting Mother Superior by Tini Howard and Joe Jaro (Buffy: The Last Vampire Slayer). The book follows Sister Marian, who struck a “dark bargain” to protect her order when the Church excommunicated them for relying on the guidance of a goddess to carry out their mission. It marks Howard and Jaro’s first creator-owned series at BOOM!, and the first series owned by Howard since 2018’s Euthanauts. Issue #1 releases October 1.
§ Via Entertainment Weekly, Dark Horse announced Witness Point, a miniseries written by Nathan Fillion and Heath Corson. The book, which does not have an ETA, is a murder mystery set in a town that discovers they’ve been a “dumping ground for the witness protection program for the past 40 years,” just as the body of a US Marshal turns up. Captain Kris provided teaser artwork for the series, which marks Fillion’s second comic, after the Con Man spin-off Spectrum. He and Corson previously worked together on the animated Justice League films.
§ EW also revealed IDW Dark will publish Return to Sleepy Hollow, a sequel to Tim Burton‘s 1999 film adaptation of the story by Washington Irving. Written by Casey Gilly with art by newcomer Savanna Mayer, the comic sees Ichadod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel reunite after 15 years, after a new string of supernatural murders leads him back to the titular village. Issue #1 will be released on October 29. It is unknown at the time of writing if the film’s lead, Johnny Depp, will receive residuals.
§ Furry ’90s cartoon SWAT Kats is being adapted into a comic for the first time, courtesy of new studio Roditeli Productions in collaboration with series creators Christian and Yvon Tremblay. Written by (founder) Kevin Roditeli and Frank J. Barbiere, with art by Jorge Corona, and edited by Joseph Illidge, the comic will pick up with MegaKat City in ruins, and the Radical Squadron “facing their greatest threat yet.” It will be launched on Kickstarter this October. Roditeli was the co-founder, president and co-publisher of Massive Publishing, which he left earlier this year to focus on creative (rather than the business side of) projects like this at his new, eponymous company.
§ Via The Hollywood Reporter, Paul Jenkins is developing an adult-aimed animated comedy series based on his comic SideKicks with producer Stephen L’Heureux (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For). Created with Chris Moreno at Image in 2006, SideKicks follows a boy taking on the gig of sidekick for several different superheroes to make ends meet. Jenkins will write the pilot. And in further animation news, Edgar Rice Burroughs‘s estate and writer Michael Kogge (various Star Wars junior books) are developing a John Carter of Mars series. It would mark only the second official media version of the books, after the 2012 film flop.
§ In crossover toy news, Playmates Toys revealed a TMNT x Godzilla line to coincide with the newly announced comic, consisting of mash-ups of Leonardo & Godzilla, Raphael & Rodan, and Michelangelo & King Ghidorah. (No word on who Donatello would combine with.) They will be released at Target in October, the same month the comic begins. Meanwhile, Mattel and Hasbro unveiled a Masters of the Universe x Transformers line for this fall, featuring Skeletor wearing Megatron-inspired armor, and Man-at-Arms as Bumblebee. It is unknown whether Dark Horse and Skybound will release a comic adapting the toys at the time of writing.
§ Actor/director Tim Blake Nelson has written a new novel inspired by superhero films, simply titled Superhero. Due out December 2 from Unnamed Press, the book follows a married actor and producer, who are plagued by behind-the-scenes drama when they sign on for a major comic book movie. Nelson, whose credits include two MCU films as Samuel Sterns/The Leader, HBO’s Watchmen, and 2015’s Fant4stic, tells EW Superhero is inspired by real-life stories, and “[a] look at it from all sides. It’s not a polemical novel either in favor of or against these big franchise movies.” It marks his second book, after 2023’s similarly Hollywood-inspired City of Blows.
§ Finally, Predator: Killer of Killers was reuploaded to Disney+ and Hulu last week, with a new mid-credits scene revealing the fate of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover‘s characters (Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer and Lt. Mike Harrigan) from the first two films. Director Dan Trachtenberg stated at San Diego Comic-Con that he received Schwarzenegger’s blessing to use his likeness, and plans to “cook up stuff” for Dutch. The new scene actually resolves a mystery from Dark Horse’s Predator comics, which established Dutch went missing after the events of the original 1987 film. Killer of Killers is available now, and Trachtenberg’s next film, Predator: Badlands, hits theaters on November 7.
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