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.
§ Variety reports In Waves will open Cannes’ Critics Week on May 13. The animated film, based on the 2019 graphic memoir by AJ Dungo, tells the story of the relationship between “a young male skater and a young female surfer,” when “illness puts them to the test.” It features the voices of Will Sharpe and Stéphanie Hsu, and marks the feature debut of director Phuong Mai Nguyen (Culottées). It will mark the first animated film to open the event, held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival, which will kick off the day before on May 12.
§ Via Dark Horizons, Jared Padalecki revealed during an appearance at Belgium’s FACTS Con that he is playing Mister Marathon on The Boys. The character was the original speedster of the Seven, before A-Train, and died in the comics during 9/11, but has been referred to as being alive on the show. Padalecki will appear on the fifth episode of the show’s final season, releasing Wednesday, April 29, which will reunite him with Supernatural co-stars Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins, as well as showrunner Eric Kripke. The first two episodes of the season are available now, and the series finale will drop on May 20.
§ In more casting news, Variety shares Hulu’s Southern Bastards pilot has landed Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as protagonist Roberta, who comes to Alabama searching for her estranged father (played by Kevin Bacon). Tim McGraw (1883), meanwhile, will play Coach Boss, a crime lord moonlighting as a high school football coach. The Beat is obligated to remind you that Jason Latour, the co-creator of the comic, briefly apologized to one woman who accused him of sexual misconduct, but has not addressed the allegations any further.
§ In very last-minute news, Tubi announced The Freak Brothers season three will premiere on Monday, April 20. The adult cartoon is based on the comic by Gilbert Shelton, and stars Pete Davidson, Woody Harrelson, and John Goodman as three stoners from 1969, who awaken after an especially long time being stoned in 2020. The first two seasons respectively premiered in 2021 and 2023.
§ Marvel released details on Avengers: Armageddon #2, teasing the arrival of a mysterious new hero whose powers “may pose an even greater threat to the world than Red Hulk.” Fans who’ll want to learn more about his origins will have to keep an eye on writer Chip Zdarsky‘s miniseries Wolverine: Weapons of Destruction, issue #3 of which drops April 29. Armageddon, featuring art by Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar, will begin on June 10, and issue #2 will follow on July 8.
§ Speaking of the House of Ideas, the next entry in Fantagraphics’ Marvel Creator Collection will be “Whatever Happened to Scorpio?”: The Complete Jim Steranko at Marvel. Due out October 13, the book will collect all of Steranko’s comics, covers, and illustrations for Marvel in a two-volume hardcover slipcase set, including Captain America, X-Men, Daredevil, and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. It will retail at 504 pages for $89.99. The first volume, showcasing Barry Windsor-Smith, will be released beforehand on April 28.
§ Avery Hill launched a Kickstarter for Orlando, an adaptation of Virginia Woolf‘s classic novel by Jules Scheele (Queer: A Graphic History). £4,056 has been raised of the project’s £5,000 goal ahead of its end date on May 1. The book comes during the 85th anniversary of Woolf’s tragic death, and coincides with another adaptation of the book, from Susanne Kuhlendahl and Helvetiq, as well as the print release of the Virginia Woolf biography by Liuba Gabriele from Mad Cave on May 26.
§ Dark Horse will release Chronicles of the Tomb Raider, a hardcover book by games journalist Alex Forbes-Calvin presenting all of Lara Croft’s adventures in chronological order. It’ll arrive on October 27, 2026, and coincide with the (currently unscheduled) remake of the original 1996 game, Legacy of Atlantis, which will update its story for the new, post-2013 reboot continuity. In the meantime, Dark Horse’s latest Tomb Raider comic, Sacred Artifacts, will conclude with issue #4 on April 29.
§ Finally, British actor John Nolan has died, aged 87. Primarily a stage actor, Nolan was perhaps best known for playing the villainous John Greer on his nephew Jonathan Nolan‘s TV series Person of Interest, and also appeared in Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy as Wayne Enterprises board member Douglas Fredericks. Further work included Following, Dunkirk, Dune: Prophecy, Shabby Tiger, Doomwatch, and the original The Prisoner. He is survived by his wife, actress Kim Hartman, two children, and grandchildren, as well as his nephews.
Fuck Jason Latour, and fuck Jason Aaron.