Welcome to this week’s PUNCHLIST, where we round up the biggest news in nerd culture. It might be from the MCU, board gaming, D&D, and more. But whatever the news is this week, you can bet it will eventually separate you from your money.
7. New Releases Incoming for Locke & Key Franchise
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s Locke & Key comics are promising a lot of content in the next few months:
- …In Pale Battalions Go… is a three issue series that will run August-November.
- October will see the launch of a Sandman crossover series.
- IDW is releasing a 900-page compendium of the original series.
- Volume 1 is getting its first Spanish release.
And, of course, the Netflix series has been renewed!
+ More here: Locke & Key News
6. John Carpenter’s The Thing Will Get the Blumhouse Treatment
Carpenter hinted at a collaborating with Blumhouse on a reboot of his 1982 horror classic The Thing during a panel at this week’s Fantasia Fest. He’s since confirmed his involvement on the project, which is in early development. No word yet on whether it will be a prequel (like the 2011 movie of the same title), sequel, or remake. Blumhouse rebooted another Carpenter film, Halloween, in 2018.
+ More here: Blumhouse Developing The Thing
5. Summer Games Done Quick Raises $2.3 Million for Doctors Without Borders
The video game speed running charity event was held entirely online this year, and had over 20,000 donors contribute an average of $68.71 from August 16-23. While not the organizations single largest fundraising total (that would be the $3.1 million raised for the Prevent Cancer Donation in January of this year at Awesome Games Done Quick) , that is still an amazing haul and charitable effort!
+ More here: SGDQ Raises $2.3 Million
4. Pokémon Players Crown Their Own World Champion
When the 2020 Pokémon World Championships were canceled due to COVID-19, players and fans took things into their own hands and held their own, free-to-enter open Online Global Championship. Over 1200 players battled head-to-head to earn their share of a $4,216 fundraised pot of prize money. Isaiah Bradner from the US took the top prize ($500). So cool to see fans and players pull this off!
+ More here: Unofficial 2020 Pokémon World Champion Crowned
3. Play as Gollum in New Lord of the Rings Video Game
Lord of the Rings: Gollum will have players stealthing their way around Mordor and making choices between his warring personalities that will affect the narrative. The game is set prior to the events of the books, and the link below features an interview with developer Daedalic with all sorts of interesting information about how it will play and feel:
+ More here: Lord of the Rings: Gollum Video Game
2. D&D: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything Rules Expansion
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is a new hardcover supplement for D&D 5th Edition that includes new subclasses, class features, feats, spells, artifacts, rules, and more. It also includes the Artificer class, which has graduated to official release from its Unearthed Arcana roots. It is available November 17.
+ More here: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
1. DC FanDome Recap
From Suicide Squad cast lists to the new Batman: Gotham Knights video game, comic title announcements, and Justice League: The Snyder Cut trailer and details, DC FanDome dropped lots of tasty morsels! Click the link below to see IGN’s curation of all the new content, but stay for this The Batman trailer!
More Here: DC FanDome Roundup
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Tabletop Takeaways: Tips for Dungeon Masters with a Narrative Spin