Dark Horse Comics renewed David Dastmalchian's Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Hunter comic series for a second volume.
Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Dark Horse Comics initially shelved the comic series in May 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "I was utterly devastated. It was a day I'll never forget," Dastmalchian said. "We had our car stolen. The country shut down. I was supposed to go work on something cool for filming. Everything just stopped, and Count Crowley got stopped." However, the comic series had a growing fanbase and positive responses from critics, so the existing issues and trade paperback continued to sell. When the comic book industry rebounded, Dark Horse Comics made the decision to bring the title back.
Dastmalchian will reunite with artist Lukas Ketner and editor Megan Walker for Volume 2 of Count Crowley. Set in 1983, Volume 1 follows Jerri Bartman, a TV journalist who takes over hosting the nightly Creature Feature in her midwest hometown after the show's previous host, the titular Count Crowley, goes missing. Jerri soon discovers that her new job comes with additional, hidden responsibilities, namely hunting monsters. Volume 2, according to Dastmalchian, will further develop the world of Count Crowley.
"There were a lot of new elements we didn't get to play with before with Vol. 1, including locations, certain kinds of monsters," he said. "The way that monsters interact with each other as well as humans."
Dastmalchian is one of the few comic book writers who has also acted in major superhero films and television. Beginning with his first film role in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the actor has appeared in several superhero projects including the MCU's Ant-Man and Ant-Man and The Wasp, Fox's Gotham, CW's The Flash and Chris Palmer's Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One and Part Two.
Most recently, Dastmalchian was cast as the Polka-Dot Man in James Gunn's upcoming film The Suicide Squad and reportedly wrote some of Count Crowley's new issues during downtime on set. Peter Capaldi, who played The Thinker, and Steve Agee, the actor who portrayed King Shark on set, accompanied Dastmalchian to a signing of Count Crowley in Atlanta. Gunn even wore a Count Crowley t-shirt on Dastmalchian's final day of shooting for The Suicide Squad.
Harley Quinn actor Margot Robbie was particularly enthusiastic about Count Crowley. When she learned about the comic series, she asked Dastmalchian if she could see them. After reading the issues, she tweeted out praise and urged her followers to check out the series. "She was genuinely so supportive of the comic and my writing," Dastmalchian said. "She treats everybody like they are important. I feel so lucky to be so supported by the Suicide Squad while Count Crowley was coming out."
Count Crowley originally debuted in 2019 and is available at Dark Horse Comics. There is currently no set release date for Volume 2.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, via Forbes
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