#Trending In The World Of Comics: 03/01/13-03/07/13

In #Trending I’ll highlight and offer my opinions on any comic-related news that occurred during the week. This will included news about comic books, comic-related movies, TV shows, video games, etc. I’ll also give a shout-out to some favourite comic blog entries and have a social media section involving Twitter. Let’s begin:

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NEWS

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Emerald City Comicon 2013 NewsOn March 1-3, the Emerald City Comicon took place and produced many announcements/teases. Here are my personal highlights:

1. Artist Sean Galloway (love his art style especially his work on the animated Hellboy movies and the Spectacular Spider-Man TV show) revealed that he is working on a secret project for DC that he is writing and drawing that should be announced in the next two weeks. That’s a must purchase for me!

2. Matt Fraction revealed that an upcoming issue of Hawkeye would be entirely in sign language which is not only another creative decision but also harkens back to the time when Clint was 80% deaf. Love this series!

3. Mark Waid said that an upcoming issue of Daredevil will feature him behind the wheel in an epic car chase before the character is featured in a team-up with indestructible Hulk. 

4. Gail Simone revealed that an all-new female Ventriloquist will make her debut in Issue #20 of Batgirl.

5. James Robinson stated that his Earth 2‘s WTF cover would feature two characters that no one will see coming.

6. DC unveiled a new ongoing series starring the character of Pandora written by Ray Fawkes, drawn by Daniel Sampere, and entitled Trinity of Sin: Pandora. I’m personally going to pass on this one but I wonder how long it will take to announce a series for the third Trinity member, the Question?

7. Dark Horse announced that the Mass Effect video game property will be getting an ongoing series staring a “strong female character” and tying into the Citadel DLC that just came out this week.

8. Scott Snyder revealed that Issues #19 and #20 of Batman would be lighthearted and an homage to Batman: The Animated Series. I loved that show growing up and it was a huge factor in getting me interested in Batman.

9. Finally, Image announced an intriguing new series called Ghosted which is being billed as “Ocean’s 11 set in a haunted house rather than a casino, with a group of con artists and ghost hunters working to steal a ghost from a house”.
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Guardians of the GalaxyThree new pieces of information regarding this Marvel movie came to light this week. First, through an unconfirmed source it appears that the Novas Corps are going to be featured in the movie. Makes sense as they are basically like Marvel’s cosmic version of the Green Lantern Corps. Secondly, Kevin Feige revealed that “Guardians and Thor will take the brunt of the cosmic side of the universe, particularly Guardians, which is 95% in space…  It’s much more of a standalone film [though] it takes place in the same universe.” Makes sense as well and I’m sure that 5% is setting up Star-Lord’s origin story. Finally, former WWE wrestler Batista is the other top candidate (alongside Jason Momoa) to play Drax while Kevin Durand (Lost, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is up for an unspecified role.
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X-Men: Days of Future Past Casting NewsThis week, multiple sites revealed that actress Halle Berry (Storm) would be returning to the franchise with the deal 90% done and just waiting for the final details to be ironed out. One official casting announcement came from director Bryan Singer who confirmed that Omar Sy (Intouchables) has been added to the movie. Anyone else hoping that he might be playing Bishop?_______________________________________________________

Marvel MysteryAnother Marvel tease this time featuring a whole whack of big names. Apparently it’s going to be announced at SXSW. This is their official statement that came with the accompanying image: “Marvel Entertainment- home to the Avengers, Spider-Man, Wolverine & more- returns to SXSW with the super powered panel no attendee can miss! Marvel unveils cutting edge plans to revolutionize the world of comics, bringing print and digital media together like never before for the ultimate experience!” Let the speculation continue on.
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DC Comic NewsMore DC Comic news was revealed this week besides the ones unveiled at ECCC. First-up, Orson Scott Card’s controversial story in Superman Adventures looks to be put on hold indefinitely after artist Chris Sprouse left announcing he was no longer willing to partake in it due to said controversy. DC is in no hurry to find a replacement either. Secondly, the comic that was originally thought to be titled Man of Steel is now going by the name Superman Unchained. It will still be written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Jim Lee with a back-up drawn by the talent Dustin Nguyen. Finally, Geoff Johns and Kevin Smith revealed that they are “working on something top secret” but also “super fun”. What could it be? All we know so far is that it stars a male character…and that’s about it. I’m still waiting for the last six issues of Kevin Smith’s Batman: The Widening Gyre though…
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In this section I’ll highlight the various WordPress based blogs that I recommend:

House of Flying Scalpels – http://houseofflyingscalpels.com/
Cover of the Week, Iconic Panel Art, and awesome reviews.

Sci-Fi Jubilee – http://scifijubilee.wordpress.com/
Really nice in-depth reviews from a perfect gentleman residing in the UK.

Sidekick Reviews – http://sidekickreviews.wordpress.com/
Blog I go to for excellent The Walking Dead and Arrow episode reviews.

Ramblings From A Comic Newbie – http://newbiecomiclife.wordpress.com/
Cr8zyGurl brings us a blog with a refreshing perspective. She’s new to comics but that only makes her entries even more interesting.

The Indigo Tribe – http://indigotribe.wordpress.com/
A blog about all things Green Lantern including reviews and musings.

Arousing Grammar – http://arousinggrammar.com/
Great reviews that are a nice hybrid of commentary and full-page comic art.

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Recommended People To Follow On Twitter
@Comic_Maven
@tommylutz
@AUDone44
@Kooliebear
@TweetsoftheBat
@paul_bowler
@Superherologist
@JulzHendricks
@BlueJaigEyes
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And that concludes #Trending. Thoughts on any subjects discussed? Other Blogs you enjoy? Anything else worth mentioning? Comment below!