Welcome to the final special edition of #Trending where I’ll summarize any comic-related news that occurred during each day of the Con. This will included news about comic books, comic-related movies, TV shows, video games, etc. but will be in a more bullet point type fashion then the usual #Trending. Also different is that the Comic Book Cosplay section will be all female and consist of three photos instead of the usual two. Without further ado, let’s begin:
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NEWS
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DC News
– Dan DiDio revealed: “Where we stand is that there are a number of characters that we still haven’t introduced into the New 52. Stephanie Brown almost made the Forever Evil storyline but actually, for the fans of hers, they’ll be happy she didn’t. Where we stand right now is that there’s a lot going on in the Batman universe. Batman, Inc. is coming to an end but we have a few new series we’re thinking about down the road. Stephanie’s name comes up on a regular basis but for all these characters we haven’t introduced, it’s not that they don’t exist, it’s just finding that time and the right launch. We don’t want to just introduce her to say there she is and then have her disappear. Nobody wins on that.”
– The answer somewhat came as to who would be the artist for Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner’s new Harley Quinn series: “Harley is going to audition eighteen different artists to draw the first issue…and she’s going to critique each one. Every artist will have one page in the first issue, with Harley’s comments written over them. It’s set in Coney Island and features Harley analyzing people to death.”
– More info was also revealed about the new Superman/Wonder Woman series: “It is the furthest thing from a romance comic possible. The series is set to be filled with action and adventure as opposed to quieter moments. They try to have dates, but it never goes well. It’s about the difficulties of being a couple that has to save the world. Also, the villain in the book makes a ‘major return’ for his first appearance in the New 52.”
– “Earth 2 will be heavily featured” in the Batman/Superman series and readers can expect “their perceptions of the alternate universe to be toyed with. You’ll even get Superman Vs Superman and Batman Vs Batman!”
– Action Comics Annual #2 will see a story called Krypton Returns Part 1: “Fans can expect time travel and more with the character H’el. There will be large repercussions in Krypton’s past and major waves in the Superman family of titles. The issue references back to the Zeros and the time travel story arc that was contained and it is being revisited and requires all the Supers to work together. This arc starts in the Annual and then goes to Superboy, Supergirl and Superman issues 25. By the time we get to the 25th issues, the Superman universe won’t be the same from 25 on. It will all end in a staggeringly different way than previous Krypton stories.”
– Meanwhile, the Superman Annual will be “primarily Lois centered.” The creative team revealed about the story: “The good news is that she has this brilliant spotlight on her and it’s going to be huge, but the bad news is what we do to her is really bad.”
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Marvel News
– Concerning the upcoming X-Event, Battle of the Atom, Brain Michael Bendis said: “We wanted to make an event that was legacy-driven. Jason Aaron came up with the idea of the X-Men of the future come to the present and tell the X-Men of the past (the original five from ‘All-New’) to get the hell out of there. But they don’t want to go home. There’s a lot of change for all the books at the end of the storyline, with some big payoffs.”
– The twelfth issue of Uncanny X-Force will be drawn by Adrian Alphona before Ramon Perez takes over with issues 13-15.
– Wolverine’s upcoming arc called Killable will see “Wolverine’s healing factor gone. A whole bunch of Wolverine villains will be coming after him after they find out that he really is able to die now and there’s a big change coming in issue 13.”
– Upcoming issues of Deadpool will see “a thread from the Power Man/Iron Fist story set in the 1970’s continue into the book. Coming up there’s a story with Captain America and Wolverine called The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which will be a Weapons Plus-adjacent story. Also, October’s issue 18 is a very, very dark issue.”
– Will we see Cable reuniting with Deadpool? “Cable will be showing up in the not-too-distant future, and that it might involve them in a different time, wearing trench coats and using tommy guns.”
– X-Factor ends with issue 262 in September but Marvel was quick to mention that “while they cannot disclose what it is, Peter David DOES have something coming from Marvel, so people can get their monthly Peter David fix.”
– Will the X-Factor characters be in other books? “The characters will show up in other Marvel Comics books and places, in very important roles.”
– One such instance is a new series called Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe by Christopher Hastings and Jacopo Camagni which debuts in November. The plot is as follows: “When the luckiest people in NYC are being routinely murdered, the next target on the list is Longshot. It’s not just one person that’s marked him for elimination, however, and soon everyone from supervillains to S.H.I.E.L.D. to cosmic beings are gunning for him. With the odds stacked against him, Longshot’s about to press his luck.”
– Terry Dodson is the new artist on X-Men starting with issue #7. Also, after the series wraps up its crossover with Battle of the Atom, “Lady Deathstrike will be making a return with a new Sisterhood that poses a threat to the team.”
– Will X-23 be showing up in the X-Books soon? “We can’t say where, because we don’t want to spoil anything. But yes.” After that comment, Bendis reportedly made huge pointing motions to himself which makes everyone believe that she’ll be in either All-New X-Men or Uncanny X-Men.
– Will Kid Gladiator come back to Wolverine & the X-Men? “Look to November, when the series Annual will tie in with Infinity and Kid Gladiator will be mouthing off at the Shi’ar Academy.”
– The X-Men have become kind of army, there are dozens and dozens of them. And many are great supporting female characters. Will we see any of them like Aurora, Hepzibah, Lifeguard, or Blink? “Brian Wood once a week sends a list of female characters who he sees on Wikipedia, and he wants to know what he can do with them. So never say never.” Bendis added: “I’ll drop a little hint, something called The Utopians, and some of the names just mentioned will pop up.”
– A new series was announced called Amazing X-Men coming to us by the creative team of Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness. Starting in November, the series will feature Nightcrawler, Firestar, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Storm, and Northstar. More info: “Nightcrawler died in Second Coming saving Hope Summers. This book will answer where the little blue and red Bamfs have been coming from. The first arc is the quest for Nightcrawler. Also, Azazel is a pirate that is stealing something the X-Men need and Nightcrawler needs to stop him while Firestar finally becomes a prominent X-Men character.”
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“The Independents” Comic News
– A new Valiant series starring the Eternal Warrior will be arriving soon. More info on it: “Eternal Warrior’s immortality will give us a chance to peel back layers of the Valiant Universe we haven’t quite seen before. Expect some interesting dynamics between the Eternal Warrior and the children he’s had throughout his immortal life.”
– Valiant cannot say anything regarding a “large scale crossover yet but they will be announcing something soon.”
– The leading candidates to take over the Doctor Who licence after IDW’s run is over was rumored to be down to two after the San Diego Comic Con ended. “The two publishers are Titan Comics and Boom! Studios. Titan Comics are local to the UK, but there is already a running Doctor Who comics licence in the UK for Panini. Boom! have shown success with some licences, but Doctor Who is a different kettle of fish to their previous work in that area. One twist is that the decision to end the IDW/BBC Doctor Who license is that a planned Doctor Who series written by Mark Waid has had to be dropped.”
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Comic Book Cosplay of the Week 
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And that concludes #Trending. Thoughts on any subjects discussed? Anything else worth mentioning? Comment below!
The Speech Bubble 
These are the comics I read in June 2014:
Supergirl # 65 – 67
Superman # 23.4: Parasite
Teen Titans # 24
Daredevil # 33
The Punisher # 6
Terminator: Enemy of my enemy # 3
Superior Foes of Spider – Man # 3
Batman The Dark Knight # 23.2: Mr. Freeze
Batman The Dark Knight # 23.3: Clayface
Dylan Dog # 298
Green Arrow # 32
Robin Vol. 4 # 87
Dylan Dog # 248
Green Arrow # 32 is by far the best read of the month. It is so superior to all the other comics I read in June that I can’t even tell you which comic book is its runner – up.
When I write my Retroactive comments, it happens the same thing: if I don’t make any special mention, it means that the cover I chose for the first prize left the others a mile behind in my personal ranking. Also, the cover I mention first usually is my overall favorite cover.
As you can see, I read some Villain’s Month issues. I did so because in the italian edition these issues were bundled up with some comics I regularly buy, like Snyder’s Batman. All the other Villain’s Month issues are still unpublished here in Italy.
I also read an old Robin issue, because Arousing Grammar recently wrote 2 posts about this series, and he made me feel nostalgic about it.
Last month I read many less comics than usual because, now that I read novels for work, at the end of the day my mind and my eyes are so tired that I can’t read a comic book with the proper concentration.
June 2014 has been my best month ever as a blogger: I had 2.138 visits and 772 visitors. I also got 87 new followers (now they’re 800).
What about you? Was June a good month for you as a reader and as a blogger?
“Green Arrow # 32 is by far the best read of the month. It is so superior to all the other comics I read in June that I can’t even tell you which comic book is its runner – up.”
That is quite a high honor indeed…and an honor that this series deserves.
“All the other Villain’s Month issues are still unpublished here in Italy.”
Ah you missed out on the 3D cover hysteria that DC is looking to replicate with their Futures End event. As for the issues themselves there were quite a few that I enjoyed but I am a big fan of the villains.
“Last month I read many less comics than usual because, now that I read novels for work, at the end of the day my mind and my eyes are so tired that I can’t read a comic book with the proper concentration.”
How are you enjoying your new job?
“June 2014 has been my best month ever as a blogger: I had 2.138 visits and 772 visitors. I also got 87 new followers (now they’re 800).”
Fantastic. I can’t believe how many followers you have. How do you acquire so many?
“Was June a good month for you as a reader and as a blogger?”
It was a pretty middle of the road month for me as a blogger though as a reader I read some great titles. 🙂
“How are you enjoying your new job?” Very much. The woman who owns the publishing house and all the people working there welcomed me in a marvellous way, and each of them treats me like a son. The pay is good as well: I get 50 € for each back cover I write.
“Fantastic. I can’t believe how many followers you have. How do you acquire so many?” One visit must be subtracted, because once I visited my blog while I was logged out. As for the followers, I’m surprised too. I think that I got so many of them because I released a lot of comments on other blogs, so many other bloggers got to know me, and they liked what I wrote so much that they decided to follow me.
Speaking of my blog, last month I reviewed a marvellous movie starring Clint Eastwood, “Trouble with the curve”: I do suggest you to watch it if you haven’t, because I thoroughly loved it.
“It was a pretty middle of the road month for me as a blogger though as a reader I read some great titles.” So it seems that this is a good time to be a comic book fan. I’m really glad that things are going well in our fandom. : )
“The pay is good as well: I get 50 € for each back cover I write.”
Wow! That is fantastic. I’m happy to hear that you’re getting along with everyone and enjoying yourself.
“I think that I got so many of them because I released a lot of comments on other blogs, so many other bloggers got to know me, and they liked what I wrote so much that they decided to follow me.”
Makes sense. That’s the one thing I never have time to do. I read other blog postings (not as much as I would like), “like” the articles, but I am pressed for time when it comes to comments.
“So it seems that this is a good time to be a comic book fan. I’m really glad that things are going well in our fandom.”
Unfortunately here is some bad news: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/07/03/will-the-makers-of-the-arrow-tv-show-take-the-green-arrow-comic-back-to-the-pre-52/ Such a shame and I really can’t envision the new creative team topping the old one…