So Far this Week… April 16, 2014

Wow!  It’s a big one this week!  Make sure you check out our news wrap-ups every Wednesday and Sunday!  Feel uneasy, ecstatic or just need to vent?  Sound off in the comments!

If Bat-fans need any more reason to be excited about WonderCon 2014, here are all the festivities, panels and otherwise, that will be blessing the convention to celebrate Batman’s 75th Anniversary.

DC royalty Dick Grayson had his world turned upside down when the Crime Syndicate outed his secret identity to the entire world (kinda weird how nobody has been able to trace that little tidbit back to Bruce, himself). Now, he must fake his death and become a special agent. This will all be chronicled in July’s new series, Grayson. I love the idea of Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder, becoming a deadly assassin, but I don’t know that I’m ready to let go of Nightwing.

Legendary comic book writer and Hush-dubbed “Asshole that killed Damian Wayne” will be launching Multiversity later this year and into 2015. Prepare yourself for an abundance of really weird alternate universes.

DC is developing another TV series!  This time, it comes from its offshoot, Vertigo  Based on the 2007-2012 run Scalped, the new series will follow a man returning to his reservation and fighting organized crime.

It’s been announced the the late, great King of Pop will be releasing his first (I don’t count Michael) posthumous album titled Xscape. While others argue whether or not it’s too soon to release his music, I ask if it is too soon to have a track called “Do You Know Where Your Children Are?”

Oh, and there is new DLC coming out for Call of Duty: Ghosts next week that lets Snoop Dogg narrate all of your kills, because why the fuck not?

Another win for the Marvel TV universe! Peggy Carter’s series has been made a 13-episode commitment by ABC. We’re really excited to see S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first agent in action.

It’s official, we’re all screwed. Apparently, a massive super-virus hacker thing has invaded pretty much every facet of the internet over the past couple years (much like HYDRA has in S.H.I.E.L.D. – this is not a coincidence). It’s a futile effort, but if you want to know what all was affected by Heartbleed, here’s a nice infographic to explain how f’d you really are.

Paul Walker is dead, you guys. Okay, that’s not news, but the fact that his own brothers will be filling in for the remainder of his 7 Fast 7 Furious (we’re crossing our fingers that they will change all the movie names to this format) sequences. We’re really glad they didn’t decide to CGI him in there a la Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Everyone’s favorite meth dealerAaron Paul gave a couple a very special surprise last weekend at Coachella.

The Eisner Award nominations were announced this week. Surprise!  Lots of nominations for the independent guys.  Congrats to all the nominees, and a special shoutout to Ibrihim Mustafa for his nominations!

We try to avoid “rumors” as much as possible, but there’s a likely chance that heartthrob Channing Tatum will be playing Gambit in the next X-Men adaptation, Apocalypse. I’m only behind this if he has dark red eyes and a floppy haircut.

Speaking of X-Men, apparently there is an X-Men after-credit scene following Amazing Spider-Man 2. This is kind of a big deal, as Sony owns the rights to Spider-Man and Fox owns the rights to the X-Men. Could they finally be playing nice in the promise of a bigger payday working together?

There is lots of speculation about who exactly will make up the Sinister Six in the film of the same name.  What does seem certain by all speculators?  Venom.

For fans of the Rocksteady Arkham video-game series, October can’t come soon enough. To tide you over, here are some new screenshots of the spectacular finale, Arkham Knight.

Emma Stone is a huge Spice Girls fan – I mean, who isn’t? Well here’s a video of British host Graham Norton pranking her into thinking that they are at the studio to make a guest appearance. Who says Brit humor is too dry?

The Guardians of the Galaxy are expanding their ranks – at least for the near future. The next issue of GoG will include Venom (symbiotes in space – sounds catchy) and Captain Marvel (readers of Captain Marvel #2 already saw this). I’m hoping Marvel doesn’t oversaturate Guardians, but I’m definitely enjoying the ride.

Is Batman ready for a Robin again? Who would that Robin be: Harper Rowe, Stephanie Brown, Carrie Kelly, Tim Drake, the recently deceased Damian? In July, we will find out as Batman will be getting a Robin, in some facet or another.

written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear

Weekend Wrap-Up…April 13, 2014

The legendary David Letterman is retiring next year, and NBC has already rushed to get Stephen Colbert to fill the long-time host’s shoes. Considering Letterman is one of Colbert’s idols (we still can’t believe Colbert is able to idolize another person than himself), he’s probably just as excited as we are.

Some of the biggest news that directly affects us is the news that Amazon has acquired the digital comic book platform ComiXology. It could be a catastrophe, or it could make comic books accessible in a new and affordable way. Amazon isn’t the tyrant that other conglomerate companies are, so we’ll stay cautiously optimistic.

April 22 isn’t just Earth Day; it’s when you can finally get your DLC for Arkham Origins.  You can play as Bruce Wayne and play with heated gloves and a thermal costume.  Awe.  Some.

Sarah Conner is going to be in SciFy’s Defiance! Ok, Ok, it’s Linda Hamilton.  And its hard to not associate Linda with one of the bas-ass women of all time.  Just sayin’.

HBO’s Game of Thrones returns tonight, after a Season 4 premiere that has viewed more than any other HBO show ever (aside from The Soprano’s series finale). “The Lion and the Rose” looks to finally wed the House Tyrell with King Beiber and the Lannisters. Look out for our review!

Do you ever sit in the dark and watch Garden State all the while thinking, I wish I was as good a writer/actor/director as Zach Braff?  And at the same time do you wonder what a reunion with J.D. and Turk would be like?  Or is that just me?  In case it’s not, watch the trailer for Braff’s Kickstarter endeavor, Wish I Was Here.  How will I pass my time until July?!

Kevin Smith is living the nerd dream. Moderating panels with legendary writers, running a show based on running a comic book shop, and now, rapping to Run D.M.C. on the Arsenio Hall Show.

When Mortal Kombat took the plunge to do an independent web-series (Mortal Kombat: Legacy), you had to know that Street Fighter wouldn’t be too far behind. Behold, the first trailer to the upcoming Street Fighter web-series, Assassin’s Fist.

Girl Meets World will probably only have an audience of mid to late 20 somethings.  A new teaser just came out, and I’m pretty sure that every 27 year old woman “eeked” when Corey Matthews crawled through the window.  You can watch the new trailer here.

The dawn of the Comic Book Summer is upon us. To prepare yourself for X-Men: Days of Future Past, check out 25moments.com. The viral campaign will walk you through the top 25 moments that defined the war on mutant-kind. It serves as a fill-in for what happens from the events of First Class and this film, while also adding some amusing alterations of history.

Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga are at it again.  Adding to The Walking Dead ‘verse, he has announced a four book series focusing on Lilly and her return to Woodbury.  Are you excited for an expanded story, or do you think he is oversaturating the zombie market?

Speaking of Robert Kirkman, he is pretty sure comic villain Negan will be in the TV Series.  How will he have any dialogue suitable for basic cable?!

written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear