Hey guys. Last week was an absolutely crazy week. There were cryptic teaser, crazy casting announcements, and ,  a”death in the bat family,” and oh yeah Emerald City Comic Con.  Lets get right to it with this week’s installment of The Impact.

Marvel to Bring Back What If?

Courtesy of Bleeding Cool. At last week’s ComicsPRO, a comic retailer event, Marvel SVP David Gabriel revealed that Marvel plans to bring back the fan favorite series What If? this is not the first time Marvel has brought the series back and it is not clear if it will be ongoing or a mini-series event. I have always enjoyed this series since it takes away most of the restraints you face when you are bound to when you write a corporately owned characters. Keep your eyes on the upcoming solicitations.

More Cryptic Teasers from Marvel 

Marvel has released several cryptic teasers over the past week. The first is a number one comprised of Marvel character names and the second featuring “52” claw marks.  The third featured the same number one as  the first but this was comprised of creators names and let us know that whatever the announcement is it will be made next wee at the SXSW. Stay tuned. as we will all learn more next week.

SPOILERS This March The Bat-Family Reacts to Robin’s Death

As we all know Damian Wayne, the current Robin, sacrificed his life in Batman Incorporated #8. In March the Bat-books will have a “Requiem” subtitle and feature covers showing te Bat-family’s reaction to this devastating loss. The Batman cover by Greg Capullo is simple, somber, and  particularly striking.

DC Announces Pandora:Trinity of Sin with Ray Fawkes. 

At Emerald City Comic Con DC announced that Ray Fawkes will write a new monthly DC New 52 comic, Trinity Of Sin: Pandora with Daniel Sampere on art. At the panel Fawkes said,

“She’s really really angry and she’s going to kill and kill and kill. She will spare no one her anger… she will kill them to get what she wants.”

…Well there you have it this book is no doubt a lead in to their next event, The Trinity War.

Azzarello and Risso Return to 100 Bullets. Brother Lono Mini-Series.

This weekend DC and Vertigo announced that Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso would be returning to the world of 100 Bullets with a brand new mini-series focused on Brother Lono. Colorist Trish Mulvihill, letterer Clem Robbins and cover artist Dave Johnson will also be working on the mini, making this 100 Bullets reunion complete. Brother Lono #1 hits stores this June.

This weekend at Emerald City Comic Con IDW talked a lot about their new X-Files ongoing comic series. Billed as “Season 10,” similar to what Dark Horse did with their Buffy license, and will pick up shortly after the events of The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

In the official press release  they give us an idea about what to expect in the when the series begins

In the opening story arc, “Believers,” readers will catch up with Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, living normal lives together under secret identities. However, a visit from an old friend threatens to rip them from suburban anonymity, as they learn that someone is preying upon everyone involved in THE X-FILES. Prepare to revisit familiar faces-some very unexpected, threats old and new, and an intriguing mystery designed to return the beloved franchise to its former glory!

Gail Simone to Take Over Red Sonja

Announced this weekend at Emerald City Comic Con, Batgirl writer Gail Simone will be taking over Dynamite Entertainment’s  Red Sonja. While talking with CBR Simone talked about her take on the character,

From our very first issue, this is a fun, funny, fearsome female who fights monsters that would make Lovecraft cower. I can’t think of anything more entertaining than that.

My one small complaint is that sometimes she could be a bit of a stiff. This is a much more human Sonja. People are going to want to know her, she’s just a magnetic personality.

Simone will be joined by Sonja artist Walter Giovani. The cover will actually all be drawn by female artists like Nicola Scott, Fiona Staples, and Coleen Doran. Simone’s run on Red Sonja starts this July.

BOOM! Studios Unveils New Logo, Branding and, Properties. 

This week BOOM! Studios unveiled their new logo, new branding initiative, and a new property. BOOM! VP of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik spoke with CBR to talk about

our publishing plan for 2013 is a natural evolution of what we’ve been building since the company was founded. More prominent creators, bigger licenses, and more efforts to expand the marketplace…yup, we’re doing all of that, but this is about taking the conversation we’ve been having internally at the company and making it external. It’s letting everyone know, “Hey! Here’s what our philosophy is, here are our core beliefs, this is why we get up every morning ready to conquer the world. And if you believe the same things, come join us and help us build something amazing.”

Included in BOOM!’s 2013 plans are new projects from Paul Jenkins, Mike Carey, Brian Stelfreeze, and Mike Kunkel. That’s right  Herobear and the Kid is back at BOOM!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0NuhlFAXtI&w=560&h=315]

This is really fantastic news, Herobear and the Kid  is one of my favorite all ages comics. It is unclear if BOOM! and Kunkel are producing new material or just reprinting the original. Either way it will get it into more people’s hands and that is very good news.

New Iron Man 3 Poster Now, Trailer Later This Week. 

Yahoo! Movies debuted this brand new Iron Man 3 poster and announced that the new trailer will debut on their website on March 5th. Each poster for this movie has got better and better and this one is no different, in fact, I think it may be the best one yet. Iron Man 3 hits theaters May 3rd.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Casts Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn 

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. After much speculation we finally know that Chris Cooper (American Beauty, Bourne Identity) will be playing Norman Osborn in the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man.Cooper is a spectacular choice. Now I am curious as to who Colm Feore will be playing. Cooper joins an already impressive cast including returning cast members Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and new cast members Jamie Foxx (Electro), Dane DeHann  (Harry Osborn), Shailene Woodley (Mary Jane Watson) and Paul Giammatti (The Rhino)

Last week we got our first official look at the new Spider-Man costume and Daily Mail even got these very cool set shots revealing more of the costume and a red haired Shailene Woodley. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, hits theaters in July of 2014.

Well that wraps things up for this week. I will see you all here this time next week for an all-new installment of The Impact.

Matt Todd

matthew@comicimpact.com