Hi there folks! Welcome to our June look ahead blog. In the interest of helping folks stay up on new comic series and happenings well before they hit the shelves, we're delving into the catalogues each month to put forth reviews and recommendations as well as notifications about upcoming new series for popular franchises and tie-ins for big crossovers. So if you were wondering what's new and fun coming out this June, read on and find out more!

Reviews and Recommendations

Looking for a new series or two to follow? Here are a few recommendations for new series courtesy of Team Phoenix! This month's reviews are courtesy of Nick and Sloane! 

The Closet (3-Issue Mini Series)

Image Comics, by James Tynion IV (writer) and Gavin Fullerton (artist)

Between the supernatural elements, grounded character work, and close examination of how differently children and adults experience fear, The Closet is squarely in horror comics superstar James Tynion IV’s wheelhouse. By the author of Something is Killing the Children, and Nice House on the Lake, this three issue ‘novella’ is about a dysfunctional family’s cross country move, and how neither father nor son can let go of the skeletons in their closets… some of which are more literal than others. If that doesn’t sell you on it, a short preview from the first issue can be found here.

- Sloane

Public Domain

Image Comics, by Chip Zdarsky (writer and artist)

It’s an open secret that comic book creators aren’t well compensated for their work. And yes, this is really part of the review, not a commentary about the state of the comics industry. Well... okay, it’s both. This is a comic about a creator, his creation, his sons, and the complicated relationships therein. All this from the guy who brought you Sex Criminals, Daredevil, and Spider-Man Life Story. 

I’m expecting to both laugh and feel bad at the same time. Thanks Chip!

- Nick

The Variants (5-issue Mini-Series)

Marvel Comics, By Gail Simone (writer) and Phil Noto (artist / colorist)

I’m a big Jessica Jones fan, and I’m a big Gail Simone fan. So when I heard there was gonna be a five issue mini-series written by Gail involving not just one Jessica Jones, but a whole multiverse of them, I got pretty darn excited. Gail has a knack for both witty dialogue and doing well by characters that historically have a problem with being denied their own agency. See also her recent runs on Domino and Red Sonja. With Phil backing up her writing with his own talents, this is a book I am excited to see hit the shelves soon.

- Nick

Daredevil (new series)

Marvel Comics, By Chip Zdarsky (writer) and Marco Chechetto (artist / colorist)

Yup, Chip gets two reviews this month. And for good reason; while this guy can bring the funny, he can also bring serious tension and drama when he wants to. I’m a big fan of the Waid/Samnee run, but Chip and Marco’s recent stint on Daredevil is really giving those books some serious competition for my affections. I seriously regret waiting as long as I did to start reading it, and I absolutely enjoyed the heck out of Devil’s Reign. Now Chip and Marco are back with a great jumping on point for the character. You better believe I’m not going to miss this one.

- Nick

Noteworthy Tie-Ins

For the second half of this little post we'll be trying to help you stay up to date on any crossovers or tie-ins that might be popping up. We won't be covering things in detail as much in this section, instead our goal is to give you some cursory info on each series and let you decide for yourself how deep of a dive you want to do. For the most part, we'll limit things in this section to the big two (Marvel / DC), but if something else comes up that's noteworthy, we'll endeavor to include it here too.

X-Books

If you’re following the ongoing saga of Krakoa and the X-Line, there’s a few books you’re going to want to be down for this month:

• A.X.E.: Eve of Judgement #1 (that’s Avengers / X-Men / Eternals if you’re curious)
• X-Men: Hellfire Gala Special

A.X.E. is going to spin into a bigger crossover in the coming months (more on that in July’s Look Ahead), while the Hellfire Gala looks like it’s going to be a bit more concentrated in just June instead of being a big summer crossover. 

Spider-Man

The spider-line’s been fairly actively lately, with both a relaunch of Amazing Spider-Man and a bunch of short 5-issue mini-series. And June is no different - if you’re a fan of Spider-Man, check out the new Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man, another new 5-issue mini starting soon.

DC - Dark Crisis

The Justice League is dead, and another crisis looms. Who will fight back against Earth’s greatest villains? Well a new crop of heroes almost certainly! Tie-ins for this book include:

• Dark Crisis (main series)
• Dark Crisis Young Justice

That’s it so far, but expect more one-shots and tie-ins as the summer rolls in. 

Pride Stories (Multiple Publishers)

Okay this isn’t so much a listing of tie-ins so much as it is a list of the various pride-month books that you might want to keep on your radar for June:

• Marvel Voices: Pride #1
• Hulkling & Wiccan 
• DC Pride 2022
• DC Pride Tim Drake Special
• Poison Ivy (New Series by G. Willow WIlson)
• Multiversity: Teen Justice
• Young Men in Love (Wave Blue World Publishing)
• Welcome to St Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventures (Graphix Publishing)

Fun One-Shots and Nice-To-Haves

We’ve only got a couple of entries this month, mostly due to the fact that our tie-ins section was so long. But Sloane found a couple of really good ones this time, so if you’ve got room in your comics budget for some fun trades, give these a look!

Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator

IDW Publishing, by Sofia Warren (writer & artist)

What if instead of a reporter, a politician had a cartoonist embedded in their office? Radical: My Year With a Socialist Senator recounts Sofia Warren’s experiences being that cartoonist, following the first year of Julia Salazar’s tenure in the New York State Senate, and the senator’s triumphs and struggles as the first democratic socialist elected there. It’s hard to resist a well-made comic memoir, and given IDW’s long tenure publishing high quality non-fiction political comics like March, They Called Us Enemy, and The Mueller Report: Graphic Novel, this is sure to be an informative treat.

- Sloane

Voices That Count

IDW Publishing, by Diana Lopez Varela, Maria Hesse, Leticia Dolera, Lola Garcia, Sandra Sabates, et al.

Dealing with topics like unfair beauty standards and toxic workplace culture, Voices That Count collects nine stories by Spanish authors and illustrators about how women experience the rough edges of life in a patriarchal society. While the styles of the different pieces vary both artistically and in subject matter, every page from this collection that I’ve seen has been wildly compelling. This is definitely going to be worth checking out when it comes out.

- Sloane

And that's it for this month's look ahead! We'll be back later this month for another look at what's in store for you comics fans in July. In the meantime, if you'd like to subscribe to any of these books, we've got you covered! Follow this link and let us know which comics you'd like to add to your pull list, or if you don't have one going yet, you can also start up a pull list in that very same link. For more details about our subscription policy, head over here.