Happy Pride, friends! June is almost upon us and it’s time to talk about comics with rainbows in them, comics with creepy weird space horror, the big summer Marvel event, and of course, Chip Zdarsky. All that and more awaits, so read on and find out what comics our team found in the catalogs that look really neat to us!
Reviews and Recommendations
This month brings us the start of Marvel’s big summer events, a new W Maxwell Prince DC book, DC’s twist on a pride special, and more! And please welcome new contributor Madison to the blog! She’s joined Sloane, Elise, and Nick this week in putting these reviews together, so if one of them catches your eye be sure to say thanks next time you see one of us in the shop!
Quick reminder: If you see something you want you can always reach out to us and ask us about ordering it or setting it aside for you, or head over to our subscription page and add it to your pull! Anything in these look aheads are ready for you to order.
Justice League: Dream Girls – A DC Pride Event
DC Comics
By Jadzia Axelrod (writer), Nicole Maines (writer), Brandt & Stein (artist) and many more!
DC is not doing their usual annual Pride Month issue this summer, which is obviously a huge blow to you, me, and comics-loving gays everywhere. BUT, as a consolation prize, they’re doing something kind of wild that I didn’t expect to see at all? Galaxy and Dreamer, DC’s new rising star transgender superheroines are getting a team up comic that’s coming out weekly all pride month long!
Both characters have so far been relegated to original graphic novels and being side-kicks in other character’s stories, so it’s really exciting that DC feels like they can carry a book on their own! After May’s Justice League Intergalactic Special, it’s so exciting to see these two new characters get even more attention as they battle their way out of a dreamscape in order to save the Justice League. The series is being cowritten by both character’s originators, so if you’ve liked them before this promises to be more of what you’ve loved in the past.
Additionally, for those of us who miss the more traditional DC Pride anthologies, each issue will feature a short comic in the back highlighting a different set of queer DC characters including Poison Ivy, Batwoman, and Green Lantern (honestly not sure which Green Lantern, there are a couple of queer ones at this point so it’s hard to say. Guess you gotta read it to find out!) It’s got a little for fans of DC’s new batch of queer characters, and a little for fans of longtime favorites. What’s not to love?
- Sloane
Avengers: Armageddon
Marvel Comics
By Chip Zdarsky (writer) and John Doe (artist)
I mostly don’t read Marvel Comics these days, but when I do it’s because Chip Zdarsky is writing them. Chip is good at a lot of things, but what I appreciate the most is that he just knows what makes different characters tick. His classic Daredevil run, more recently Avengers: Twilight, and the new Captain America are all books that if I’m being honest I wouldn’t be caught dead reading otherwise, but I’ll see his name on them, give them a shot, and get pulled in.
So, all that said, it’s super exciting to see him get tapped to helm Marvel’s new event comic, Avengers: Armageddon. Given that it’s really only crossing over with his own Captain America and Wolverine books, it’s hard to call this a proper crossover event, but this new book is establishing a new status quo for the Avengers. After One World Under Doom left Doctor Doom’s home country of Latveria with a power vacuum, General Thunderbolt Ross has stepped in and established himself as its new leader, setting off a world-shaking chain of events that will affect all of Marvel’s biggest heroes.
Marvel is really hyping this up as an event that will change the Marvel universe forever, which. I don’t know, superheroes don’t ever stay dead, so I don’t totally believe it, but if after this we get a new Zdarsky led Avengers series like a lot of fans have speculated it might, I’ll be excited to see where it goes.
(Also, a small note for any Magic: the Gathering fans out there, in a cool bit of cross promotion every copy of this issue will come bundled with a promotional copy of the Magic card “Warstorm Surge” as a preview of the upcoming set. Worth looking out for if you either need that card or are excited for the Magic x Marvel crossover.)
- Sloane
(PS. Nick, you should put that Chip Zdarsky meme we keep hung up behind the counter here in this blog post. “Of course, 𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓹 𝓩𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓼𝓴𝔂.” You know the one.)
[Editor's note: You got it Sloane. ]
The Eye Collector
Image Comics
By Jonathan Ball (writer) and GMB Chomichuk (artist)
There are many things I consider my “vibe” when thinking about aesthetics and themes that interest me in stories and media: “hard” science-fiction with a touch of the supernatural, eldritch and inscrutable horror, anything that references David Lynch as a point of influence to name a few. Scrolling past the cover image and preview pages for the introductory issue of Jonathan Ball and GMB Chomichuk’s newest collaborative piece gave me just enough of a taste of that vibe to compel me. The premise of “moon alien comes to fulfill your wishes in exchange for your children’s eyes” adds a level of Faustian cautionary tale to the whole feel that I like a lot, all together mixing to make a unique soup of interesting potential.
Truthfully, all I really would have needed to be interested in The Eye Collector are the words “Apollo 10” and “horror.” Alternatively, “moon’s haunted” would have also sufficed, but the promise of a Weird Little Freak and Matrix-esque coloring certainly help get me excited for the book’s June release.
- Madison
X-Men Outback
Marvel
By Steve Orlando (writer) and Russell Dauterman (artist)
Look I have a huge soft spot for the outback era. It contains not only some of the coolest and most iconic costumes of my childhood recollection of X-Men, but it’s also the part of the series that most captivated me growing up. This was, in many ways, the X-Men I grew up seeking out. They were based in the outback, far away from any specific city and yet could always be wherever they needed to be thanks to one of their support crew - Gateway. And it didn’t help that a chunk of the team of this era was used for the X-Men arcade game, a pilot for a scrapped 80’s era TV series (look up Pride of the X-Men y’all and tell me you wouldn’t have watched the heck out of that as small children), and a really cool line of toys.
All this is to say - when you tell me that Steve Orlando is gonna write this and Russell Dauterman is gonna draw this book, you instantly have my attention. If you’re not familiar with how these flashback books have been going, Marvel is currently going back to the X-Men of eras past and filling in or fleshing out the stories of those eras. Maybe it’s a dropped plotline from decades ago that Chris Claremont wants to finish, or in this case - it’s how the team came to choose the outback base as their home, fleshing out that introductory story arc about them defeating the reavers and taking over the base. It’s also an excuse to draw some really kickass older costumes and I am all here for that.
- Nick
The Deadman
DC Comics
By W Maxwell Prince (writer) and Martin Morazzo (artist)
We’ve already seen what W Maxwell Prince can do with a popular super hero like Superman. If you’ve not yet read Superman: the Kryptonite Spectrum, I highly recommend it for it’s weird and surreal overtones that Prince, Morazzo, and the rest of his crew are known for. Now throw him at a hero who’s not very well known - Deadman, and let him cook. Deadman, for those of you unfamiliar, is a former acrobat by the name of Boston Brand. While performing, Boston was assassinated, and in the moment after his death his spirit was absconded with by the Goddess Rama Kushna who tasked him with an existence in between this life and the next as a ghost. Using his new ghostly powers to possess others, Deadman combines their bodies with his skills to solve not only his own murder, but to bring justice to others in an an effort to balance his own karmic scales.
If that origin story sounds hella appropriative and a little out-there, yup. Welcome to DC of the silver age. It doesn’t stop the story being told here from being bizarre, fun, and probably a little creepy. Cause let’s face it - DC is letting the guy who writes a comic book about a haunted / possessed / cursed ice cream man loose on a guy whose whole shtick is already primed for a surreal horror comic.
- Nick
One-Shots & Graphic Novels
Adventure Time Pride Special: PB & Marcy's Infinite Mixtape
Oni Press
By Rosie Knight (writer) and Evgenia Vereli (artist)
*Busts down the door*
Alright, listen up! It’s about to be June and you know what that means? I’m here to talk gay sh*t and gay sh*t only (I mostly only talk about gay sh*t the other 11 months of the year to be fair but you know how it is). Adventure time is doing their first ever pride special this year (if you don’t count Caroline Cash’s Bubbline College Special which, spiritually, I do) and it features none other than Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen as they try to write a song for their band for the Pride Band Slam. As they work together they listen to a mixtape of songs Princess Bubblegum wrote but never played for Mareceline and take a trip down memory lane. The only problem? They had a rocky road to getting together and as the tape stirs up old memories it causes doubts about whether or not they are even right together.
We didn’t get to see that much of Princess Bubblegum and Marcelline together in Adventure Time when it was airing so this recent trend of specials and one-shots for them has been really fun. The preview pages I’ve seen for this are cute and expressive and capture the slightly toxic dynamic these two can have but ultimately circles back to how much they care about each other. I’m excited to kick off pride month with some funky little cartoon lesbians. Knight said in a release from Oni Press, “... I'm honored to get to team up with the unbelievably talented Evgenia to add our own very gay and very strange twist on everyone's favorite healing situationship…”.
- Elise
Zdarsky Comics News: Eighteen Months I Can’t Get Back
Zdarsco Inc.
By Chip Zdarsky
In case you were living under a rock for the better part of the last few years, Zdarsky Comics News (ZCN for us cool kids who were in-the-know) was Canada’s – nay, the WORLD’s – premier source for monthly independent comics journalism in 2024 and 2025, all written, drawn and curated by everyone’s favorite comics writer and artist (or at least our shop’s favorite) Chip Zdarsky.
Well, no let’s be honest. At least half of the book was Chip fucking around and making jokes, but A) he’s a funny guy so honestly it’s still a fun read, and B) the other half of the book was genuinely interesting interviews with other creators about their craft, or industry trends, or other interesting comics stuff that you’d never thought about enough to realize you desperately needed to know.
Sadly, the monthly newsletter ended after only 18 months, because Chip has too much on his plate to keep doing silly weird comics journalism forever. It’s been followed by a spiritual successor in Comics: the Magazine, which is definitely worth a read (and about a hundred times more polished), but it just doesn’t have the same charm that comes with being a silly side project done by an overworked comics weirdo mostly just interviewing his industry pals and making jokes. It didn’t have the same magic.
For those of us who weren’t savvy enough to keep up with the series when it first came out, Chip’s collecting the whole thing in paperback. If you’ve ever been interested in the comics industry and want to learn more about it (while also reading a bunch of dumb jokes and doodles) this is a great place to start. It’s only being printed once, so if you want to read it ever, make sure to snag it now while it’s still available.
- Sloane
Orlando
Avery Hill
By Virginia Woolf and Jules Scheele (writer) and Jules Scheele (artist)
Orlando is a book I actually haven’t read yet but I have a feeling this graphic novel adaptation could be the kick in the pants I need to finally do it. My pop-culture impression of it is definitely one of queerness and gender fluidity and in my research I have also discovered there is time travel which I honestly didn’t anticipate?? When I asked Sloane she just described it as, “Very gender-f*cky Viriginia Woolf novel”. I know this is embarrassing and they’re going to take my queer card away for this but I’ve somehow just never gotten around to reading or watching it. I know it's such an impactful piece of queer literature and reading what Scheele has to say about what he wants to bring to this adaptation has gotten me really excited.
Orlando has obviously been adapted many times and will be many more. In an interview with Fanbase Press Scheele has said his goal is to explore the “shared history [of] queer people across time, emphasising freedom of expression, hope, and resilience”. The preview pages I have seen are gorgeous and colorful and Scheele has talked about how he doesn’t want to equate seriousness with dullness and thinks that incorporating bold stylistic choices and color palettes is a critical part of the story. I can’t wait to finally experience this story when it hits our shelves in June.
- Elise
Encore!
Harper Alley
By Miles Toriko Burks (writer and artist)
One of the key components of the Elise Brand™ is a love of stories about teens and the complexities of teen friendship (and its intersection with queerness). I tend to favor books about young women because my personal experiences often more closely mirror theirs but you can’t dangle a cute book about ex-best-friend-theater-gays-turned-something-more in front of me and expect me not to bite.
Encore is a story about two ex-friends, Clay and Aron. They were inseparable childhood besties until a few years ago and now they’re being thrown back together in a theater class and their suddenly renewed proximity is stirring up old feelings for Clay. Will they be able to work through the things that ended their friendship before? Can Clay trust Aron after everything they’re been through? Where does friendship end and something else begin? This book looks fluffy, and adorable, and features a cast of queer characters with a variety of identities and looks like lots of fun just in time for pride month. These are the kind of books I really needed as a teenager and I’m happy to get work somewhere that I can help put these books in the hands of the people who need to see them.
- Elise
DC W.I.P. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1
DC Comics
By Tom King (writer) and Bilquis Evely (artist)
Tom King’s take on supergirl has already garnered an immense amount of praise since its release in 2022, evident in the existence of and excitement for its upcoming film adaptation. King’s knack for engaging and contemplative stories along with Bilquis Evely’s gorgeously detailed artwork made Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow a must-read recommendation for me, and solidified me as a (perhaps begrudging) Tom King fangirl.
That’s all old news though. I’m just excited by the idea of getting to see all of Evely’s amazing artwork at full scale, and you should be too! Though regrettably it will be missing Matheus Lopes’ vibrant coloring, the pure spectacle of having an oversize issue should be a tempting prospect to anyone who has read and enjoyed the original miniseries.
- Madison
Upcoming Comic Catalogs
Wondering where we find all of these books? We go through a number of upcoming comic book catalogs, which you can find below. If you want to do some digging for something we might have missed, please have a look! If you find anything you want, just head over to our subscription page to place a preorder or update your subscription.
(Quick word of caution - the Next Phase catalogs are very large and may take a while to download!)
April Comic Catalogs (June Releases)
DC | Marvel | Image | Dark Horse | DSTLRY | IDW | Boom | Titan | PRH Panels | Next Phase
May Comic Catalogs (July Releases)
DC | Marvel | Image | Dark Horse | DSTLRY | IDW | Boom | Titan | PRH Panels | Next Phase
June Comic Catalogs (August Releases)
DC | Marvel | Image | Dark Horse | DSTLRY | IDW | Boom | Oni | Titan | PRH Panels | Next Phase
And that’s a wrap for June! Next month - the height of summer arrives and with it yet more comical books In the meantime, if you saw something you wanted, please reach out to us and ask us about ordering it or setting it aside for you, or head over to our subscription page and add it to your pull!