This summer is sure to be a hot one as the May-for-July comic book solicitations are filled with heaters!
The May-for-July comic book solicitations (here and here) dropped recently. We took our sweet time coming up with this month’s Don’t Miss This! Staff Picks. For good reason. We wanted to make sure our selections, for your reading pleasure, included the cream of the crop. Only time well tell but I think this month’s Staff Picks may be the strongest yet! Capes and cowls, horror, fantasy and sci-fi. It’s all here. Let’s dig in!
Mike Jamison’s Pick:
World’s Finest Teen Titans #1
by writer Mark Waid and artist Emanuela Lupacchino
It all keeps coming back to Mark Waid lately. Maybe it’s because I’m an old man, but after covering Waid’s debut issue on Fantastic Four for my Comic Vending Machine series, I’m here to recommend his new title World’s Finest Teen Titans #1.
For anyone who enjoys Bronze Age throwbacks or glorious, all age storytelling, Waid has been writing the ongoing Batman/Superman World’s Finest title. As a longtime and yes, OLD, DC fan like myself, the comic has been a revelation, a combination of light, fun adventures and beautiful artwork.
Spinning off from Batman/Superman, per DC, comes a modern retelling of the early adventures of the original Teen Titans! Led by Robin, the Boy Wonder, a new super-team has burst onto the scene. When they’re not fighting alongside their Justice League mentors, they’re managing their image and cultivating the rabid fan base that helps them save the world…as, all the while, a danger from the shadows intends to tear these friends apart before they ever reach the big time.
You don’t need to remember VCR’s or push button telephones to enjoy the tales that Waid and his collaborators are cooking up. Eschewing the more grim and adult tone of the current DC line, WF Teen Titans looks to continue the light hearted and heroic adventures established in Batman/Superman while also casting a winking eye on teenage celebrity culture.
World’s Finest Teen Titans is a series that’s truly a crowd pleaser, unanchored to continuity, making this old, cynical DC fan feel young again.
No Appropriate Age Specified | Cover by Chris Samnee | 32 pages | $3.99 | DC Comics
Release date: July 11, 2023 | Ordering Code: 0523DC149 [Lunar]
FOC date: June 18, 2023
Justin Smith’s Pick:
Fishflies #1
by Jeff Lemire
There are times when all it takes is to see a writer’s or an artist’s name attached to a project and it’s an instant “add to cart”. This is one of those instances. From Sweet Tooth, to Essex County (now a TV series), Gideon Falls, to Black Hammer, Lemire has cemented himself in the comic community as a writer that DEMANDS to be read, and this newest release is no different.
It was August 31st, 2021 and Jeff Lemire had just dropped his new Substack newsletter, and with that, Lemire gifted this beauty to us, Fishflies! Over the course of the next year, his subscribers got small serialized tastes each month of this latest release.
For those who are used to Lemire’s slice of life stories, you will be comforted because you do get all that you’ve come to love out of his storytelling. However, there is a MASSIVE surprise waiting for you at the end of book 1 which is more reminiscent of his supernatural writing on Gideon Falls.
Trust me when I say that you do NOT want to miss this release. Lemire masterfully creates characters that you truly care about. You empathize with their struggles. They feel like they are your peers from high school, and your heart hurts when they meet adversity.
Pick up this oversized issue #1 by pre-ordering from your local comic book shop!
Ages 13+ | Cover by Jeff Lemire | 64 pages | $5.99 | Image Comics
Release date: July 12, 2023 | Ordering code: MAY230033 [Diamond]
FOC date: June 19, 2023
Carlos Alvarez’s Pick:
Unnatural Order #1
by writer Christopher Yost and artist Val Rodrigues
In its seven year run Vault Comics has become a trusted source for all things fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. Constantly delivering conceptual stories from creatives that consistently reinvigorate the genres so it’s no surprise that the book I’m looking forward to this summer is Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian) and Val Rodrigues’ (Mezo, Deep Roots) Unnatural Order #1.
Following a time displaced Roman soldier and a witch’s journey to find The Druid–a dark entity who has created a horror filled version of the world as we know it–this book promises sorcery, bloody warfare, and the always timely existential dread, as our heroes wonder if the world they knew is even worth saving.
With titles like Deep Roots (Vault Comics) and Mezo (A Wave Blue World) under his belt, Rodrigues gets to flex on art and showcase his appreciation for the genre. Christopher Yost is well known for his runs on Marvel’s X-Men and Avengers titles as well as writing for show’s like X-Men: Evolution, a personal favorite, and The Mandalorian. This book marks his return to comics and with resumes as stacked as these, you gotta be a little excited! Unnatural Order #1 is in shops July 19th, make sure you set your copies aside. The cover art alone is worth the price of admission.
No Appropriate Age Specified | Cover by Val Rodrigues | 32 pages | $4.99 | Vault Comics
Release date: July 19, 2023 | Ordering code: MAY232117 [Diamond] / 0523VL433 [Lunar]
FOC date: June 19, 2023 [Diamond] / June 18, 2023 [Lunar]
Sergio’s Pick:
Sirens of the City #1
by writer Joanne Starer and artist Khary Randolph
“New York City. 1980s.” That’s all I needed to read from the solicitations to be sold. Well that and the fact that Joanne Starer is writing this gritty urban fantasy. She’s got a certifiable gem currently on the stands in The Gimmick (Ahoy Comics) and an upcoming Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville series (DC Comics). She’s got my attention folks. Add in Khary Randolph (Excellence) on interior art duties for Sirens of the City, and this title looks to be the summer’s sleeper hit!
The book’s main character Layla features an ultra-cool 80s punk rock look. She’s a runaway struggling to survive on the mean streets of NYC. Supernatural creatures from the darkest corners of the urban grime are after Layla and the baby brewing inside of her. Oh yes, colour me intrigued.
No Appropriate Age Specified | Cover by Khary Randolph | $4.99 | BOOM! Studios
Release date: July 12, 2023 | Ordering code: MAY230304 [Diamond]
FOC date: June 12, 2023
We hope you can pick up as many of our May-for-July comic book recommendations as possible! If you missed last month’s Don’t Miss This! Staff Picks, you can have a look at our most anticipated titles releasing in June here.
