Looking Forward to July: DC Comics

We talked about it last month and we’re talking about it again this month: Before Watchmen. It will likely go down as the biggest event of the year for DC Comics, and for many people the most controversial! Like we said, the event will consist of several different mini-series, all showcasing adventures of the various characters in Watchmen, taking place before that seminal story by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. We saw the first issues of most of them last month and this month we get one more…

BEFORE WATCHMEN OZYMANDIAS #1 (OF 6)

Written by Len Wein
Art by Jae Lee, John Higgins

"I have goals to achieve. Dreams to make come true." Plus, a new Crimson Corsair backup feature from writer Len Wein and artist John Higgins!

This one, featuring the original baddie Ozymandias, is being written by series editor (and original Watchmen editor) Len Wein. Just don’t call it a reboot!

“To me, a reboot is what DC is essentially doing with the New 52, which is changing costumes, origins, relationships, essentially looking at old characters through new eyes,” Wein said recently. “What we’re doing is filling in a lot of the blank spaces in a story that has already, to some degree, been told. There were still a lot of gaps in the histories of Watchmen‘s characters, and events only mentioned in passing or touched on briefly in the original story. We’re filling in those gaps in the most creative and inventive ways we can.”

NATIONAL COMICS ETERNITY #1

Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Cully Hamner

An exciting new series of stand-alone comics that feature unique takes on classic characters! Jeff Lemire (Animal Man) and Cully Hamner (Red) bring a contemporary approach to the hero we used to know as Kid Eternity! Can introverted medical examiner Kid Eternity solve a deadly crime in just 24 hours?

With this issue, DC Comics launches a new stand-alone series. National Comics will tell one-and-done stories, exploring some of The New 52′s characters that, while cool, don’t currently have an outlet for their tales. The first four in the spotlight will be Eternity, Madame X, Rose and Thorn, and Looker. Each of these will have one issue to introduce the reader to their little corner of the universe, with the hopes of building from there.

PUNK ROCK JESUS #1 (OF 6)

Written and illustrated by Sean Murphy

The newest reality show hit has the unlikeliest celebrity of all in this new black and white miniseries from writer/artist Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian, Off Road)! J2, the TV series starring a clone of Jesus Christ, causes chaos across a near-future United States in Punk Rock Jesus, a new miniseries written and drawn by Sean Murphy, the acclaimed illustrator of Joe the Barbarian and American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest.

J2 causes outrage and adulation. Religious zealots either love or hate the show, angry politicians worry about its influence on the nation, and members of the scientific community fear the implications of cloning a human being at all – let alone the Son of God. And what effect will this all have on Gwen, the young woman who is selected, through an American Idol-style process, to be the mother of the new Messiah? All this leads to the hiring of Thomas McKael, the clone’s bodyguard and a former IRA operative with a turbulent past who must protect the new Messiah – a baby who captivates the world, but grows up to become an angry teenager.

Can’t add much more to that! Except to say that we love Sean Murphy’s art and are curious about his writing.

HE MAN AND THE
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1 (of 6)

Written by James Robinson
Art by Philip Tan, Ruy Jose

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe return to comics in an all-new miniseries! Skeletor strikes with his master plan to rule Eternia! Can Adam and the Masters of the Universe remember what Eternia was like in time to save it?

Sorry, but I had to include it! He-Man and I go waaaay back. Plus, it’s written by James Robinson! Of Starman fame!

GREEN LANTERN #11

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy

"The Revenge of Black Hand" starts now! This arc promises the most shocking conclusion of any of Geoff Johns’s entire Green Lantern run!

Green Lantern has been one of the more enjoyable series in the New 52 and this issue looks like it’ll be a great place to jump on. Starring the one and only Black Hand!

Finally, we have a couple more collections worth noting. First up, Aquaman, which has developed a very strong following since the relaunch. Then, Swamp Thing, which has likewise been excellent. Both are top five series in our DC New 52 poll!

AQUAMAN HC VOL 01
THE TRENCH

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis & Various

The first collection of the new Aquaman series! The superstar creators from Blackest Night and Brightest Day reunite to take Aquaman to amazing new depths! Aquaman has renounced the throne of Atlantis – but now, from a forgotten corner of the ocean emerges…The Trench! Collecting Aquaman #1-6!

SWAMP THING TP VOL 01
RAISE THEM BONES

Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Yanick Paquette & Various

The first collection of the new, acclaimed Swamp Thing series from the superstar team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Yanick Paquette! Alec Holland thought he knew the history of the Swamp Thing – but he was wrong! The war between The Green and The Red has begun, and the knights of decay walk the Earth unchecked! Collecting Swamp Thing #1-7!