By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
June 10, 2021 — It’s summertime, and the comics are busy.
It's not new. Back in the Long-Before Time, comics publishers would increase the frequency of some titles in the summer, and issue oversize “annuals” — sometimes new stories, but more often reprints. The belief was that kids (who were then the primary market) had more time in the summer, and more disposable income.
Today’s comics market is wildly different from the days before the Internet and the comics shop, but somehow summer is still the busiest time of year. Call it vestigial marketing.
Here are four current summer “events” worth noting:
HEROES REBORN
The covers to Heroes Reborn #5-7 connect to form this triptych featuring the five main members of the Squadron Supreme. From left, they are Nighthawk, Power Princess, Hyperion, The Blur and Dr. Spectrum. I bet you can figure out which Justice Leaguers they’re modeled on without any help. (Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu, copyright Marvel Comics)
We’re actually on the back nine of this event, which began on May 5 with Heroes Reborn #1. That title is the spine of the story, which comes out weekly (along with various related one-shots) and will end with its seventh issue on June 16. The whole mehgillah wraps on June 23 with Heroes Return #1.
None of the heroes in these titles refer to the actual stars of this series, which are a group called the Squadron Supreme. This alt-universe superhero team has popped up now and again since it was created in the 1970s as an evil parody of the Justice League called the Squadron Sinister.
“Heroes Return” posits a world where the Squadron Supreme existed in the Marvel Universe before the Marvel Universe got going, as the Justice League of America did in the real world. (The JLA formed in 1960, whereas the Marvel Universe didn’t properly launch until 1961 with Fantastic Four #1, and we didn’t get the Avengers until 1963.)
And because of the Squadron’s existence, history is changed and the Avengers don’t assemble. Tony Stark never got trapped in a cave with terrorists. Asgard was somehow destroyed, and Thor is a drunk. The Hulk was executed by Hyperion (the Superman analog) and Captain America, with no Avengers to find him, is still a popsicle.
But one person knows something is wrong: Blade. (The story hasn’t explained why, but I suspect the real-world reason is the upcoming Blade movie.) The Daywalker starts re-assembling the Avengers, beginning with a certain frozen Super-Soldier. These are the heroes being reborn, and the ones that will return in Heroes Return #1 — as the “bad guys,” fighting “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Which means they’re the good guys, because as we’ve seen in the series so far, the Squadron is ultra-nationalistic, sadistic and bloodthirsty, but have really good PR. (Sort of like The Seven in The Boys.)
We don’t know why any of this is happening yet, but honestly, I don’t care. The “Reset Button” will be hit eventually, so I don’t have to worry that any of this is permanent. But watching Hyperion make short work of Galactus, and Dr. Spectrum (Green Lantern) take out Thanos, well … that’s just fun.
PRIDE MONTH
DC’s Pride Month anthology cover features (clockwise from bottom left) “Future State” Flash, The Question (Renee Montoya), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Apollo, Midnighter, Dreamer, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Batwoman. (Cover art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams & Tamra Bonvillain, copyright DC Comics)
June is “Pride Month,” which three of the big publishers are acknowledging in some fashion. And, brother, there are a lot more LGBTQ+ characters in comics to talk about than there used to be. Until Northstar came out as gay in Alpha Flight #106 (1992), there weren’t any.
DC Comics scores first with DC Pride #1 on June 8, an anthology of stories featuring non-binary characters. Some of them may not be very well known, but others — Batwoman, the original Green Lantern, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy — are pretty major. Also, the trans superhero Dreamer from TV’s The Flash will make her comics debut in a solo story.
Marvel follows suit on June 23 with Marvel Voices: Pride #1, a similar anthology starring LGBTQ+ characters such as Runaways stars Nico Minoru and Karolina Dean, and X-Men characters Daken, Iceman and Karma, and couples Destiny & Mystique and Hulkling & Wiccan. New gay character Somnus will debut, a mutant who can control dreams.
Another new gay character will debut in The United States of Captain America, a five-issue miniseries launching June 30. The premise is that four of the men who have called themselves Captain America — Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes and John Walker — begin searching America for Cap’s missing shield. What they find is “everyday people from all walks of life who’ve taken up the mantle of Captain America to defend their communities,” says Marvel’s publicity machine. In the first issue they meet Aaron Fischer, a gay teen who dresses similar to Captain America and defends his neighborhood.
Finally, keep an eye out for variant covers from Marvel, DC and Image Comics celebrating the publishers’ various LGBTQ+ characters. They’re easy to spot, thanks to rainbow or pink color schemes.
INFINITE DESTINIES
Something’s up with the Infinity Stones in the Marvel Universe, and as we know from the movies, that’s nothing but trouble. The Armored Avenger investigates in Iron Man Annual #1, which shipped June 2. He runs into the current possessor of the Space Stone, a long-forgotten character named Quantum. Meanwhile, a new character named The Assessor … well, assesses. For what purpose, we don’t yet know.
Meanwhile, a backup story named “Super-Spy vs. Super-Spy” begins, starring the original Nick Fury (the white one) and Phil Coulson (not dead in the Marvel Universe). The former is currently an operative of The Watcher (the alien who, uh, watches everything from the Moon), while the latter works for Mephisto (one of the Marvel U’s versions of Satan).
This is just the first shot in a summerlong event, as both stories will continue in six more annuals before wrapping up in a seventh, Avengers Annual #1 in August. The next batter up is Captain America Annual #1, on June 16.
HELLFIRE GALA
The cover to Marauders #21 — which launches the monthlong, 14-issue Hellfire Gala saga — features fashion plate Emma Frost modeling one of the three outfits she wears to the party. Wait till you see the others, and what everyone else is wearing! (Cover art by Russell Dauterman, copyright Marvel Comics)
I’m saving the best for last, but it’s also the one about which we know the least.
As X-fans know, respected writer Jonathan Hickman has revamped the X-Men books in a major way. Currently, all mutants — heroes and villains alike — live on the sentient mutant island Krakoa, which Magneto and Charles Xavier have established as a new nation. This island is capable of producing miracle drugs to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, which the mutants are exporting to become very, very rich (but still not loved).
To celebrate, the Hellfire Trading Company (which markets the drugs) is holding an elite, invitation-only gala for presidents, CEOs, ambassadors, Avengers, etc. It’s a pretty big party, running through five weeks and 14 issues. It began with Marauders #21, X-Force #20 and Hellions #12 on June 2, continues with three issues a week for the next three weeks, and climaxes with X-Factor #10 and Cable #11 on June 30.
What we know so far is that something big happens at midnight — we’ve seen the fallout among various characters, but not the event itself. Since “Hellfire Gala” will be followed by stories titled “The Trial of Magneto” and “X-Men: Inferno,” we can assume 1) something very bad happened, 2) the Master of Magnetism will be blamed and 3) something, or everything, will burn to the ground.
Until we find out more, there are plenty of party hi-jinks to enjoy, like the always untrustworthy Beast trying to bug all the guests, and low-class gatecrashers making a scene. Plus, there are the fashions, which have to be seen to be believed.
Actually, I have seen them, and still don’t believe them.
Find Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), on his website (captaincomics.ning.com), on Facebook (Andrew Alan Smith) or on Twitter (@CaptainComics).
Replies