Highlights from DC Comics and Vertigo July 2013 Solicitations

DC Comics has released its solicitations for July 2013, and there are definitely a few things worth noting for your next trip down to your comic book store.

Highlights for the month include a big launch to the Trinity War across the Justice League titles, several director’s cuts being released in the Batman and Superman universe, a whole slew of annuals with some mighty awesome covers and the return of Tom Strong from Vertigo.

We also note that the end is nigh as Batman Incorporated #13 brings the epic Grant Morrison run to a close, but not before blood was shed.

The Trinity War

The covers to Justice League #22, Justice League Dark #22 and Justice League Of America #6 form one big picture, kicking off what appears to be The Trinity War. We’ve been told about this almost as long as the New 52 has been a thing, and let’s hope this is a better event than…anything in the last two years from DC. “We really want to find and carve out the Justice League corner of the DC Universe,” Johns told USA Today. “It is a universe all itself with these three teams, and it feels big enough to be worthy of a Justice League story.” In fact, the crossover event  runs six issues over three different Justice League comic books in July and August. It will also be the first time that many of the characters seen on the cover have met in the New DCU. Highlights from the image obviously include Pandora, The Question and The Phantom Stranger (who form the Trinity of Sin), Zatanna’s new costume, Constantine vs Wonder Woman (yes, look!), Superman punching Green Arrow in the gut, a female version of The Atom (just next to Pandora) and the return of Doctor Light. It’s just like Age of Ultron, even less interesting!

Director’s Cuts

No longer a thing of the past, some of the big launches of June will get Director’s Cuts in July, and Scott Snyder is the man in the chair for both cases. Superman Unchained #1: Director’s Cut offers an issue “shot directly from the pencil art by Jim Lee and Dustin Nguyen …this new edition also includes Scott Snyder’s full script to this blockbuster story!”. Meanwhile, as the second chapter and an annual (see below) of Batman’s “Zero Year” continues, the first chapter gets an extended look in Batman Year Zero #1: Director’s Cut, which reprints Batman #21 “from the stunning pencil art of Greg Capullo and Rafael Albuquerque, with the full, action-packed scripts by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. Let’s hope these all make it into the eventual hardcover collections.

Annual tradition of Annuals

We’ve already covered this elsewhere, but there will be second annuals for Batman, Animal Man, Detective Comics, The Flash and Superman. DC continue to celebrate that its been almost 2 years since the New 52 launched, even if it is no longer new of totalling 52 books. To that end, another wave of annuals begins, including a special Zero Year tie-in for Scott Snyder‘s Batman run. Can this man do no wrong? Plus, we think we might already have one our favourites lined up for July’s Cover Story, as Jock delivers the cover for that special.

Tom Strong is Back

Vertigo announced that original Tom Strong co-creator and artist Chris Sprouse and British writer Peter Hogan will return with the brand new miniseries, Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril. All titles that include “planet of [something]” are always good, especially if planet is followed by doom or in this case, the more alliterative “peril”. Bring it on.

Statues are awesome

‘Nuff said.