DC and Marvel: Must-Reads for Summer 2013

Usually on a monthly month at DC and Marvel Assemble, I post lists must-reads from DC and Marvel sides that came out within the given month (ex: during January 2013, mentioning must-reads of January 2013), but since June is month 1 of the summer season (in terms of comic book releases) and this summer 's looking to be a big summer for comic book heroes (with of course the inclusion of the releases of movies Man of Steel, The Wolverine, and Kick Ass 2, and the premiering of Beware the Batman to happen in July), I felt like hyping things up for you the readers. So instead of just listing the must-reads of June 2013, I am listing the must-reads of June-August 2013.

DC Comics

DC Releases of 6/05/2013

  • Action Comics (Vol. 2) No. 21: Superman faces horror when his DNA becomes his enemy. Plus, check out the New 52 debut of Parasite.
  • Ame-Comi Girls (Vol. 2) No. 4: Enter Sinestra.
  • Earth 2 No. 13: The Post-Flashpoint Earth-2's Captain Steel makes his debut.
  • Green Arrow (Vol. 5) No. 21: Oliver Queen vissits the island where he created his super-hero identity, only to discover new truths about his father and the Outsiders.
  • Green Lantern (Vol. 5) No. 21: Hal Jordan take sover as leader of the Green lantern Corps.
  • Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger No. 9: The Phantom Stranger must face a villain he had hoped to avoid at all costs in order to rescue his family from Hell. Continues the run of The Phantom Stranger (Vol. 4).

DC Releases of 6/12/2013

  • Batgirl (Vol. 4) No. 21: Barbara Gordon may risk her superhero identity's image as her battle with the Ventriloquist continues.
  • Batman (Vol. 2) No. 21: Witness the final steps Bruce Wayne takes to becomes Batman in part 1 of the 11-part storyarc "Batman: Zero Year". If you're just starting to read Batman comics, make sure to pick up a copy of this at your nearby comic shop.
  • Katana No. 5: Katana visits Japan to find Soultaker so that her sword can be repaired, only for her to face conflict with one of the souls that escaped her weapon after it broke into pieces.
  • Superboy (Vol. 6) No. 21: Krypto joins Kon-El on his search for Dr. Psycho and the new H.I.V.E..
  • Superman Unchained No. 1: Superman finds himself stumbling on a mystery dealing with the unseen, especially when the Man of Steel himself did not stop the last of the 13 satellites that were dropping from the sky while the current suspect of the danger Lex Luthor is still locked up in jail.

DC Releases of 6/19/2013

  • Batman and Batgirl No. 21: Continues from Batman and Red Hood No. 20. As Batman is about to make a deal that may resurrect Damian Al Ghul/Robin III, he faces conflict with Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.
  • Batwoman No. 21: Killer Croc is rescued by a cult obsssessed with the desire to watch Batwoman kick the bucket.
  • Justice League of America's Vibe No. 5: Vibe meets the Suicide Squad.
  • Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 7) No. 21: The fight against the Fatal Five brings the Legion closer to a possible dark defeat.
  • Red Hood and the Outlaws No. 21: A bounty is placed on the Outlaws, but Jason Todd/Red Hood II can't seem to know what action he commited in the past that led to this doom.

DC Releases of 6/26/2013

  • All-Star Western (Vol. 3) No. 21: Jonah Tex travels to the 21st Century.
  • Aquaman (Vol. 7) No. 21: Arthur Curry/Aquaman meets an ally who may change his perspective of the Seven Seas.
  • Batman/Superman No. 1: Witness the Post-Flashpoint Earth-0's revision of Batman's first encounter with Superman.
  • Batman: The Dark Knight (Vol. 2) No. 21: The Mad Hatter storyarc epilogue.
  • The Flash (Vol. 4) No. 21: Barry Allen/The Flash meets up with Teen Titans while on the trail for the Speed Force Killer. Plus, witness the Post-Flashpoint Earth-0 revision of the Scarlet Speedster's first encounter with Kid Flash.
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us No. 6: Batman, with Catwoman at his side, begins building an udnergraound resistance to fight Superman and the New World Order.
  • Justice League (Vol. 2) No. 21: The Post-Flashpoint Earth-0 origin of Shazam reaches its conclusion, and Billy Btason will require help from unlikely allies to stop Black Adam from gaining control of all forces of magic.
  • Red Lanterns No. 21: Guy Gardner transfers to the Red Lanterns' side.

DC Releases of 7/03/2013

  • Action Comics (Vol. 2) No. 22: A group of space warriors visit Earth to find Superman, whom they want to be their new king.
  • Ame-Comi Girls No. 5: Sinestra assualts Hawkgirl's homeworld Thanagar.
  • Batwing No. 22: Lucius Fox's son Luke, the current Batwing, returns to gotham, only to learn that both his family and Wayne Enterprise are being threatened by the Marabunta.
  • Detective Comics (Vol. 2) No. 22: Enter the Anti-Batman known as "The Wrath".
  • Earth 2 No. 14: Jay Garrick/The Flash, Alan Scott/Green Lantern, and Dr. Fate take down Steppenwolf as the future of Earth-2 rests on their hands.
  • Green Arrow (Vol. 5) No. 22: The New 52 debut of Count Vertigo.
  • Green Lantern (Vol. 5) No. 22: Hal Jordan sends new GL Corps members to a battle that they may lose as Larfleeze finds the Corps in a compromised position.
  • Trinity of Sin: Pandora No. 1: Pandora, the woman involved in teh creation of the current main DC Universe, embarks on a mission to combat the terrors she accidently brought in the universe in hopes of self-redemption.
  • Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger No. 10: The Phantom Stranger must make the most tough decision he ever have to make in thousands of years as Trinity War nears by.

DC Releases of 7/10/2013

  • Batgirl (Vol. 4) No. 22: A recent event of trauma tempts Barbara Gordon to consider hanging up the capes.
    Batman (Vol. 2) No. 22: Part 2 of 11 of "Batman: Zero Year" features Batman's early encounter with the Red Hood gang ss well as his early encounters with Gotham's then-district attourney Harvey Dent.

  • Justice League (Vol. 2) No. 22: It's part 1 of "Trinity War", and the death of a super-hero drives the three currently-active Justice Leagues to fight against each other in a conflict preluding the arrival of an evil that will threaten every super-hero on Earth.
  • Katana No. 6: Katana prepares to re-imprison the souls that escaped her sword.
  • Superboy (Vol. 6) No. 22: Kon-El's hunt for H.I.V.E. continues, and this time, reportress Lois Lane helps out.
  • Superman Unchained No. 2: Batman makes a guest appearance as Superman deals with the terrorist group known as "Ascension".

DC Releases of 7/17/2013

  • Batman and Catwoman No. 22: Continues from Batman and Batgirl No. 21. Will Catwoman be able to help Btaman get over the loss of his son Damina or take advantage of his despair?
  • Batman '66 No. 1: It's the premier issue of the ongoing series spinning off from the 1966 live-action T.V. series Batman. In this issue, Batman requires the aid of an unlikly source to hunt The Riddler after the green-costumed super-villain himslef enters an art stealing spree.
  • Justice League of America (Vol. 3) No. 6: Part 2 of "Trinity War". The Question takes a case involving the arrest of one hero and the evils driving another to turn rogue.
  • Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 7) No. 22: The Legion must look to their past in order to build towards their bright future in the fight agaisnt teh Fatal Five
  • Trinity of Sin: Pandora No. 2: Pandora faces the Secret Society.

DC Releases of 7/24/2013

  • Batman: The Dark Knight (Vol. 2) No. 22: The Post-Flashpoint Earth-0 origin of Clayface.
  • Batman, Incorporated (Vol. 2) No. 13: Final issue of the series finds Batman losing everything in the process of saving the world.
  • Batman/Superman No. 2: Batman and Superman meet their Post-Flashpoint Earth-2 versions.
  • The Flash (Vol. 4) No. 22: Thepost-Flashpoint Earth-0 revision of Barry Allen's first encounter with Reverse-Flash.
  • Justice League Dark No. 22: Part 3 of "Trinity War". Someone from Justcie League is defecting JLD.
  • Superman Unchained No. 1 Director's Cut

DC Releases of 7/31/2013

  • Batman (Vol. 2) Annual 2: A tie-in to "Batman: Zero Year".
  • Detective Comics (Vol. 2) Annual 2: Gotham's Finest cops battle an infiltrating changeling who threatens to destroy the GCPD from within.
  • The Flash (Vol. 4) Annual 2: The Post-Flashpoint Earth-0 revision of Barry Allen's/The Flash's first encounter with Green Lantern agent Hal Jordan.
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us 7: The citizens on Earth find themselves dividded according to perception of how the super-hero community has changed because of the New World Order.

DC Releases of 8/07/2013

  • Action Comics (Vol. 2) No. 23: Superman fights an alien civilization whose feudal system was built around all evil and no good.
  • Batman/Superman No. 3: Supes and Bats face their Earth-2 counterparts in a conflcit that may doom their respective home universes.
  • Detective Comics (Vol. 2) No. 23: Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth faces The Wrath in an effort to help his master.
  • Earth 2 No. 15: Earth-2's heroes face the Hunger Dogs of Apokolips.
  • Green Arrow (Vol. 5) No. 23: The origin of Shado is revealed.
  • Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger No. 11: In a story tieing in to "Trinity War", The Phantom Stranger recruits Batman, Katana, and Deadman to aid him in a quest to retrive the soul of a Justice Leaguer murdered in cocnflict as that soul itself maybe the weapon to end the war between Justice Leagues.

DC Releases of 8/14/2013

  • Batgirl (Vol. 4) No. 23: In part 1 of "Batgirl: Wanted", Commissioner Gordon begins a hunt for Batgirl in order to avenge his son's death, unaware that Barbara Gordon is the wanted person herself.
  • Batman (Vol. 2) No. 23: Part 3 of 11 of "Batman: Zero Year" explores the day Batman begins.
  • Justice League of America (Vol. 3) No. 7: Superman deiscovers the secret behind the Secret Society in part 4 of "Trinity War".
  • Superman Unchained No. 3: Superman learns a secret the U.S. army tries to hide from him, but that secret may have found him.

DC Releases of 8/21/2013

  • Batman'66 No. 2: The debut of the Batman '66 Universe's Killer Croc.
  • Batman and Nightwing No. 23: Continues from Batman and Catwoman No. 22.
  • Batman Beyond Universe: Premier issue of a new series set in the Post-Infinite Crisis Earth-12, the Batman Beyond Universe. Terry McGinnis struggles to maintain his university education and personal life when his super-hero duties put them in danger while Superman goes out of control.
  • Justice League Dark No. 23: In part 5 of "Trinity War", the identiy of a murderer is revealed, but the line between justice and vengeance among Leagues soon becomes ignored.
  • Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 7) No. 23: Final issue. The Legion struggles to cope with the fallout of the war against the Fatal Five, especially when they meet a society who no longer trusts them.
  • Supergirl (Vol. 6) No. 23: Supegirl Vs. Cyborg Superman.
  • Trinity of Sin: Pandora No. 3: Pandora, a hunt target for both heroes and villains, is forced to make a decision involving the Seven Deadly Sins, even if one of the sins may affect the whole universe.

DC Releases of 8/28/2013

  • Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) No. 23: Batman and Commissioner James Gordon may need the help of the Mad Hatter as Clayface goes on a violent murder rampage throughout Gotham.
  • Batman, Incorporated Special: All-star one-shot featuring the various Batman, Inc members.
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us No. 8: Superman becomes allies with lex luthor, but Luthor himself may have other ideas in changing the world for the better.
  • Justice League (Vol. 2) No. 23: It's the last chapter of "Trinity War", but the war between Justice Leagues may end with disasterrous results as the secret behind Pandaora's box may spell their end.