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Here’s a look at what media of interest is coming out in June 2023.
Comics
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Menace on Wheels TPB, $16 (Marvel)
- Sonic the Hedgehog, vol. 14: Overpowered TPB, on sale June 21, $17 (IDW)
Movies
A full list of films is available here.
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, June 2
- Elemental, June 16
Disney+
A full list is available here.
- Hailey’s On It! (season 1, six episodes), June 9
- Stan Lee (Disney+ Originals documentary), June 16
- Marvel: Secret Invasion (series premiere), June 21
Netflix
A full list is available here.
- Skull Island (Netflix Series), June 22
- Nimona (Netflix Film), June 30
Paramount+
A full list is available here.
- Queen of the Universe (Season 2 premiere), June 2
- The 76th Annual Tony Awards, June 11
Sports
- NBA Finals, starting June 1 (ABC)
- Stanley Cup Finals, starting June 3 (date subject to change) (TNT (US)/CBC (Canada))
DC and Marvel thoughts
DC Comics’ June solicitations state the 800th issues of “The Flash” and “Wonder Woman” both come out in June. Presumably that milestone is based on adding up all of the various issues (across renumberings/relaunches) since the very first issues (“Flash Comics” #1 in January 1940 and “Wonder Woman” (vol. 1) #1 in June 1942. “Wonder Woman” presumably reached #800 faster than “Flash” (no pun intended) since she was one of the few superheroes (along with Superman, Batman, Robin, Green Arrow, Speedy, and Aquaman) who stayed published nonstop through the 1950s.
June is Pride Month, so DC and Marvel both have Pride-related comics out. DC offers (out on May 30) “DC Pride 2023” #1, a 104-page anthology for $10, plus “DC Pride: Throughout the Years,” an 80-page collection of previous stories featuring LGBTQ characters (Pied Piper, Batwoman, etc.). Marvel, meanwhile, has “Marvel Voices: Pride” #1, a 96-page one-shot featuring stories about their LGBTQ characters (Hulkling, Wiccan, etc.). Both publishers also have Pride-themed variant covers for their regular books.
There’s also two “Scooby-Doo” comics out in June. Interestingly, the solicitations for both mention the two different named towns the gang’s lived in over the years: “Coolsville” (from “A Pup Named Scooby-Doo”/some later spinoffs) and “Crystal Cove” (from “Mystery, Incorporated”/also a few later spinoffs). While continuity isn’t the strongest point of “Scooby-Doo,” I wonder if making Coolsville and Crystal Cove neighboring towns (and both of them near Big City of “Dynomutt” fame/within driving distance of Gotham) was ever considered?
Over in Marvel’s June solicitations, “Moon Girl” has a trade paperback collection out, collecting a 2022 five-issue miniseries. Unlike Lunella’s animated series, the comics still emphasize her being an Inhuman, as seen in this miniseries (she heads a roller-derby team of Inhuman kids). Granted, Lunella and Kamala “Ms. Marvel” Khan are the only successful results of Marvel’s ill-fated Inhumans push.
Movies
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the long-anticipated sequel to the hit 2018 animated film, finally comes out (after several delays) in June.
Also out in June, albeit much less anticipated, is DC’s “The Flash” movie. Warner Brothers is determined to push this film at all costs, despite its lead actor’s off-screen, high profile problems. Which might explain the emphasis on (Michael Keaton’s) Batman in the film. Part of this push is as an in-story and real-life reset of Warner’s mixed-results DCEU movies. There’s also the film’s budget to recoup ($200-$220 million). Still, I remind everyone that Warner erased “Batgirl,” but not “The Flash.”
Streaming services
“Haliey’s On It!” is a new animated series on Disney Channel/Disney+, about a girl who learns her journal, and daily activities, will end up saving the world in the future.
The newest Marvel series on Disney+ is “Secret Invasion.” The series is about Nick Fury (again played by Samuel L. Jackson) investigating a secret attempt by shape-shifting Skrulls to conquer the Earth. I like Jackson’s Fury, but have no idea how much this will require seeing previous Marvel movies/TV shows; I fell behind after disliking “WandaVision,” which feels like awhile ago.
The merged Paramount+/Showtime streaming service debuts on June 27, as well as price hikes: $6/month for the ad-based plan without Showtime, or $12/month for the ad-free version with Showtime.
If wondering, here’s a list of what’s coming to Max in June, the first full month for the newly-renamed HBO Max. Lifehacker notes that Warner Bros. has apparently stopped releasing what’s leaving HBO Max/Max. Because no advance warning of what content is leaving is just what customers want in what’s currently the most expensive on-demand streaming service.
Speaking of purged Max stuff, it looks like “Ben 10” and “Tom and Jerry Tales” are coming to Netflix in June, joining other former Cartoon Network content there. Also coming to Netflix is the “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” movie, but not the TV show (which they recently dropped, despite being a “Netflix Original”).
“Skull Island” is an animated series set on the island that famous movie primate King Kong calls home. Unfortunately for any visiting humans, it’s filled with other giant monsters.
“Nimona” is a film (based on the graphic novel of the same name) that’s been in development for years, but has faced numerous setbacks.
Sports stuff
Over in sports, both the NBA and NHL championships are set for June, as usual. Not so usual: the entire Stanley Cup Finals are only available on cable in the US, specifically TNT. Which doesn’t sound like a good deal for a major pro sports league, especially with cord cutting a thing. Granted, sports (and cable news/local TV reception) is one of the few reasons left to have cable anymore, but it still feels shortsighted. Meanwhile, Canadians (and Americans in some border cities) can watch Canada’s over-the-air CBC network for the Stanley Cup Finals.
Image from “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” (Marvel/Sony)
