Knight Terrors and X-Men: Hellfire Gala – The Biggest Comics of July 2023

July is always a big month for the comic book industry thanks to Comic-Con International: San Diego. But even as we wait to see what new announcements are forthcoming from publishers like Marvel, DC and Image, there’s no shortage of exciting new comics to read here and now.

From the start of major crossover events like DC’s Knight Terrors and Image’s Big Game to the watershed moment that is X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023, these are the biggest and most noteworthy comics to keep an eye on during the month of July. Be sure to head down to the comments and let us know what you’ll be reading this month.

Knight Terrors

Creative Team: Joshua Williamson, Giuseppe Camuncoli & Howard Porter

Publisher: DC

Release Date: July 6 

Knight Terrors is DC’s big summer crossover event for 2023. This storyline begins with the death of a major Justice League villain and sees the rise of Insomnia, a powerful being who ensnares heroes and villains alike inside their own nightmares. For Batman, that means transforming into a gun-toting, demonic orphan child. For Joker, that means languishing at a 9-5 desk job in a world with no Batman. The horror… 

The main Knight Terrors story is chronicled in a four-issue series from writer Joshua Williamson and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli. There will also be a great many tie-ins in the form of the prologue issue Knight Terrors: First Blood and various two-issue companion books focused on the many characters trapped in their nightmares. Ideally, that means you can read as much or as little as you want. Knight Terrors looks to scratch a similar itch as 2017’s Dark Nights: Metal, and like that series, it even delves into the mythology of the Sandman franchise. That alone may justify a read for many Sandman fans.

World’s Finest: Teen Titans

Creative Team: Mark Waid & Emanuela Lupacchino

Publisher: DC

Release Date: July 11

Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest has easily been among DC’s best ongoing books over the past year. The series flashes back to an earlier, more innocent time in the Batman/Superman partnership, and it’s as fun as superhero comics get. That’s why we’re so excited to see DC greenlight a spinoff.

World’s Finest: Teen Titans is essentially a new take on the origin story of the iconic superhero team. This miniseries will explore how a young Dick Grayson assembled the Teen Titans and how they overcame their early growing pains to be the Justice League-replacing force they are today. With Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino at the helm, we have no doubt this series will be every bit as entertaining as Batman/Superman.

Gargoyles: Dark Ages

Creative Team: Greg Weisman & Drew Moss

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Release Date: July 12

Between Clone High, X-Men ’97 and the upcoming King of the Hill revival, it seems like every beloved animated series from the ’90s and early ’00s is being revisited these days. Gargoyles has yet to receive an animated continuation, but the series is alive and well in the comic book realm.

Gargoyles: Dark Ages builds on the success of Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles continuation at Dynamite Entertainment. This spinoff flashes back to the 10th Centiry, explroing the period before Goliath and the gang were frozen in stone for a thousand years. The series is actually based on a pitch Weisman made for an animated spinoff many years ago, so that has us very eager to see what Dark Ages can add to this venerable franchise.

Big Game

Creative Team: Mark Millar & Pepe Larraz

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: July 19

Over the years, Mark Millar has slowly started to connect the dots between his various Millarworld titles, resulting in a shared universe that includes everything from Kick-Ass to Wanted to Kingsman to Jupiter’s Legacy. At long last, Millar is really leaning into that shared universe with Big Game, the first Millarworld crossover.

While Millar is keeping a lot of this series under wraps, we know that the crossover builds directly on the foundation of books like Wanted and Nemesis Reloaded. Wesley Gibson is back in action, as he rallies the world’s villains to deal with the sudden explosion in the number of superheroes. Expect a lot of hyper-violent action and appearances from basically every major character in the Millarworld canon. And with House of X’s Pepe Larraz drawing the series, it’s sure to be a visual stunner to boot.

Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor

Creative Team: Mark Waid & Bryan Hitch

Publisher: DC

Release Date: July 25

July really is a big month for writer Mark Waid at DC. In addition to launching World’s Finest: Teen Titans, Waid is also kicking off a brand new Superman story for DC’s Black Label imprint. Joining him is none other than The Ultimates artist Bryan Hitch, which makes for quite the creative pairing.

The Last Days of Lex Luthor puts a fresh spin on the age-old rivalry between Superman and Luthor. After the world discovers Luthor is dying of a mysterious disease, Superman embarks on a last-ditch quest to find a cure and save his enemy. It’s hard to argue with that premise, and Waid has even teased the idea that The Last Days of Lex Luthor ties back to his work on Superman: Birthright.

X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023

Creative Team: Gerry Duggan & Various Artists

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: July 26

It’s become an annual tradition for Marvel’s X-Men line to ring in the summer with a Hellfire Gala one-shot. Once again, the mutant nation of Krakoa is throwing a lavish ball, and everyone who’s anyone in the Marvel Universe is attending in their finest attire. As with the previous two Hellfire Gala one-shots, this issue will reveal the results of Marvel’s fan vote and the revamped X-Men roster.

However, there’s an even bigger reason to check out this year’s Hellfire Gala. This issue serves as the beginning of a new status quo called Fall of X. We don’t know what exactly that status quo involves yet, but it appears to involve the destruction of Krakoa and the scattering of the mutant race across the globe. After several years of finally having a home to call their own, mutants are about to be hunted again.

If you’re behind on the current X-Men line, be sure to check out our guide to reading the X-Men comics in 2023.

Other Books to Watch

Fishflies

We’re always down for a new book from the superhumanly prolific Jeff Lemire, especially when Lemire is both writing and drawing said book. This horror series, originally publsihed in digital form on Lemire’s Substack, follows a loner and a teen fugitive who strike up an unlikely friendship in the midst of a smalltown manhunt. (July 12)

The Hunger and the Dusk

This new fantasy series from G. Willow Wilson and Christian Wildgoose should appeal to Warcraft fans, as it’s all about humans and orcs finding common ground in the midst of endless conflict. In a dying world, both sides will have to put aside their differences in order to confront a new threat posed by a race of ancient beings from across the sea. (July 12)

Moon Knight #25/City of the Dead

Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight is easily one of Marvel’s best ongoing titles right now, and there as big plans in store as the series reaches its 25th issue. This issue will introduce the MCU version of Scarlet Scarab into Marvel’s comic book universe, a twist which immediately feeds into the spinoff series Moon Knight: City of the Dead. (July 12 & July 19)

X-Men: Days of Future Past – Doomsday

The current X-Men line may be trending in a darker direction, but if you prefer your X-books to be truly bleak, why not return to the Days of Future Past timeline. This prequel miniseries reveals the tragic events that led up to the hellish future seen in the original Days of Future Past arc, with the X-Men gradually being wiped out by the unstoppable Sentinels. (July 12)

Blade

It’s been a surprisingly long time since Marvel has given Blade his own comic. That finally changes this month, with a new series from the promising creative team of Bryan Edward Hill and Elena Casagrande. The new book deals with the consequences of Blade accidentally unleashing an ancient evil upon the Marvel Universe. (July 19)

BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness

The main BRZRKR series couldn’t hope to chronicle the full scope of the life of the immortal warrior known as B, so it’s a good thing the series is getting a spinoff. This issue (written and drawn by Steve Skroce and co-written by Keanu Reeves) looks to be taking a sword and sorcery approach as B pays a visit to the fabled city of Atlantis. (July 26)

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.