5 Comics to Watch for in June 2016

5 Comics to Watch for in June 2016 Island #8, edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Ríos; stories by Michael DeForge, Simon Roy, Ben Sears, and Xulia Vicente (June 8) Island magazine is finally monthly again, and in addition to the final part of Simon Roys space cannibal story Habitat, well have the first Image Comics work by indie darling Michael DeForge (Ant Colony), as well as art by  Night Airs Ben Sears and up-and-coming Spanish artist Xulia Vicente. If you havent been reading the best thing happening in comics for the past year,  you should jump in! Lumberjanes /  Gotham Academy #1 by  Chynna Clugston-Flores and  Rosemary Valero-OConnell (June 8) Its pretty much a match made in heaven. Maybe my two absolute favorite all-ages comics of the last couple years, smashed together! Im not one for corporate synergy, but Boom! picked the perfect time to do their first-ever cross-publisher crossover. Written by  Chynna Clugston-Flores of 00s cult hit  Blue Monday fame and drawn by Boom! regular  Rosemary Valero-OConnell, seeing the chemistry between the Gotham Academy kids and the Lumberjanes is sure to be  tons of (queer?!?) fun. Common sense would tell you a crossover like this is meant to use the bigger publishers franchise to promote the smaller publishers franchise, but with the runaway success of  Lumberjanes and DCs awful job promoting their hidden gem  Gotham Academy, this might actually be more of a boon to DC than it is to Boom! Merry Men #1 by Robert Rodi and Jackie Lewis (June 8) Okay, I just gotta put the official solicitation text here. I love it: 13th century England. Robert Godwinson, former lover of King Richard, lives with his band of Merry Men in Sherwood Forest, away from the watchful eye of Prince John, who has outlawed homosexuality. Though isolated, the men live in peacethat is, until a stranger approaches their camp asking for aid to a nearby town under siege by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robertnicknamed Robinis reluctant to help, but equally eager to get rid of this perplexing stranger and to put his formidable bow-and-arrow to use. Its Robin Hood like youve never seen him before, based on scholarly speculation about whats really behind the outlaws legend. I CANT WAIT for a historical fiction gay Robin Hood story. And the bear variant cover by Ed Luce of  Wuvable Oaf fame! Body readyyy Godzilla  Treasury Edition by James Stokoe (June 15) Licensed comics: theyre usually awful.  Godzilla: not a franchise I usually care about. That was until I encountered James Stokoes  Godzilla work. Stokoe is otherwise best known for his madcap creator-owned books  Wonton Soup  and  Orc Stain, but his graffiti-influenced color-gradient-infused style is a perfect match for the iconic kaiju. His comics  are up there with the absolute best live-action  Godzilla movies, and this treasury edition collects the first issue of his series  Godzilla: The Half-Century War, as well as his issue of  Godzilla in Hell and a buncha pin-ups and covers hes done. Fun fact: in a Comics Cola interview, Stokoe reveals the first comics he  ever drew as a kid were about the Nerds candy mascots!?! Looking back on his hyper-colorful style now, it makes perfect sense. I.D. by Emma Ríos (June 22) Originally serialized as a two-part story in  Island magazine and collected in a handsome lil paperback volume,  I.D. is the near-future story of three people from different walks of life getting brain transplants. Emma Ríos (Pretty Deadly,  Mirror) weaves a cerebral  yarn entirely in white and shades of red, her first major single-creator work,  and its as close to hard sci-fi as well likely ever see her dothe end of the book features an essay by Miguel Alberte Woodward, a neurologist Ríos consulted to make the science in the book as accurate as possible. Once you get past all the STEM  trappings,  I.D. is ultimately a human story about peoples desires to have an entirely new body, and the depth of personal motivations behind it. The story touches on trans identity in a surprisingly nuanced way, and features Ríos signature dreamlike layouts, with inset panels, close-ups of limbs, and un-romanticized depictions of sex and the naked human body. Its a quick read at just 80 pages, but if youre into Emma Ríos or concepts of body dysphoria, check out  I.D. Sign up to The Stack to receive  Book Riot Comic's best posts, picked for you. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.