A summer of superheroes.

The Superhero Summer rocks on even after "Wanted" premieres June 27, with four more big-budget Spandex offerings in July.

"Hancock" arrives July 2, but -- believe it or not -- this Will Smith vehicle about a surly, drunken and reluctant superhero isn't based on a comic book. That makes it a rarity in a month that offers "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (July 11), "Dark Knight" (the "Batman Begins" sequel, July 18) and "Batman: Gotham Knight" (a straight-to-DVD animated film touted as a prequel to "Dark Knight," on sale July 8).

All of these movies are expected to do well for their studios, so the publishers of these characters want to make a dime, too. Dark Horse, for example, is launching two new Hellboy-related miniseries ("B.P.R.D.: The Warning," "Hellboy: The Crooked Man"), two high-end collectible softcovers ("Hellboy II: Art of the Movie," "Hellboy II: The Golden Army") and four new T-shirts.

And given that Batman paraphernalia is already a multimillion-dollar business -- the Batman hoodie debuted last month -- the amount and types of material spinning out of "Gotham Knight" and "Dark Knight" is Bat-tastic. Just off the top of my head, I'm aware of a Batgirl Barbie, a Black Canary Barbie, a new collectible-card set with collector's album, Batman and Joker bobble-heads, vinyl statues, thermal mugs, sculpted magnet sets, key chains, tin Bat-banks, entirely too many T-shirts ... and Bat-handcuffs. (That last being purely for display, I'm sure.)

Strangely, there's a large amount of material devoted to "Will Eisner's The Spirit" this month, although that movie (directed by "300" creator Frank Miller) isn't due until Dec. 25. Beat the rush with a deluxe Spirit collector figure, sculpted magnets and a PVC set.

"But," I hear you say, "this is a comics column. What about comics in July?" I'm so glad you asked.

DC Comics in July

Naturally, there's more than the usual Bat-product. Look for "Joker's Asylum," a series of five one-shots focusing on Bat-villains (Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Two-Face); a new "Batgirl" miniseries; "Two-Face: Year One"; and several Bat-related trade paperbacks. Ho-hum. Been there, done that through five previous Bat-movies.

The big news at DC continues to be "Final Crisis," which is supposedly wrapping up all the threads that have been building throughout the superhero line for the last four years since "Identity Crisis" and "Infinite Crisis" and "52" and "Countdown" and countless miniseries and specials. There are three new spin-offs this month ("Requiem," "Rogues' Revenge" and "Reign in Hell") for the hardy souls who are still trying to keep up with all this.

My interest is actually on two humor books beginning this month. "Ambush Bug: Year None" is a miniseries based on DC's non-linear, continuity-shredding, nonsensical un-hero, whom the humorless insist on calling insane. And there's an excellent new Captain Marvel series joining DC's kids-only line, "Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam."

Marvel Comics in July

The "Secret Invasion" continues apace this month at the House of Ideas, with 15 titles continuing the surprisingly entertaining story of our world (and all the superhero groups) being infiltrated by those sneaky, shape-shifting Skrulls from the Andromeda galaxy. It's rampant paranoia, 2008 superheroes vs. 1985 superheroes, and little green men from outer space. Woo-hoo!

Also, two X-titles hit milestones. Marvel is celebrating "Uncanny X-Men" No. 500 by essentially rebooting the entire X-premise. And "Astonishing X-Men" No. 25 is also a reboot of sorts, with acclaimed SF writer Warren Ellis doing "and now for something completely different" vs. the previous writer (and "Buffy the Vampire Hunter" creator), Joss Whedon.

Other comics in July

-- Dark Horse: Continuing its hardback, high-quality reprints of obscure old comics, DH brings us "Nemesis Archives" Vol. 1. Nemesis appeared in ACG's "Adventures Into the Unknown" from 1965 to 1967, and except for the art (by Pete Costanza and Chic Stone) it was really awful -- awful enough to be good!

-- Dark Horse II: Relaunching from the adjectiveless "Conan" (which lasted 50 issues), "Conan the Cimmerian" No. 1 is by top-flight veterans Tim Truman and Rich Corben.

-- Blasts from the Past: Look for "Humbug" archives, reprinting the short-lived late-1950s humor magazine by Harvey Kurtzman, the man mostly responsible for early-1950s "Mad." And "American Flagg! The Definitive Collection" Vol. 1 collects the first 14 issues of Howard Chaykin's groundbreaking, dystopian-future, anti-hero dramedy from 1980s First Comics.

Super-movies! Strange reprints! Alien invasions! Crossover crises! Bat-handcuffs! Whatever your fancy, there's a lot to do in July!

(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)