DC Pride is an annual LGBTQIA+-themed comic book anthology first published by DC Comics in June 2021.[1] The second anthology was published in June 2022. The third anthology was released in May 2023.
Publication and promotion
DC Pride was first announced in March 2021 as an 80-page anthology comic focusing on DC Comics' various LGBT characters.[2] It was published in June as a celebration of Pride Month.[3] The anthology is also meant to celebrate the LGBT creators working at DC, with the anthology's writers and artists being members of the LGBT community.[4][5]
As part of their celebration of Pride Month, DC also announced the limited series Crush & Lobo, focusing on the mercenary Lobo and his lesbian daughter Crush;[6] June would also see the release of the graphic novel Poison Ivy: Thorns.[5][7]DC Pride also marks the first instance of Nia Nal / Dreamer appearing in comics, with the story written by Nicole Maines. The character first appeared in the live-action series Supergirl, played by Maines. Maines described herself as very excited at getting the opportunity to write the character.[8]
A second anthology, DC Pride 2022, was released in June 2022.[9] DC Comics stated that it is a "100+ page Prestige format annual anthology comic".[10]
In 2023, DC Comics published three titles for Pride Month: DC Pride 2023 #1 (released in May), DC Pride: Through the Years #1 (released in June) and The DC Book of Pride (released on May 16). DC Pride 2023 #1 is the annual 100+ page prestige format anthology. DC Pride: Through the Years #1 is a reprint "collection of three older DC comics that featured LGBTQ+ characters".[11]The DC Book of Pride, by Jadzia Axelrod, is a character guidebook on the 50+ LGBTQ+ DC characters.[11]
Content
2021
DC Pride was released on June 8, 2021 and consisted of the following stories:[12]
"Clothes Makeup Gift" (Danny Lore, writer; Lisa Sterle, artist; Enrica Eren Angiolini, colorist; Becca Carey, letterer): focuses on the non-binary Flash Jess Chambers and their relationship with Andy Curry, daughter of Aquaman and Mera.
"Try the Girl" (Vita Ayala, writer; Skylar Patridge, artist; José Villarrubia, colorist; Ariana Maher, letterer): focuses on lesbian superheroine Renee Montoya.
"Be Gay, Do Crimes" (Sina Grace, writer; Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, artists; Aditya Bidikar, letterer): focuses on former supervillain and ally of Wally West, Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper and his musical face-off against Non-Binary Supervillain Drummer Boy.
"Date Night" (Nicole Maines, writer; Rachael Stott, artist; Enrica Eren Angiolini, colorist; Steve Wands, letterer): focuses on trans woman Nia Nal / Dreamer, whose first appearance was in the live-action series Supergirl, where she is played by Maines.
"Love Life" (Andrew Wheeler, writer; Luciano Vecchio, artist; Rain Beredo, colorist; Becca Carey, letterer): Jackson Hyde / Aqualad and his date Syl must defend Pride parade from Eclipso, with help from the Justice League Queer.
2022
DC Pride 2022 was released on June 14, 2022 and featured a foreword from Nicole Maines. The anthology consisted of the following stories:[13]
"Super Pride" (Devin Grayson, Nick Robles, Triona Farrell and Aditya Bidikar): focuses on Jon Kent/Superman, a bisexual man, as he, his boyfriend Jay Nakamura and best friend Damian Wayne attend Metropolis Pride and Jon begins to embrace his identity and status as a symbol for both the people of Earth and the LGBT+ community.[14]
"Confessions" (Stephanie Williams, Meghan Hetrick, Marissa Louise, and Ariana Maher): Lesbian Queen Nubia reveals to her partner Io, a blacksmith, that the sword she made for her was destroyed in a wrestling match with Giganta rather than in an epic battle.[15]
"Special Delivery" (Travis Moore, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Ariana Maher): Newly out hero Tim Drake races to meet up with his new boyfriend Bernard so that they can attend their first Pride together despite being distracted by local criminals.[16]
"Are You Ready for This?" (Danny Lore & Ivan Cohen, Brittney Williams, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Ariana Maher): Non-binary Earth-11 speedster Jess Chambers (Kid Quick) tries to prove themself as a hero.
"A World Kept Just For Me" (Alyssa Wong, W. Scott Forbes, and Ariana Maher): Jackson Hyde/Aquaman struggles to be open with his new boyfriend about his childhood in New Mexico.
"The Gumshoe in Green" (Tini Howard, Evan Cagle, and Lucas Gattoni): Bisexual Woman Jo Mullein/Green Lantern investigates a suspicious couple on an alien planet in this neo-noir thriller.[17]
"Think of Me" (Ted Brandt & Ro Stein and Frank Cvetkovic): Connor Hawke battles Music Meister while trying to write a letter to his mother explaining his asexuality.[18]
"Public Display of the Electromagnetic Spectrum" (Greg Lockard, Giulio Macaione, and Aditya Bidikar): The Ray struggles to publicly express his affection towards his boyfriend Xenos.
"The Hunt" (Dani Fernandez, Zoe Thorogood, Jeremy Lawson, and Aditya Bidikar): Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy face a mysterious foe.
"Bat's in the Cradle" (Stephanie Philips, Samantha Dodge, Marissa Louise, and Lucas Gattoni): Jacob Kane reflects upon his relationship with his daughter Kate.
"Up at Bat" (Jadzia Axelrod, Lynne Yoshii, Tamra Bonvillain, and Ariana Maher): Transgender Woman Alysia Yeoh is forced into a fight with Killer Moth when a wounded Barbara Gordon approaches her for help.
"Finding Batman" (Kevin Conroy with art by J. Bone and Aditya Bidikar): An autobiographical story where Conroy describes how his portrayal of Batman drew from his painful experiences as a gay man.[19]
2023
DC Pride 2023 #1 was released on May 30, 2023. It featured a foreword from Phil Jimenez and an extended tribute to the late trailblazing writer Rachel Pollack, who passed away before she could begin working on a story for the book. The anthology consists of the following stories:[11][20]
A Multiversity story by Grant Morrison and Hayden Sherman.
A Tim Drake and Connor Hawke story by Nadia Shammas and Bruka Jones.
A Circuit Breaker and the Flash of Earth-11 story by A.L. Kaplan.
A Midnighter, Apollo and Alan Scott Green Lantern story by Josh Trujillo and Don Aguillo.
A Ghost-Maker and Catman vs. Cannon and Saber story by Rex Ogle and Stephen Sadowski.
A Jon Kent and John Constantine story by Christopher Cantwell and Skylar Patridge.
A Natasha Irons and Nubia story by Mildred Louis.
A Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Crush story by Leah Williams and Paulina Ganucheau.
A preview of an upcoming Dreamer story by Nicole Maines and Rye Hickman.
DC Pride: Through the Years #1, released on June 13, contains:
"The Flash #53 by William Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRocque, in which the Pied Piper comes out to the Flash".[11]
"Detective Comics #854, by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams, which launched Batwoman on her solo series".[11]
"Supergirl #19, by Steve Orlando, Vita Ayala, and Jamal Campbell, in which nonbinary teen Lee Serrano becomes friends with Supergirl".[11]
An original story, by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey, "about Green Lantern Alan Scott, which will lay the groundwork for that character's next storyline".[11]
2024
DC Pride 2024 was released on May 28, 2024 and includes stories featuring Dreamer, Jon Kent, Poison Ivy, Steel (Natasha Irons), Aquaman (Jackson Hyde) and The Ray and a preview of the upcoming graphic novel "The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley."[21]
Reception
Upon release, DC Pride #1 received widespread acclaim from comics critics. At the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 10 to reviews from comics critics, the series received an average score of 9.2 based on 17 reviews.[22] Oliver Sava, for The A.V. Club, wrote: "Corporate offerings celebrating Pride Month often feel like disingenuous attempts to cash in on a social movement, but DC Pride #1 succeeds by showcasing the ways DC Comics has been pushing LGBTQ+ representation for years. [...] Many of the stories in DC Pride feel like the start of something more, and ideally there's enough interest in this one-shot that these heroes can spend more than a month in the spotlight".[23] Sava compared this issue to Marvel Voices Pride and called Marvel's issue "more of a mixed bag". Sava wrote that "while Marvel has dragged its feet in regards to meaningful LGBTQ+ representation in film and television, DC has spent the last decade expanding representation across all of its media".[23]
