DC Pride 2023 is published by DC Comics and features stories by Grant Morrison, Leah Williams, Nadia Shammas, A.L. Kaplan, Josh Trujillo, Jeremy Holt, Mildred Louis, Rex Ogle, Christopher Cantrell and Nicole Maines. Artists featured in the book include Hayden Sherman, Paulina Ganucheau, Bruka Jones, Don Aguillo, Andrew Drilon, Stephen Sadowski, Skylar Patridge and Rye Hickman. Main cover art (left) is by Mateus Manhanini.
DC Pride 2023 is available in comic book stores and on digital platforms from today.
Synopsis
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy go to extreme measures to get a little alone time…but there’s nowhere on the planet Crush can’t crash. Jon Kent gets a comprehensive course in dark magic when John Constantine sics a golem on him. Tim Drake and Connor Hawke learn that there is nothing more awkward than reuniting with an old friend after you’ve both come out and one of you was indoctrinated by the League of Shadows for a while. Circuit Breaker struggles to stifle his powers after the Flash of Earth-11 leaps out of the time stream and knocks them both into another dimension. Just how far would Flashlight go to honor his lost love? Discover all these stories and many more in DC Pride 2023!
Review
Today DC’s groundbreaking Pride anthology returns for another year. As Pride Month is upon us, this year the publisher is focussing on team ups between a group of characters emphasising the wonderfully diverse nature of the DCU. At a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are being challenged across the globe, our favourite heroes (and creators) are here to provide an escape from reality.
This year DC’s approach to the anthology needs to be applauded for its sensitive and delicate treatment of the subject matter. In the age of the Twitter troll we all know how certain detractors will react to a book like DC Pride. But image a book which is so celebratory and yet subtle that you could pitch it as a team-up special and nobody would know the difference.
Each of the ten stories takes two queer characters from the DCU and pairs them up for a short, meaningful story with a core focus on acceptance and understanding. Some like the book’s opener, “Love’s Lightning Heart” by Grant Morrison, are more romantic and direct. Others like Christopher Cantwell’s “My Best Bet” are simply a sentimental tale which happens to feature one or more queer characters.
The book works on so many levels. Whether it’s reminding us about character’s lives outside of their suits (“Hey, Stranger”) or putting lesser known/new characters in the spotlight (“Lost & Found”). Pieced together with a handful of excellent pin-ups, a wonderful tribute to the late Rachel Pollack and a particularly impactful foreword from Phil Jimenez, this year’s DC Pride really has something for everyone.
Without the power of the Speed Force there just isn’t enough time to hit every story in this wonderful book. So here are my highlights
Love’s Lightening Heart: A Multiversity Story
With the first story in the book we take a trip to Earth-36 with writer Grant Morrison. One of the lesser known versions of Earth. This one is home to the Justice-9, a group of familiar looking but uniquely created heroes who reflect the Justice League of Earth-Prime. The story focusses on Flashlight, a version of Green Lantern, and his love interested Red Racer, a long-presumed dead Speedster.
It’s a truly inspired way to kick off proceedings. It’s also heartbreaking. We follow Hank (Flashlight) as her refused to give up on Red Racer, going to the ends of his universe to find a way to reunite with his love.
Hayden Sherman’s artwork is stunning. Teamed with Marissa Lousie’s colours it’s easily the most striking story in the anthology. Everything about it is thinking outside of the box and embracing the chaos of love and loss.
Hey, Stranger
There’s no hiding from Tim Drake and his place in the Bat-Family. Through Detective Comics, the B-story in Batman and Meghan Fitzmartin’s excellent solo-title, Tim has become THE Robin at the centre of Gotham in the past 12 months.
Here, with writer Nadia Shammas and artist Bruka Jones, Tim is reuniting with Connor Hawke for a very different story. I’m sure I discussed this in my review of DC Pride 2022 but so often these characters are caught up in such huge storylines that there is little time to focus on their private lives.
Whilst these two are on a case, facilitated by the wily Damian, there’s plenty of time for them to reconnect. We haven’t seen them share the page for some time and both have been living very different lives in that time. Shammas hones in on how both has dealt with their own coming out and circles that back beautifully to the idea of pure friendship.
My Best Bet
A wonderful example of telling a queer story without waving a rainbow flag. I say that as someone who fully supports the cause. Christopher Cantwell simply plucks two characters, in this case Jon Kent and John Constantine, and puts them together out of necessity. John needs help securing a mystical item and Jon is the one to help him.
Again the story is beautifully rendered by Skylar Patridge and colourist Dearbhla Kelly. It’s a straight up team-up between two characters with a little added friction. There’s action. Zippy dialogue and a quippy ending that fits perfectly in to both of their characters.
But read between the lines and everything you need is there. Subtle and sublime. Constantine is fighting for the soul of a lost loved one. A character that Constantine fans will be more than familiar with, simply (and briefly referred to) by name only a couple of times. Oliver. It’s that subtle bisexuality which connects Jon and John but that doesn’t matter. It’s not the focus. Cantwell perfectly articulates the school of thought that sexuality is not our driving force, love is unassuming.
Don’t discount any of the other stories in DC Pride. I could lament the wonderful artwork of Mildred Louis in “Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork” or the playful tone of Jeremy Holt’s “Lost & Found” but we’ll be there all day.
Simply put, go buy this book!
Verdict
After another trip around the sun, DC returns to Pride Month with another magnificently written collection of stories celebrating the queer characters of the DCU. The creative team-ups are equally as exciting as those on the page. An absolute must read and must celebrate book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
