DC’s Pride celebrations for June have become an annual tradition, with a one-shot spotlighting queer characters and creators, Pride-themed variant covers, and a renewed commitment to continue the celebration throughout the year. Today DC revealed their plans for Pride 2023, and it’s shaping up to be the publisher’s most ambitious one yet that include Grant Morrison returning to the world of The Multiversity for a new short story, a collection of past LGBTQ-centric comics, and an all new encyclopedia of DC’s queer characters.
May 30th will see the release of DC Pride 2023 #1. The new anthology one-shot will feature eight short stories from all-star creative teams, including Morrison and artist Hayden Sherman, and feature LGBTQ+ characters from around the DC Multiverse. Along with an introduction by Phil Jimenez and a preview of an upcoming Dreamer story by Nicole Maines & Rye Hickman, here’s the full lineup of characters and creators:
- Tim Drake and Connor Hawke by Nadia Shammas and Bruka Jones
- Circuit Breaker and the Flash of Earth-11 by A.L. Kaplan
- Midnighter, Apollo and Alan Scott Green Lantern by Josh Trujillo and Don Aguillo
- Ghost-Maker and Catman vs. Cannon and Saber by Rex Ogle and Stephen Sadowski
- Jon Kent and John Constantine by Christopher Cantwell and Skylar Patridge
- Natasha Irons and Nubia by Mildred Louis
- Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Crush by Leah Williams and Paulina Ganucheau
- Multiversity by Grant Morrison and Hayden Sherman
And here’s how DC describes the one-shot, which will feature a main cover by Mateus Manhanini, and open-to-order variant covers by Gabriel Picolo (wraparound), Jen Bartel (spot foil), and Oscar Vega:
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!
DC Pride 2023 will also feature pinup pages with artwork by Maria Llovet, Ro Stein & Ted Brandt, Travis Moore, Noah Dao, Claire Roe, Babs Tarr, among others.
Along with the anthology of new stories, a new collection of stories from years past will present readers with a look at some of DC’s early efforts at LGBTQ+ representation.
DC Pride Through The Years will release on Tuesday, June 13th, and reprint stories from The Flash #53 by William Messner-Loebs & Greg Larocque, Detective Comics #854 by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams III, and Supergirl #19 by Steve Orlando, Vita Ayala, & Jamal Campbell, along with a brand-new Alan Scott Green Lantern story from Tim Sheridan & Cian Tormey, all under a new cover by Derek Charm.
The two one-shots will be joined in bookstores by The DC Book of Pride: A Celebration of DC’s LGBTQIA+ Characters. Here’s how DC describes the Jadzia Axelrod-written encyclopedia, which sports new cover art by Paulina Ganucheau:
An official collaboration between DK and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, The DC Book of Pride is an inspiring illustrated hardcover that profiles more than 50 LGBTQIA+ characters in detail, including Harley Quinn, Jon Kent, Nubia, Tim Drake, Batwoman, Aquaman, Dreamer, new character Circuit Breaker, and many more. Authored by Galaxy: The Prettiest Star writer Jadzia Axelrod, it illustrates the rich histories, fascinating origins, amazing superpowers, and key storylines of DC’s leading queer Super Heroes and Super-Villains. With stunning interior artwork and an exclusive cover by renowned illustrator Paulina Ganucheau, this DK book is a wonderful guide for DC fans that arrives just in time for Pride Month on May 16.
Here’s a sample of some of the entries from The DC Book of Pride:
If that all wasn’t enough, a number of DC titles throughout June will feature Pride-themed variant covers. Here’s the list of titles and cover artists:
- Steelworks #1 (Joshua “Sway” Swaby)
- Spirit World #2 (Jessica Fong)
- Green Arrow #3 (Luciano Vecchio)
- Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #4 (Stephen Byrne)
- Superman #5 (W. Scott Forbes)
- Batman Incorporated #9 (Rosi Kämpe)
- Tim Drake: Robin #10 (Travis Moore)
- Poison Ivy #13 and Harley Quinn #31 (connecting covers by Claire Roe)
- Nightwing #105 (Yoshi Yoshitani)
- Wonder Woman #800 (Ted Brandt and Ro Stein)
- Detective Comics #1073 (Amy Reeder)
Look for all of those titles to arrive from DC in time for Pride Month in June.
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