By Zack Quaintance — A thing happens every year when Pride Month ends. Throughout June, companies and publishers and studios roll out rainbow branding for products, or spotlight their LGBTQ characters, or otherwise celebrate. But when July 1 hits, that commitment often disappears. Over the past year, however, this has not been the case for DC Comics. The publisher has continued a steady commitment to stories about LGBTQ characters following the launch of its inaugural DC Pride anthology in 2021, and that sustained effort built an excellent foundation for the DC Pride 2022 #1 one-shot, which is out next week and very very good.

*DC Pride 2022 wraparound variant cover by Joshua "Sway" Swaby*

Indeed, the book features 12 stories, all from LGBTQ creative teams, some of whom regularly work on DC’s mainline superhero books, while others are new to the publisher. Together, they deliver a set of tales as poignant as they are joyous. And part of what enables this is that after last year’s Pride Month, DC Comics didn’t stop. No, the publisher continued with meaningful appearances for queer characters across its line, from Jon Kent assuming the mantle of Superman in main continuity to the creation of Galaxy, a new character in an excellent YA graphic novel. This ongoing commitment gave creators in this year’s DC Pride 2022 #1 one-shot so much to work with, and their stories really built upon it well.

I’m writing about this book ahead of release, so I want to avoid too many specifics. That said, one of the things that struck me in this anthology was how many stories stem directly from things happening in DC’s main superhero universe. These aren’t elseworlds tales or forgotten/lightly-used characters. The first story stars Jon Kent and supporting characters from his current monthly comic, and that’s Jon Kent, mind you, who is now the primary Superman. We can debate about how meaningful continuity is (and we do! have you seen comics Twitter…), but to me, having stories connected to comics like Superman: Son of Kal-El or events like Trial of the Amazons or prominent storylines like the Lazarus Island tournament in Robin is another strong way to make clear that this book matters, that these stories count. Some of them also simply could not exist without groundwork laid in other comics throughout the past year (see the Tim Drake story, part of which is previewed below).

*From "Special Delivery" by Travis Moore, Enrica Eren Angiolini and Ariana Maher.*

I found myself thinking about many of these stories long after I’d finished reading this collection. I’m a huge fan of all things Green Arrow, and Connor Hawke gets a spotlight in “Think of Me” by Ro Stein and Ted Brandt (with letters by Frank Cvetkovic), which is the art team that illustrated the hit indie series, Crowded. The story is a great Green Arrow comic, replete with villains and problems solved via bow and arrow. The story is layered with empathy and honesty as well, and I felt like I came away from it with a much better understanding of asexuality than I had going in. And there are many stories in this anthology like that.

There are also stories in this anthology that are just well done and exciting, great examples of A Tier superhero storytelling. One of the standouts in this regard is “Up At Bat”, which is written by Jadzia Axelrod (the writer of Galaxy), illustrated by Lynne Yoshii, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettered by Ariana Maher. Axelrod is a rising star writer, and this story makes it easy to see why. It has Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl as well as Alysia Yeoh, a landmark character from the Batgirl run penned by Gail Simone. Thematically, it deals with being your true self, but atop that the team just does an excellent job of telling a superhero story that feels punchy and suspenseful. It’s got villainous threats, nice moments between characters, and material drawn from long-time continuity — all things that make superhero comics shine.

*"Up at Bat" by Jadzia Axelrod, Lynne Yoshii, Tamra Bonvillain and Ariana Maher.*

I could keep going on about what I liked in each of these stories and why — Nick Robles stunning artwork in the Jon Kent story, the super fun Harley and Ivy story from Dani Fernandez and Zoe Thorogood, the sweetness of the Jackson Hyde fish-out-of-water (literally) story from Alyssa Wong and W. Scott Forbes — there’s just so much to like in these comics. But I think I’ve encapsulated it well. Nicole Maines — who has played a trans superhero on television and written one for comics, with a new graphic novel on the way — pens a forward to this book, describing the power of representation not just as any character but as a superhero, a paragon of power and virtue. Maines forward strikes a tone of celebration and poignancy that permeates the entire book.

All that said, perhaps the most stunning part of this comic — and one of the most powerful DC Comics of the entire year — is the finale story. It’s a memoir comic written by Kevin Conroy, a gay man who is (in my opinion) the definitive Batman actor of our generation — the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series. Dubbed “Finding Batman”, the story is illustrated by J. Bone and lettered by Aditya Bidikar, and it’s an incredibly personal look at Conroy’s journey to the definitive Batman portrayal.

I’ve heard Conroy at comics shows in the past say that when he got the part of Batman, he barely knew anything about the character. He went to the audition and learned that Batman had created dual identities as a result of trauma from his childhood, that as a result of being hurt, he wore a mask of cool confidence for the world but was someone more wounded beneath. This core understanding informed Conroy’s interpretation of the character, drawn from his own experiences hiding parts of himself, and what results is a take that I would argue has heavily informed every actor’s portrayal of Batman since. In short, nobody has captured the duality of Batman as well as Conroy, and this comic provides insights (as disturbing as they may be at times) to how he accomplished this feat.

*From “Finding Batman” by Kevin Conroy, J. Bone, and Aditya Bidikar.*

In this story, Conroy and his collaborators powerfully and honestly relay the events in his personal life that led to his portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne, not shying away from any of the ugliness he experienced as a young gay actor at a time when the industry was actively hostile toward young gay actors. I don’t want to give any more away, but the story is as close to essential as a superhero-adjacent comic can get, and I’m so glad it, as well as all of the other excellent stories in this anthology, not only exist, but exist in well-realized and meaningful ways.

Overall: As poignant as they are celebratory, the 12 short stories in The DC Pride 2022 #1 one-shot are varied and wonderful, made possible by DC Comics’ sustained commitment to welcoming LGBTQ characters into their superhero universe. 9.5/10

ADVANCED REVIEW: DC Pride 2022 #1 One-Shot

DC Pride 2022 #1 One-Shot
Writers: Devin Grayson, Stephanie Williams, Ro Stein & Ted Brandt, Jadzia Axelrod, Alyssa Wong, Tini Howard, Greg Lockard, Stephanie Phillips, Travis G. Moore, Dani Fernandez, Danny Lore & Ivan Cohen, and Kevin Conroy
Artists: Nick Robles, Meghan Hetrick, Ro Stein & Ted Brandt, Lynne Yoshii, W. Scott Forbes, Evan Cagle, Giulio Macaione, Samantha Dodge, Travis G. Moore, Zoe Thorogood, Brittney Williams, and J. Bone
Colorists: Triona Farrell, Marissa Louise, Tamra Bonvillain, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Jeremy Lawson
Letterers: Aditya Bidikar, Ariana Maher, Frank Cvetkovic, and Lucas Gattoni
Publisher: DC Comics
DC's 2022 celebration kicks off with more stories, more characters, and more pride than ever before! This anthology features 13 all-new stories spotlighting LGBTQIA+ fan-favorites new and old including Superman (Jon Kent), Nubia, Tim Drake, Kid Quick, Aquaman (Jackson Hyde), Green Lantern (Jo Mullein), Alysia Yeoh, the Ray, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batwoman, and more! This special also includes:
o A Multiversity: Teen Justice kickoff story spotlighting Kid Quick and written by
the miniseries team, Danny Lore and Ivan Cohen!
o An introduction by activist, actress, and real-life superhero Nicole Maines that
will include a teaser for her upcoming Dreamer project!
o Pinups by P. Craig Russell, J.J. Kirby, and more!
Price: $9.99
But It Here: DC Pride 2022 #1 One-Shot

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.