REVIEW: ‘DC Pride,’ Issue #1

With LGBT Pride Month here, DC Comics celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community with nine new stories starring queer characters from all across the sexuality and gender spectrum in DC Pride #1. Including Batwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Extraño, Future State Flash, Pied Piper, and more, this anthology will give you all the warm fuzzy feelings.

With an anthology comes a host of creators. At a glance, the teams are diverse and bring us a pleasant range of artwork. Since so many wonderful people have worked on this labor of love, full credits for each team are listed at the end of this review. While all the works are visually excellent and exemplify the range of talents, the most intriguing part about this anthology is the themes present.

It’s one thing to showcase queer characters, specifically superheroes, doing their jobs. But it’s quite another to celebrate the diversity of human sexuality and gender and the history of the queer community through these superheroes. And while none of the stories go into a lot of depth or get too gloomy, they still hint at themes that any queer person or ally will understand. These include the erasure of homosexual relationships throughout history, prejudice even in presumably safe spaces, self-doubt and anger, the older generation learning from the younger, and queerness as a political concept. But despite these darker themes, the stories are kept light with queer memes—like the Uhaul lesbians and the title of one story, “Be Gay, Do Crime”—and cute, positive endings, such as a gay father coming out to his gay son so that he’ll never feel alone in “He’s the Light of My Life!”. There are no life or death scenarios despite these being superhero tales. Each story is short and sweet, and this formula works well in this collection.

This is truly a celebratory anthology, showcasing characters who are lesbian, gay, and bisexual. While there are well-known queer characters featured in DC Pride #1—such as the bisexual Harley Quinn—plenty of other characters whose queerness may be less known or recently introduced get the spotlight. Alongside a range of sexualities, we see some gender-nonconforming dialogue along with a nonbinary character, Future State Flash. There’s a panel where we see Flash trying on outfits, and it’s pleasant to see them easily flit between classically masculine and feminine clothing along with androgynous wear. Even for someone who is nonbinary, it was a shock to see a comic use these depictions so nonchalantly, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

By far, my favorite story was “The Wrong Side of the Looking Glass,” featuring Batwoman. From the artwork to the coloring and lettering, the entire look of the story is so unique. The linework, how the hair is drawn, and the use of red to make Batwoman stand out against the cool colors of the background are just so visually appealing. Warm colors also begin to be introduced when Batwoman explores her sexuality. This use of color easily accentuates the theme: it takes time to begin to understand and love yourself. It’s a message I think many younger people need to hear. It’s certainly something my younger self would have been better off hearing.

Inundating the already wonderful short tales are full-page pin-ups of queer characters, some of which are not shown in the stories. Additionally, at the end of the book, queer characters who have been cast in live tv shows are given a profile depicting their history and the series and essential episodes they’re in. To top it off, we get some Q&A with the actors who play the characters. It’s a very nice addition to be able to read what real-life people have to say about these characters and their identities.

Just in time for LGBT Pride Month, DC Pride #1 brings us some cute, heart-warming tales of queer superheroes. And while all the creative teams in this anthology have done some great work, the real point of this book is how it may mean the world to someone struggling to come to terms with their identity.

DC Pride #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.

“The Wrong Side of the Looking Glass” is written by James Tynion IV with art by Trung Le Nguyen and letters by Aditya Bidikar. “By the Victors” is written by Steve Orlando with art by Stephen Byrne and letters by Josh Reed. “Try the Girl” is written by Vita Ayala with art by Skylar Patridge, colors by José Villarrubia, and letters by Ariana Maher. “Another Word for a Truck to move Furniture” is written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Amy Reeder, colors by Marissa Louise, and letters by Ariana Maher. “Love Life” is written by Andrew Wheeler with art by Luciano Vecchio, colors by Rex Lokus, and letters by Becca Carey. “He’s the Light of My Life!” is written by Sam Johns with art by Klaus Janson, colors by Dave McCaig, and letters by Tom Napolitano. “Clothes Makeup Gift” is written by Danny Lore with art by Lisa Sterle, colors by Enrica Eren Angiolini, and letters by Becca Carey. “Be Gay, Do Crime” is written by Sina Grace with art by Ro Stein and Ted Brandt and letters by Aditya Bidikar. “Date Night” is written by Nicole Maines with art by Rachael Stott, colors by Enrica Eren Angiolini, and letters by Steve Wands.