DC Pride 2023 continues the annual DC Comics event that spotlights LGBTQ+ characters and creators. The anthology series was first launched in 2021 and has been going strong ever since. This year, Grant Morrison has joined in with a Multiversity story.
Last year’s DC Pride was a memorable moment with Kevin Conroy’s autobiographical story Finding Batman, and this year is shaping up to be monumental in its own way. DC Pride 2023 is a 104-page Prestige format comic that will release on May 30 for Pride Month. Comic book artist Phil Jimenez will write the introduction and the main cover is by Mateus Manhanini. Open-to-order variant covers include work by Gabriel Picolo (wraparound), Jen Bartel (spot foil), and Oscar Vega (cardstock).
DC Pride 2023 will feature well-known characters along with others who have yet to get such a big opportunity like this to shine. Here are all the stories featured in this event.
Tim Drake and Connor Hawke
Tim Drake/Robin III and Connor Hawke/Green Arrow II will have a story together from Nadia Shammas and Bruka Jones. The two sidekicks have teamed up in the distant past, but they haven’t had much interaction recently, and some things have changed over the years. Tim Drake has a boyfriend in the comics and a romantic love interest in DC’s Titans TV series, and Connor Hawke is asexual. Their DC Pride 2023 story will involve Connor coming to terms with his indoctrination into the League of Assassins, and it’s a heavy situation. In the archer’s recent run-in with Batman’s son Damian Wayne/Robin V in Robin, “The Lazarus Tournament,” by Joshua Williamson and Jorge Corona, he was recruited by the League of Assassins as a fighter in the Lazarus tournament where they battled other fighters to the death. Connor was a Zen Buddhist, and he had difficulties with all the killings on Lazarus Island.
Circuit Breaker and Earth-11 The Flash
Circuit Breaker and the Flash of Earth-11 will be featured in a story by A.L. Kaplan. Circuit Breaker is a transmasculine superhero Jules Jordain who uses he/they pronouns and wields the power of the Still Force, the cosmic current toward stasis and death. The Flash of Earth-11, Jessse Chambers, appeared in the Future State event that showed a future alternate timeline of the DC Universe where new heroes took the roles of DC’s biggest heroes. Jesse is non-binary and gender fluid and joined the Justice League alongside Jonathan Kent/Superman, Yara Flor/Wonder Woman, Jace/Batman, Sojourner “Jo” Mullein/Green Lantern, and Andrina Curry/Aquawoman. In DC Pride 2023, the Flash leaps out of the timestream and knocks them both into another dimension, and Circuit Breaker will have problems stifling his powers.
Midnighter, Apollo, and Alan Scott/Green Lantern
Lucas Trent/Midnighter, Andrew Pulaski/Apollo, and the first Green Lantern Alan Scott will have a story by Josh Trujillo and Don Aguillo. Midnighter and Apollo made comic book history as a gay superhero couple who eventually got married. Midnighter is a dark vigilante with bio-engineered enhanced abilities and Apollo is the solar-powered superhero. The first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, officially came out as gay to his children, Jade and Obsidian, in Infinite Frontier #0 by Williamson, James Tynion IV, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. All three of these characters have made history, and due to that fact, this match-up seems fitting.
Ghost-Maker and Catman vs. Cannon and Saber
This battle royale will be unlike any other. Ghost-Maker and Catman vs. Cannon and Saber is a story by Rex Ogle and Stephen Sadowski by Rex Ogle and Stephen Sadowski, and with these strong personalities, expect some mischief. Minhkhoa “Khoa” Khan/Ghost-Maker is bisexual and Batman’s best frenemy. He’s trained just as vigorously as Batman and their skills are evenly matched. The difference is that Ghost-Maker is fine with killing when he deems it necessary. Thomas Blake/Catman was a former low-level villain before his character got an overhaul in Villains United by Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham, where he was taken seriously as a fighter and an athlete who had a deep connection with felines. He’s also bisexual and has been part of Secret Six alongside some other nefarious names. Cannon and Saber are two mercenaries and a gay couple from the 1980s, and a legendary showdown between all of them will be going down.
Jon Kent/Superman and John Constantine
Superman’s son Jonathan Kent made headlines when he came out as bisexual in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5 by Tom Taylor and John Timms. His boyfriend Jay has been helping him control his powers. John Constantine is one of the most powerful necromancers and has been confirmed as bisexual since the early 90s. Their DC Pride story is by Christopher Cantwell and Skyler Patridge, and will see Constantine teaching Jon about dark magic by attacking him with a golem. This is very on-brand for Constantine.
Natasha Irons and Nubia
Natasha Irons is John Henry/Steel Irons’ niece and tech genius who’s had a relationship in the past with Traci 13. She hasn’t been featured all that prominently in the comics, but with Steel’s presence in The CW’s Superman & Lois, actor Michael Dorn from the upcoming Steelworks comic from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and art by Sam Basri, now’s the perfect time. Nubia is Diana’s sister and Amazon warrior blessed with magical powers and weaponry. She’s a queer character who’s been Ahura Mazda’s and Io’s lover. Thier DC Pride story is from Mildred Louis and will be Natasha and Nubia’s first story together and fans can’t wait to see their interaction.
Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Crush
Expect his story by Leah Williams and Paulina Ganucheau to be extreme. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are in a relationship together, but their journey has had a lot of ups and down along the way. Despite it all, they continue to overcome the odds and fight to stay together. Crush is Lobo’s daughter she’s a lesbian, and half-Czarnian who’s known to be a wild child herself. She’ll be wrecking Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s private time, and they won’t be taking that lightly.
Multiversity
Grant Morrison returns for a Multiversity story and this time he’ll be joined by Hayden Sherman on art. Multiversity is a limited series that came out in 2014 where an evil cosmic race known as the Gentry plots to plague the multiverse with unimaginable horror. Multiversity has since gone on to have spin-offs focusing on other characters and teams, but this is Morrison’s first return to the story in nearly a decade. The specifics of this story aren’t currently known, but Morrison is one of the best multiverse writers out there with their renowned sense for worldbuilding, character development, and far-out concepts. With the multiverse at their disposal, expect something groundbreaking that only Morrison can pull off.
DC Pride 2023 will also have a five-page preview comic of the upcoming Dreamer story by Nicole Maines (Supergirl) and Rye Hickman, pin up pages with artwork from Maria Llovet, Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, Travis Moore, Noah Dao, Claire Roe, Babs Tarr, and more. Plus, the DC Book of Pride by Jadzia Axelrod releases May 16 and will profile more than 50 LGBTQ+ characters. Last but not least, DC Pride: Throughout the Years #1 will be a special-edition comic book that will collect three out-of-print comics in an oversized new release.
