Written by Grant Morrison, Nicole Maines, Christopher Cantwell, Nadia Shammas, and others! Art by Hayden Sherman, Paulina
It’s oversized, it’s colourful and it’s the 100-page DC Pride 2023 collection!
The creators, meaning writers, artists, colourists, and letterers are numerous: including some well-known names such as Grant Morrison, Leah Williams, Don Aguillo, Tamra Bonvillain, Aditya Bidikar, Ariana Maher. Plus a huge helping of newer names!
The ten stories include fan-fave LGBTQIA+ characters, plus many pages of pinups, plus a tribute to the late Rachel Pollack.
This collection is a many varied thing, of course, with stories dealing with mostly young DC characters who are in the midst of coming out to others, or are seeking friendships, support, or romance. Many readers will be touched by the openness of the dialogue in this Pride issue, and find solace in the struggles of their heroes.
Sometimes, of course, due perhaps to the intent of the issue on focusing on the personal ups and downs of the characters, the stories lack defining moments of tension. Where a typical comic story involving superheroes would concentrate on foiling the villain and tersely investigating the crime, full of suspense, these stories tend to revolve around personalities and emotional situations.
And whether that is a good or bad thing is all a matter of taste and preference.
All in all, a collection of stories with a huge variance in dynamics. My least favourite was Grant Morrison’s Love’s Lightning Heart, which I could not understand for the life of me. Over my head, baffling, and wonderfully drawn by Hayden Sherman.
My favourite was Subspace Transmission, a sci-fi story, with sharp-edged characters, thoughtful colouring, and good pacing. A.L. Kaplan wrote, illustrated, and coloured this one.
DC Comics, DC Pride 2023, $9.99 for 100 pages of content
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