DC Comics' Pride Anthology returns again in 2024
By Scott Brown
For the fourth annual year, DC Comics will be releasing its Pride anthology collection celebrating their LGBTQ+ characters, as well as the writers and artists that make these characters and stories come to life.
DC Pride 2024 No.1 will be published on May 28 with a main cover by Kevin Wada, a variant cover by Babs Tarr, and a wrap-around variant by David Talaski. This anthology will feature several stories of fan-favorite characters such as Dreamer visiting her ancestral planet, Naltor, in a story written by her actor Nicole Maines, with art by Jordan Gibson. Poison Ivy and Janet from HR will also be featured in a story by Gretchen Felker-Martin and Claire Roe.
Plus, Al Ewing makes a jump over to DC Comics from Marvel as he writes a Blue Starman story.
Perhaps the most notable of the stories included though is the one by industry legend Phil Jimenez. Following in the footsteps of Kevin Conroy, Phil Jimenez will tell an autobiographical story about the larger than life worlds that have shaped him, and his career-defining work that has undoubtedly influenced and affected so many people across the world.
Also announced was a new Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy YA graphic novel, The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley. Written by Melissa Marr with art by Jenn St-Onge, Harleen signs up for a research study with her girlfriend, Pamela. Along the way though, she begins to experience large gaps in her memory until she discovers that she is sharing her body with Harley, her opposite in every way.
The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley will be released on September 3rd.
Another YA book that was announced a while back, but is about to be released is Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story. Written by Nicole Maines, who portrayed Dreamer, the first trans superhero on television, on Supergirl, with art by Rye Hickman and Bex Glendining, Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story is the untold origin of Dreamer as she struggles with not only her legacy of her Seer powers, but also the struggles of what these powers mean for her, her life, as well as her family.
Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story will be released on April 2nd.
The last piece that was announced is DC Pride: A Celebration of Rachel Pollack, which will hit comic shelves of June 6. In this 96-page collection celebrating arguably the most prolific transgender writer in DC history, there will be a reprint of Doom Patrol #70 the first appearance of Kate Goldwin, aka Coagula, the first transgender superhero to exist within DC Comics.
Along with that issue, there will a reprint of the long unavailable one-shot Vertgio Visions: The Geek, which features art by Michael Allred. And lastly, there will a short story featuring Coagula as she returns from death, written by longtime friend and collaborator of Pollack’s, Joe Carallo, and drawn by Rye Hickman.
In regards to ongoing books, DC will publishing several variant covers featuring LGBTQ+ characters. The books that will have these variant covers are Action Comics #1066, Batman #148, Green Arrow #13, Poison Ivy #23, Harley Quinn #41, Nightwing #115, Outsiders #8, Suicide Squad: Dream Team #4, Superman #15, The Flash #10, and Wonder Woman #10.
It's undoubtedly great to see DC Pride returning for another year and we can't wait to check out all of the stories coming our way this year.