DC Pride 2022 #1

DC Cultural Anthologies

by Devin Grayson, Ivan Cohen, Tini Howard

DC’s 2022 celebration kicks off with more stories, more characters, and more pride than ever before! The DC Pride 2022 creative teams, and the characters they’re developing stories for, include:
• Alysia Yeoh and Batgirl by Jadzia Axelrod and Lynne Yoshii
• Aquaman (Jackson Hyde) by Alyssa Wong and W. Scott Forbes
• Green Lantern (Jo Mullein) by Tini Howard and Evan Cagle
• Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy by Dani Fernandez and Zoe Thorogood
• The Ray by Greg Lockard and Giulio Macaione
• Superman (Jon Kent) by Devin Grayson and Nick Robles
• Tim Drake by Travis G. Moore
• A Multiversity: Teen Justice kickoff story spotlighting Kid Quick and written by the miniseries team, Danny Lore and Ivan Cohen!
• An introduction by activist, actress, and real-life superhero Nicole Maines that will include a teaser for her upcoming Dreamer project!
• Pinups by P. Craig Russell, J.J. Kirby, and more!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Queer, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

109 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2022

About the author

Devin Grayson is an avid gamer, former acting student, and enthusiastic reader fortunate enough to have turned a lifelong obsession with fictional characters into a dynamic writing career. She has a B.A. from Bard College, where she studied creative writing with novelist Mona Simpson. Best known for her work on the Batman titles for DC Comics, Devin has been a regular writer on Catwoman, Nightwing, and The Titans, and contributed to the award-winning No Man’s Land story arc. With the publication of Batman: Gotham Knights in March of 2000, she became the first (and, sadly, only as of 2020) female to create, launch and write an ongoing Batman title.

Additional career highlights include the launch of the critically acclaimed series Omni for Humanoids, Doctor Strange: The Fate of Dreams, an original novel featuring Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme, and USER—a highly personal three-part, creator-owned miniseries about gender identity and online role-playing, originally published by Vertigo and newly available as a collected edition hardcover through Image. Devin is also the creator of Yelena Belova, a Marvel character staring in the upcoming MCU Black Widow movie (played by Florence Pugh), Damien Darhk, a DC character now appearing regularly in CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow (played by Neal McDonough), and Catalina Flores, a DC character recently featured as the super-villain Tarantula in The Lego Batman Movie.

Frequently cited for compelling character development and nuanced exploration of complex themes, Devin’s work has been showcased in mainstream media such as USA Today and Working Woman as well as in alternative press such as The Village Voice, The Advocate, and Curve magazine. Over the years, she has written in several different media and genres, from comic books and novels to video game scripts and short essays. She is currently working on an original graphic novel for Berger Books.

Devin lives in Northern California with her husband, step-son, devoted Early Alert Canines Diabetic Alert Dog, and somewhat less devoted cat. Openly bisexual, she is a passionate advocate for the GLBTQ community, as well as being a committed environmentalist, and a public speaker for T1 Diabetes awareness and Diabetic Alert Dogs. She is always happy to take on a new challenge, especially if it involves making some new fictional friends.

Reviews

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of cute stories bookended by Kevin Conroy’s incredibly powerful “Finding Batman” story. Mainly got this for the Jo Mullein “The Gumshoe in Green” story, but that Kevin Conroy story was definitely the highlight. By far one of the most personal stories I’ve read in awhile. It completely recontextualizes all of his Batman voice work over the years. The only dud in here was Devin Grayson’s horrendous Jon Kent Superman story, which I found to be cringe.

[Jackie (Jacademic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a solid issue that will sadly be overshadowed by how truly terrible Devin Grayson's Jon Kent one-shot was. Kevin Conroy's memoir piece was devastating and beautiful, and, alone, is worth the price of admission and why (in addition to a few other excellent pieces, including Ro Stein and Ted Brandt's piece on Connor Hawke) I've rated this so high.

Grayson, on the other hand and, as usual, should be ashamed. Pride has "been a party," not a riot, "for decades"? Damian wanting to break up a Pride parade? Jon wearing a straight pride flag? Fucking yikes.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

All anthologies are a mixed bag. I enjoyed a few of the stories, I was iffy on one of them and I kinda hated one of them.

I really enjoyed Nubia's story! Nubia & Io are a gift! I love that Io makes most of Nubia's weaponry and I love how supportive they are of each other. I also love Big Barda so I was super glad to see her! The story was also interesting.

I really loved seeing Alysia Yeoh again! I loved her in Gail Simone's Batgirl run and I was glad they gave her a focused issue. I hope the set up at the end means we'll see her again in a significant capacity. The story was pretty great too and I was a little confused as to whether it was implying a future queer story for Babs? She could be considered one of the bats that's not contractually obligated to just be an ally (my poor son Damian).

Speaking of, I get they used Damian to garner interest but he was hardly in Connor's story. It was still very well written. While I couldn't personally relate to it, I liked the way they told his story and Damian supporting him was great. I think their friendship has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see them in the hands of a new writer again. Definitely the best pride story Damian was in this year.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the story about Colonel Jacob Kane. It was a heartfelt story about a father trying to protect their daughter by trying to guarantee they're strong enough to deal with the world. While it's not from the queer character's point of view, I still liked it. Kinda wish they'd also given us a Kate Kane story, though.

I understand the meaning of Jo Mullein's story, but I didn't like the execution. The message seemed to be that, while we are bisexual, we are also discerning of our partners. We don't just sleep with everything that moves. It just came across weirdly preachy and Jo was randomly yelling? I did not get that vibe from Far Sector at all so... not my preferred characterization for her at all.

Jackson Hyde's story was okay. Not my favorite, but it was fine.

Jon's story was... exactly why we don't read books by Devin Grayson. It was awful, ill advised and confusing at best. People came out of interpreting it two different ways: 1) Damian was ready with tactical gear in case Pride turned into a riot, as it was historically. 2) Damian brought tactical gear to ruin pride. The first is obviously more well meaning, but the fact that the artwork makes Damian look villainous is exactly why it's not easy to discern the meaning. Also, the line where Jon dismisses the history of pride was just stupid. In this same volume, you have Alysia talking about the struggles she still faces. I mean, maybe the intent was to reflect white, cishet queer ignorance of the struggles of BIPOC, trans and trans BIPOC? Doubtful considering Damian's talked down to like he was wrong for mentioning pride's origins. With a different take on the artwork, this could've been a sweet story about Damian worrying about Jon not being safe at Pride. But no, they made him look ignorant and unnecessarily violent and Jon looks ignorant of queer history. To top it off, apparently they put the straight flag in his cape. So, no, no more stories by Devin Grayson.

Kevin Conroy's issue was the most impactful, in my opinion. It was very hard to read, but a very important one. It detailed his career and the homophobia he faced in the acting world and how the role of Batman really spoke to him. It was definitely the stand out for me.

So, I loved some, I hated one and overall, I just think it's neat DC allowed for me to have two queer black female characters and they actually had solo books! Now, if Jo could just get another one, I'd be so, so happy! And a solo for Alysia, as well!

[Emma Hawthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

OVERALL RATING: 3.27

INDIVIDUAL RATINGS:

Super Pride:
1 star
WHY IN THE WORLD DID DC LET DEVIN GRAYSON WRITE THIS- OR ANYTHING FOR THAT MATTER?!? It is abundantly clear that she doesn’t actually understand queer history in the slightest- and yet she still throws around tidbits of history with no context?!? Damian shows up at Pride with riot control equipment and when Jon tells him that they are going to Pride to celebrate, not to shut it down, Damian argues that pride started as a riot at Stonewall… Damian is a smart kid. If he knows about the phrase “Pride started as a riot”, he knows the context and understands that the point of the phrase is to keep police brutality (or in this case superhero brutality) out of Pride events. Anyone who knows about the Stonewall riots understands that the protestors there fought against police brutality towards queer people, especially queer people of color. The talking points he brings up as proof that he should go assault queer people at a Pride parade are actually evidence in favor of not having police at Pride because they might make a lot of people feel unsafe- and Pride is supposed to feel safe. Plus, Damian is canonical a really good ally as seen in Superman: Son of Kal-El AND in Think of Me which is in this same anthology. It’s incredibly out of character for him to want to gas Pride and Devin Grayson’s writing is both offensive and factually incorrect. Don’t you love it when there’s violent homophobia in a comic anthology that’s supposed to make queer readers feel happy? If I were rating this solely on the art I would give it five stars, but Devin Grayson just sucks that much that it gets 1.

Confessions:
3 stars
This story was short and sweet. I tend to enjoy the fish-out-of-water trope especially with Amazons, so I may be biased.

Think of Me:
4 stars
“I want to share myself. It’s just so hard when sharing yourself is so often assumed to mean your body as well as your soul.”
This is such an amazing representation of what being ace feels like to me, to the point where I am actually going to use this quote when explaining my asexuality to allosexual people. The art was beautiful and I loved the noise metaphors: “Because when that noise is everywhere, it can be hard to hear the silence within yourself.”
If only my coming out had been as eloquent!
I also loved the last page, with Damian (take notes Devin Grayson) which shows Damian being his snarky and slightly mean self, while still being a good ally and showing us how much he cares about Connor as a friend. It was very sweet.

Up at Bat:
3 stars
“You know, that mask of yours hides a lot, but it doesn’t hide everything. If you ever need to talk to someone about… Y’know… Anything, I’m really good with Coming-Out stories.”
…
Ummmm… DC??
Are you-
Is this-
…
Is this hinting that Babs is going to come out soon???

A World Kept Just for Me:
1.5 stars
Objectively, I’d give it two stars, but subjectively, I’d give it 1 star. Content-wise this story was fine. Personally, however, I got really bored. The art was alright and so was the writing.

The Gumshoe in Green:
1 star
Umm… This felt very out of character and the plot was… nonexistent? What officially marked this down to 1 star was the bisexual stereotypes rant. The alien plant things are being biphobic to Jo, so she goes off about how biphobic it is to assume that bi people are non-monogamous and attracted to everyone. Jo is right, of course, but it’s a classic case of show, don’t tell. I think it would’ve been better for her to say something like “bold of you to assume I’m attracted to either of you” and then after she beats them up mutter “biphobic a**holes”. Or she could just say “That’s for scamming me! And that’s for being biphobic” as she punches them. There are so many ways to make this feel more natural. The rant just felt weird and poorly written.
P.S. Does anyone know how to pronouns Syzn?

Public Display of Electromagnetism:
No Rating
I don’t know the main couple here, so this story didn’t make me feel anything. The story doesn’t hold up super well without knowing the characters before hand because its a very well worn PDA plot where one person os super comfy with it and the other person didn’t grow up being shown affection and feels weird about it.

Bat’s in the Cradle:
3.5 stars
That was very sweet. I didn’t know what was happening until the last page. But then I went back and reread it and it made sense.

Special Delivery:
5 stars
That hurt my soul!!! This was a million times better than the Sum of Our Parts storyline. This was heart-wrenchingly sweet. The art was stunning. The writing was stunning. I am going to revisit this very often!

The Hunt:
5 stars
That was adorable. The innuendos were gold. I loved everything Harley and Ivy said about each other when fighting off the love monster. That was amazing! The art style was unique and I really enjoyed it. The dialogue fit the characters so well it had me dropping my jaw LITERALLY. I will also revisit this often.

Are You Ready For This?:
3.5 stars
This was very comedic and I enjoyed it a lot. The only issue is that they confuse pronouns a lot, so it gets confusing. For example, they start off using she/her pronouns for Dr. Midnite and then switch back to he/him at the end. Maybe Earth 11 Dr. Midnite uses she/he pronouns, but it seems like an editing mistake. Same with Gizmo who is referred to with he/him pronouns. It’s definitely possible that Dr. Midnite and Gizmo are genderqueer on Earth 11 and not the “opposite” gender, but if that’s not the case, there was lazy editing.

Finding Batman:
10 stars out of 5
I don’t need to explain why. Read the comic and you’ll know. Not that he’ll ever read this, but thank you Kevin Conroy for sharing your story. It means the world to this trans kid.

[theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

stop letting devin grayson write for dc

[Jan]

Read it for the Finding Batman comic about Kevin Conroy.

[spanning skylines · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i'm trying to be a hater but the mini hawkeye saying "i'm asexual" touched me emotionally 💔

[lulu wilford · Rating 4 out of 5]

all really good stories! (minus the jon one which was weird)

PLUS I LOVE TIM DRAKE SO 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

another harlivy story for the history books. theyre broken up in main continuity rn so their story was so nice to see and trust they will be back together soon even if i have to do it myself.

nubia’s story was so cute and fun. connor’s story was nice. timber doesn’t really give me any buzz but their story was still cute iwl. jesse’s story also very fun. jo, ray, alysia, jackson, and kate’s stories going for the feels and gosh the kevin conroy story at the end hit hard.

jon’s story tho like devin grayson needs to simply never write again. someone needs to save jon from terrible writing like aging him up and then doing nothing interesting with him is so embarrassing.

[Miles Madonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so so sweet! probably more of a 3.5, the last story “finding batman” was the best in the issue by far. a hard hitting memoir piece by kevin conroy, a gay man that has voice acted batman for years and years. it was a really well done story. another favorite was the short harley quinn and poison ivy story, so sweet!! love the general idea of dc pride too. just made me so happy to read this!

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Não é querendo puxar sardinha para o meu assado, mas percebo que as histórias dessas edições especiais identitárias são muito melhores quando trabalham com temas queer. Talvez porque os autores se permitam cavocar nas suas próprias feridas identitárias, enquanto as outras antologias não o fazem. Nesta edição, me tocou muito a história de Connor Hawke, o filho do Arqueiro Verde, quando explica a sua assexualidade e compara essa orientação com a música e o silêncio. É uma história linda, uma das mais bonitas sobre sexualidade que já li no universo dos super-heróis, principalmente por falar de uma das letras da sopa de letrinhas do queer que geralmente é a mais invisibilizada. Também temos uma história bonita de Kevin Conroy, a voz do Batman nas animações falando sobre como foi ser gay no show business dos Estados Unidos e como foi assumir o papel do Homem-Morcego. Temos outras histórias mais legais, outras nem tanto, mas a antologia faz um conjunto muito legal e traz uma bela celebração do orgulho queer.

[mat · Rating 5 out of 5]

damian showing up in 2 of the stories... i know what you are... connor's and tim's stories tho <33

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, some bad, some awful. The highlight was Kevin Conroy’s story by far, but I enjoyed some of the other stories. Most of it was medium to bad though, which was sad because I really enjoyed last year’s edition. The worst bit of it was Jon Kent’s story, and if you’ve read the other reviews you probably know why.

[Sid · Rating 4 out of 5]

get in loser we're reading pride comics and pride comics ONLY in this pride month

[Francesca]

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great collection. I really liked the Tim Drake, Batwoman, and Harley/Ivy stories, but the best had to be Kevin Conroy's very touching profile on himself. He deserves the world for his immeasurable contributions to DC and WB.

[a*s*h · Rating 5 out of 5]

so this video alerted me to the fact that kevin conroy, aka the only batman ever, WROTE A STORY FOR THE DC PRIDE ANTHOLOGY THIS YEAR?? HELLO?? so yes im reading the whole thing right now

INTRO
- god look at the COVER its so good, ugh
- also christian ward on an aquaman title?? noice
- 'seeing yourself in comic books, though, in your favourite superheroes, is especially powerful. it tells us that not only are there other people like us out there (something that this young trans girl growing up in rural maine desperately needed), but that they stand along the very best of us.

they are the best of us.'

- so maybe cwverse is good just for this.

1ST STORY: SUPERMAN (JON KENT)
- you're kidding...damian...kiddo, no....
- omg really having demisexual rep in a dc comic....where have i been. why do i only read the bad comics. when will they let jason todd be ace. these are all important questions i have.
- nick robles' art, as always, perfect. devin grayson...fine, acceptable.

2ND STORY (NUBIA)
- big barda in those fluffy bunny slippers....this issue is the gift that keeps giving.
- this artstyle is SOOO FUNNNN I LOVE IT....this kooky sixties vibe...
- alright that was adorable

3RD STORY (CONNOR HAWKE)
- c-c-c-CONNOR??? CONNOR HAWKE?? CONNOR HAWKE IS ALIVE AND BACK AND NOT BANISHED TO THE SHADOW REALM OF TECHNICALLY NOT CANON?? HE'S CANON AGAIN?? CONNOR HAWKE??!!!! holy god who's next? lian?? lian harper???
- the phantom of the opera...ooh lord...
- he looks so good im crying...
- drag him connor, drag ollie thru the mUD...
- i dunno why it took me like a hot min to connect the dots but like...wait did they let connor be gay?? they let connor be gay?? he's in this comic so hes??? AM I GONNA SEE CONNOR/KYLE
- 'i want someone to share ice cream with after i get press ganged by onto a bananas immortality island murder tournament where i'm forced to fight a literal demon.'
don't we all connor. also this is verily not the connor of pre-52. but he sure looks like him at least.
- wait is connor...ace?? ACE?? oh god im goigfhdgjjgf
- LIKE HE ALWAYS WAS LIKE HE LITERALLY ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND NOW THEYRE....ARE THEY SAYING IT??
- bro.....'i'm asexual mom' yeah BOISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
- screaming crying etc
- connor and damian....inchresting duo. bonding over complicated maternal figures i guess.

4TH STORY (ALYSIA YEOH)
- wow they rlly gave alysia her own story here!
- heckin YES she's so right abt everything
- killer moth....you little little man
- that was a rlly good story. prlly my fave yet tbh

5TH STORY (JACKSON HYDE)
- this art style is so good for an underwater story. its like misty and ethereal and soft
- 'seaweed salad'
- a little unrelated but can we do more like biracial parallels for like aquaman stories. i would just like to see them have a go at it. they do it so nicely here. i dunno i think it could work
- oh yeah its actually working rlly well
- cute as heck.

6TH STORY (JO MULLEIN)
- this. art style. ROCKS.
- bisexual rep, lmao jo
- very inchresting alien designs
- i rlly,,,dont think i want them to go where theyre taking this but im very open to seeing them do smth different with it
- phew. yeah being eaten will just about work. noice.
- rlly lovely art, great colours too

7TH STORY (THE RAY)
- wow i like this art style. its givin almost like...90s manga??
- THE RAYYYYYY I LOVE UR COSTUME
- OMG RYAN CHOI ATOM?? IS THAT RYAN??? RYAN????
- no offence to him, but both superman and wonderwoman in this universe are gay like what is the precedent of homophobic justice league i wanna know
- ah. tragic backstory. my bad.
- uughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh SO CUTE

8TH STORY (KATE KANE)
- random but love how...most of these are written by women lmao?? like not a bad thing at all but like...its just sad like the only time they rlly give female comic writers the spotlight is like, their single issue pride anthology and like the 'girl books' like batgirl or batgirls or catwoman (and only very recently tbh). like not even like titles like wonder woman main title have you know like multiple female creators working on them you know for most stuff its The One Female Writer we have (gail simone thank you) and then most of the time... nothing. like obvs great work being done in more indie titles but im saying for the most popular titles for dc, like batman, or justice league, or flash (flash is actually super popular what??) like....we get uninterrupted runs from male writers. anyway just thinking bc like other than devin grayson and i think ?? gail might have done a bit for bats, not sure like which female comic writers have actually done a run for main title batman? anyway much to think abt
- hm. rlly letting batwoman's story be written from her dad's pov??

9TH STORY (TIM DRAKE)
- HOLD THE HECK NO WAY IS GHOSTMAKER THE LEGEND THE ICON GHOSTMAKER IS HE?? HE'S?? HE'S IN THIS?? HELLO??? WTF WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN
- i am only a recent stan of this man documented thru reading some comics at the end of last year (and there was that batman issue i logged this year too right?) so it’s just such a quick turnaround on my wishful gay projecting that he’s HERE
- you can just see him GRINNING under that full face mask i know u can. hes bloody winking under that visor i just know it.
- onto the actual story. i keep forgetting tim drake, timothy jackson drake wayne, tim (red robin) drake, is actually canonically, factually a bi boy like he. it's not a fluke. robin is GAY.
- i bet u its a gift for bernard
- omg theyre holding hands...
- oh goddamnit this was......so ducking cute im just....
- travis moore is so good with facial expression

10TH STORY (HARLEY/IVY)
- harley and ivy both have such great outfits
- oh my god, that was so silly and cute

11TH STORY (KID QUICK)
- holy--wait--WAIT--IMPULSE??? IMPULSE WHICH IMPULSE
- MAX?? OF MERCURY FAME??
- kid quick???? truly i have been out of the flash fam loop for too long.
- oh JESSIE QUICK. now that is a name i have not heard in a hot minute
- oh god. bad aussie rep /j
- oh god and even worse i actually KNOW MAMMOTH AND SHIMMER. thank you yj
- i like this kid quick guy tho. hes funny
- im wondering if this whole teen justice thing is happening in an au i dont recognise anyone here
- theres ....dolphin, tempest and gender flipped damian and jon and....some ice girl??
- KLARION??
- oh RAVENNNNNNN
- and i was right this is from multiversity so yes an au and not just me being egregiously out of the loop

12TH STORY (KEVIN CONROY)
- the one i've been waiting for. love that they included it. its so important.
- read it. best story in this issue. just incredible.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually review graphic novels, but I reviewed the 2021 Pride issue because I felt it was worth celebrating, and that representation matters. I loved it. When I heard they were releasing a new anthology for 2022, I was on board in an instant!

The stories were all similar in some respects, and yet very different to last year's. Some of the same characters got another turn in the spotlight, some that didn't appear last time did this time. It was a good mixture not only of that, but also difference races, genders, and orientations. Truly some rainbow representation, and beautifully done in their respective styles.

All of the stories had their own charm and relatability, but the one story that really stood out to me was the one that wasn't really a DC comic - the tale of Kevin Conroy's journey to becoming Batman, and dealing with his sexuality in the 80s leading up to this. It was poignant, moving, heartbreaking, and inspiring. It was a story that I didn't know I needed to read, but am so grateful I did. It really reminds me of exactly important representation is.

If you're a DC fan and a little queer, or even if you're just an ally, I would definitely recommend you check this out!

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection. The stories are beautiful and fun as well as so so necessary. I do still miss some of the connection to characters and stories I'm not as familiar with, but they're still good and impactful. I loved the additional material in this anthology so much more than last year's. Allowing the multiple issues of Tim Drake's realization and coming out allows his story to be felt and understood so much more. And Kevin Conroy's Finding Batman is.... I don't even know if I have the words. It's haunting and devastating and sad, but also soulful, honest, heartfelt, inspiring, and beautiful. The Batman of a generation was queer and used all of his life experiences to bring to life one of the most prolific comic book characters. That MATTERS. He matters. And him writing this comic and DC including it matters. His death was tragic and we lost him far too soon, but having this comic is a beautiful tribute to his life. I love that they put these anthologies together and can't wait to read more of these young character's stories.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories resonate with me more than others. In previous years it's felt like it's been mostly D-list heroes that I've never even heard of, so I'm glad DC have become more queer friendly in the last few years. I love that Tim Drake and Jon Kent are bi, it's about time we had some male queer representation in the two biggest super families.

Kevin Conroy's autobiographical story is heartbreaking, and it's easy to see why he wasn't openly gay to the wider world for a long time. His death is still one that sits with me.

I also enjoyed the several issues of Tim Drake's Robin, it's been a long time since I've read any ongoing comics so it's nice to check back in with these characters that I miss.

[Hung · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars for Finding Batman. It's the only story I was interested in reading in this collection.

I was so excited to read Finding Batman after hearing about the story behind it. Sorry Kevin Conroy, don't quit your day job.

I found the story to be just a bunch of snapshots in the author's life without the proper transitions or connections. It's a great story poorly told.

The art style was very appropriate. The muted colours set the right tone for this very serious topic.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t like all the stories but it was a really good anthology. The characters were great and I loved seeing more. The last story was so important and impactful. The foreword too. Like it was really great. Some of the vibes weren’t it. Like Jon saying that pride is now a party… come on man… I’ve read Superman son of Kal-El, would you really say that? Also the straight flag?

But otherwise. Yes it was good. Some stories were even GREAT

[Chugs Britton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should preface that I only read the section revolving around Kevin Conroy as he’s been a childhood hero of mine for as long as I can remember.
Although that story was incredibly impactful for me personally and an easy 5 star, I didn’t read the rest of the comic so I can’t in good faith apply that 5 star rating for the entire comic as a whole

[lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

it felt so lighthearted and made my queer little heart so happy <3
it is definitely different from what i usually read (mostly vertigo) but it felt refreshing and damian <3 and ivy <3 and all the heroes i discovered <3 and for once, i liked superman (which never happens)

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this primarily because a friend told me that it had an autobiographical story from Kevin Conroy (The One True Batman, fight me) and an ace rep story with Connor Hawke, and both hit me HARD for different reasons and were worth the whole thing.
That said, I enjoyed the rest of the stories, too. The one with Tim was fun ("Fir Pri" indeed), and I liked the ones with Batgirl and scifi PI Lantern-Jo, and the obligatory Harley and Ivy was cute.

[Tobias Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots to love in here but most importantly Kevin Conroy's self penned tale about homophobia, hiding himself and how it led him to be the quintessential batman.

[Maam Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of different pride stories it was cute to read but most I found to short to really get into them. The longer ones I really enjoyed!

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very mixed feelings on this one to be honest.

Let's start with the bad. The first story in the issue is a Jon Kent Superman story. Now, I might be overly salty about this because Superman is my favourite and maybe my expectations were too high but this story felt Icky to me tbh. There's Damian's just like aggressive and shitty heterosexuality that's I think supposed to be played for laughs. There's the fact that Jon insists that Pride is now a party and hasn't been a riot for years (like c'mon my man). There's the fact that Jon's cape features a variety of obscure pride flags and quite frankly I'm not convinced that most of them are actual pride flags. Like we've got bi, pan, and lesbian in the main panel, which is good but there are so many damn flags they could have included. We also get the ace and trans flags in a different panel. The thing that annoys the ever loving fuck out of me is the hugely prominent straight flag in the main panel, while the trans and possibly intersex flags are barely visible. Like hello???? Jesus. Jon Kent probably thinks there should be cops at Pride. And then to top that all off we end the comment with him basically regurgitating like corporate HR slogans for after they've done a hatecrime 'I see you' allllllllllright buddy. So that story left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Other cons: Could not follow the Kid Quick story for the second half of it lmao. Wayy too much happening and too many characters. That's just comics sometimes, but blehg. The Ray story was also difficult to follow at points, but that was all story telling and not regular comics bullshit. I also really did not like the faces in this one. TBH the Tim story was probably fine, I just like felt it was overearnest and I didn't like it. It was also somewhat hard to follow with alll of the goddamn text everywhere and I think it lost something there. I also take umbrage with Nicole Maines' forward where she claims that we can now all see ourselves represented in comics which is a *bold* statement for a white woman to make. Also like I'm nonbinary. As of yet I haven't seen any nonbinary characters who resemble me lmao.

Let's move on to the good. The best fictional story in this issue was hands down Connor Hawke's letter to his mother about asexuality. This is probably one of the first ace stories I've seen that didn't feel like it was written for an allosexual audience. It felt very comfortable. I especially loved Connor talking about it as a silence that is beautiful in its own right, paired with the fact that he's wearing earplugs to fight a villain who's controlling people via music. The whole comic was very cinematic and heartfelt.

Other highlights: Alysia Yeoh's story was also very good. I love the trans tape on her baseball bat. I love the 'I'm a trans woman in Gotham, of course I have a weapon.' Nubia's story was very cute. Batwoman's was also very touching even tho we hate a cop. The Harley and Ivy comic did confuse the fuck out of me, I'm not going to lie, but it was extremely cute and I loved the art style. It was also one of the stories that I looked at and went ah yes this feels like a queer person wrote it. Their relationship felt very real. I also really liked the Green Lantern story. The fun noir vibe with it being black and white and green was very cool, especially at the end when it opened up into full colour.

Kevin Conroy's closing story was a lot. Before I really get into it I wanna note that the effect of having people turn translucent while he was talking about AIDS was very powerful, like they were turning into ghosts in front of him. The story is also about family and the ways they can hurt us and the ways we can hurt them back. It is also about the masks we wear publicly and in private. I understand the struggle to keep your personal and professional life separate and it is heartbreaking to know that you have compromised your own self and on purpose and have it come to nothing. I think Kevin Conroy just explained to me why I like Batman so much. This was a very powerful story to end the issue on. It was a jarring contrast to the corporate pride tone of Tim and Jon's story. I don't know what to make of that, but I'm grateful that Conroy chose to share it with us.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed bag with some Devin Grayson fail.

I really appreciate DC's thoughtfulness in allowing Nicole Maines and Kevin Conroy to write for this since both bring real human connection to the superhero stories. I appreciated Maines addressing the ongoing violent backlash against all queer people, but especially trans people. And Conroy's experiences as a gay man translating into his becoming the voice of Batman was beautiful. A lesser team behind the scenes would've just wanted all happy party, all the time.

Alysia's, Tim's, and Ivy and Harley's stories stood out for me writing-wise. There was also great art in Ivy and Harley's and Conner's layouts were stunning with the use of space.

I am sad there was a lack of Apollo and Midnighter. But I am glad there are many more queer characters in the DC universe, especially targeted for teens, even if I, an old, doesn't know who they are.

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another reminder that DC does it better for representation. A nice variety of stories with some beautifully vibrant art.

The foreward is a highlight again like it was in the 2021 volume. This time written by Nicole Maines, I get the story and sentiment that I really wanted in her Dreamer debut in the 2021 Pride issue. 5 stars for setting the tone right.

"Super Pride" was lovely. I worried that Damian was going to be the main focus and I'll never forgive or like him after Injustice #16. I was going to be salty if this tried to redeem him, but it doesn't. He's thankfully a minor character and irritant in a story focusing on Jon Kent, his boyfriend Jay and a Pride parade. I've seen some online chatter about Superman and Lois's son being gay in the new comics, but haven't read into it. Might after this. The story is a bit saccharine, but I love the art. 4 stars.

"Confessions" gets 5 stars just for how it made me snicker like a juvenile seeing Giganta on Nubia in the ring with "WAP" as the sound effect. I think it's the first time I've seen that in a panel since the song came out and my mind connected the two and it was unexpectedly funny.

"Think Of Me" gets 5 stars from me for asexual representation!!!! Yay, Connor Hawke! Loved the energy of the art in this, you could easily imagine the panels actually in motion. I'm not familiar with Hawke so it bums me out to see him with Damian who I have already mentioned my dislike for, but I have put more Hawke on my TBR list.

"Up At Bat" hits hard read in 2023 when so much of Pride is under attack again with a fierce focus on the trans community. Alysia is right, we're still fighting the same battles and it's exhausting. 5 stars.

"A World Kept Just For Me" was a surprise for me to learn that Jackson has gone fron Aqualad to Aquaman. I honestly can't remember when I last read a series with him other than Young Justice so I, apparently, have lots to catch up on. In this we get a sweet story of Jackson meeting his boyfriend, Ha'Wea's, family then talking privately to Ha'Wea about his own upbringing. I really loved how color was used in this to set tone and scene for when they're underwater then on land. There's a watercolor softness throughout that really worked for me. 5 stars.

"The Gumshoe In Green" is a weird bit of noir that I would have liked to see more developed. 3 stars.

"Public Display Of Electromagnetism" made me legit teary-eyed. Black Canary says something I truly feel and that is there is no one correct way to show love. I love that bit of advice from her to Ray about his relationship with Xenos. All the stars for signing off this section with "Never the End!" and just tickling this romantic's heart.

"Bat's In The Cradle" is quick, but has a nice sentiment about a father's love and acceptance if you're a good father. I like Batwoman's dad. 3 stars.

"Special Delivery" was cute and super sweet. I can see why there was a Tim Drake Pride Special issue in 2022 and I'll have to get that one just because I want more. 5 stars.

"The Hunt" is not how I'm used to seeing Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The visual is just weird to me, but I always love these two. Clearly I've not read everything if this art is used in more of their stories. I don't like it. It's too muted and pink for these vibrant and colorful characters. 5 stars for the pairing and story, 2 for the artwork.

"Are You Ready For This?" was fun, but definitely ties to a bigger story as confirmed by the end note to "Follow the team's adventures in Multiversity: Teen Justice #1". That always having to read another issue or series is why I've stopped reading DC and Marvel. It gets expensive and exhausting. I liked seeing things here familiar from when I followed Teen Titans and there is some interest in checking out how the multiverse plays with what I know, but this is 3 stars max.

"Finding Batman" was an emotional read with Kevin Conroy having passed November 10, 2022. His impact and legacy on Batman is undeniable as a fan of the animated series. Reading this history of his as he found his way to becoming Batman honestly brought me to tears. 5 stars. R.I.P. Kevin. For so many of us, you were and will always be Batman.