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DC Pride is back again with a brave and bold and all-new collection of stories starring DC's fan-favorite stable of LGBTQIA+ characters--many of whom will find themselves in thrilling team-ups the likes of which you've never seen before! Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy go to extreme measures to get a little alone time...but there's nowhere on the planet Crush can't crash! Jon Kent gets a comprehensive course in dark magic when John Constantine sics a golem on him. Tim Drake and Connor Hawke learn that there's nothing more awkward than reuniting with an old friend after you've both come out and one of you was indoctrinated by the League of Shadows more
After another trip around the sun, DC returns to Pride Month with another magnificently written collection of stories celebrating the queer characters of the DCU. The creative team-ups are equally as exciting as those on the page. An absolute must read and must celebrate book. Read Full Review
For the third year in a row, DC has celebrated Pride Month with an oversize one-shot that puts its LGBTQ+ characters front and center. And, in addition to the issue once again being packed with solid stories and art that put the characters first in an authentic and humanizing way, it's an issue that feels timelier and more necessary than ever. Read Full Review
DC Pride 2023 has been a lighthearted and hopeful look at the queer side of the DC universe giving all of us the optimistic take that the world both needs and deserves. Read Full Review
A necessary and endlessly fun story where chosen family takes the form of Harley and Ivy modeling a healthy love for a confused Crush. This creative team and this trio has so much potential that I hope we can see them meet again. Read Full Review
As with any anthology, DC Pride 2023 has its weaker moments as well. Not everything feels completely in sync with the format of a short-form comic book story, but theres more than enough here to make for an inspiring series of stories told from angles not often found on the pages of a mainstream comic book. The whole thing feels like it was pulled from a parallel dimension that might have had a more inclusive mainstream comic book industry stretching all the way back to the Golden Age. As always--its really nice to see the mainstream embrace a bit more of the full spectrum of human experience. Read Full Review
DC Pride 2023 #1 is a strong anthology with many highs that more than make up for the small stumbles within. I don't think there's a story worth skipping inside and I found myself introduced to a few characters that would have likely slipped past my radar otherwise. There's heart, excitement, and joy contained within the stories inside, but, as Phil Jimenez's foreword reminds us, there's a genuine threat emerging in the form of hundreds of legislative bills aimed directly at removing rights from the LGBTQIA+ community in the United States. As the list of banned books in some school libraries grows, it's become more apparent than ever that stories contain power and that everyone's story deserves to not just be told, but heard. Read Full Review
The collection concludes with a series of touching and informative essays in tribute to comics creator Rachel Pollack and a preview of the upcoming Dreamer graphic novel Bad Dream. As a package, DC Pride 2023 delivers in spades. Comics, essays, and art all come together in an important collection at a time when simply talking about queer people is becoming more and more politically risky. Read Full Review
Add in a powerful intro by Phil Jimenez, and a heartbreaking text tribute to Rachel Pollack, and you have a recipe foronce againone of the best anthologies DC has ever put out. There isn't a bad story in this. Read Full Review
I finished Morrison & Sherman's story and was practically ready to just come here and say that everything after that paled by comparison right then and there, but if nothing else in this comic was quite as incredible as that, some of these stories actually did hold their own.
The usual problem with these anthologies is that the limited space and remit leaves a lot of creators doing overly didactic stories full of lifeless exposition on LGBT+ experiences and heavy-handed metaphors, and this one is no exception, but there's also some real gems in here. In particular, AL Kaplan & Andrew Drilon are creators I'd never heard of before whose art was on par with Sherman's and whom I'd like to see much more from, and Cantwell & Partidge' more
At the end of the day, I express great pride in saying that I spent $10 on this book solely for the Grant Morrison story. And you know what, it was totally worth it.
And it said to be continued at the end! Please Moz! Multiversity Too!
Also, that Rachel Pollack tribute was beautiful. I wish DC would do that for more creators when they pass instead of just one page ad. Having writers recount stories and their own experiences with the deceased I feel allows the readership to unlock a new dimension of that writer, and truly cement them in the tapestry forever. The people who make these books are just as important as the characters that appear in them, and I would love to see more of their stories told.
I want to rate this a 10 just for Grant Morrison alone but I can't. The price and the other stories just won't allow me to feel good about it. Anyway, the GM story is the best followed up by the Chris Cantwell story. The Xanthe/Batwoman story was probably my next favorite followed by subspace transmission. That one was a bit boring to me but written very well. The Robin story was just them talking while the Harley\Ivy\Crush story was cutsie wootsie garbage. Anniversary was soap box bs and thee last ones were meh. The tribute to Rachel Pollack was beautiful and should be done more often when comic personalities pass. I know we get the small one page tribute, and that's great, but we should do more for our medium and the people in it more
Like all "Queer" anthologies by DC or Marvel, it doesn't deserve such a high score by critics. As usual, some authors are clearly underwhelming, for example, the Midnighter story, one of my favorite hero, was abysmal (and I could never get used to Leah Williams' style) but there are a few stories that are clearly Beautiful, powerful and particularly emotional: Grant Morrison (even if, as usual, I didn't understand everything, and it's cool) Cantwell, a few newcomers... Clearly the best "DC PRIDE" anthology.
The way DC is trying to sell Bi Tim Drake is the worst possible way. Midnighter and Apollo is cringe.
Mostly bad writing for a comic book that costs more than it's worth. It's more of a slap in the face to the community it's targeting. Grant Morrison is a BIG step in the right direction but get some other decent writers. Maybe better editors for diversity writers who aren't quite so good and then they can still contribute and perhaps make an impact. Then use queer characters written by anyone who can write GOOD stories.
Yet more repulsive identity politics from DC.
Those are the sons of Clark and Bruce? Wow.
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