Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Book Review: The DC Book of Pride


Written and curated by DC expert Jadzia Axelrod, The DC Book of Pride profiles more than 50 LGBTQIA+ characters in detail, including Harley Quinn, Superman, Nubia, Robin, Batwoman, Aqualad, Dreamer, Green Lantern, and many more. Discover their fascinating origins, amazing superpowers, and key storylines. This title is an indispensable and celebratory companion to the DC Pride comic books.

With stunning comic book artwork and an exclusive cover artwork by renowned DC comics illustrator Paulina Ganucheau, this book is a perfect addition to the collection of any DC fan.

This collection will be released on May 16, 2023. DK Publishing provided an early galley for review.

I come from a long history with DK's super-hero-focused books. I have several iterations of both DC and Marvel Encyclopedias as well as indepth company histories that the publisher has put out over the years. Therefore, I knew that their approach to this project would indeed be done with care and quality.

I liked that each character, no matter how new or old, got the exact same space - two-page layout with art on one side and text on the other. The artwork is drawn from the vast history of the comics line. Some of these characters I knew, and some were brand new to me. The glossary at the end is also helpful, especially when defining the various terms that help describe members of the LGBTQIA community. I learned a lot from this collection.

2 comments:

ApacheDug said...

I confess I'm intrigued, it's been some years since I read any new DC comics. But I really feel out of my element here. I collected & read DC comics from 1969-1986 and never thought I'd see gay, bi or transgendered heroes (but good for DC for staying with the times). I'm going to put in a request for this book at my local library in the off chance they secure a copy, thank you Martin.

Martin Maenza said...

Doug, same for me - though my consistent monthly DC reading ended August 2011. I knew some of these characters but a lot are new within the past five or six years. The interesting thing was this book comes from DK's children's line. I was surprised by that. I could see teens to adult noticing character sexuality but not children. Then again, it is a different world from the one you and I grew up in (we never got any sex discussion until health class in middle school - right when puberty was hitting).