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The DC PRIDE: Fan Zine is HERE!!

The time has come! We are so incredibly exited and proud to present to you...

The DC PRIDE: Fan Zine.

This project is hosted as a digital comic book on Heyzine, and flips through just like a real one! However, if your device is unable to support that we do have a scroll-through, single-page PDF available here!

Your support means everything to us, and we can't thank everyone enough for helping us get here. When you've finished reading through this project, we would really appreciate your feedback so we can continue to improve this project as we move forward!

We would also love to hear back from you right here on tumblr! Reblog with your comments, send us an ask, or tag us in your own post! We'd love to know what you think!

Thank you again and again and again!

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Did you know this fan-made special will be 100% free to read? That's right, there is no cost to enjoy the DC PRIDE fan zine. Our amazing collaborators have worked hard to provide an incredible project that will be for anyone to enjoy FOR free!

Some of our contributors will have the option to leave a tip -- if you would typically pay for quality work like this, we highly encourage you to leave a tip for the creators that brought your favorite characters to life!

You can get the zine a whole week early (plus extra digital goodies made by our amazing artists?) Check out our carrd for more information on Early Access -- it's free!

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🌟Cover Reveal🌟

We are pleased to showcase the amazing zine cover created by the talented carelessapples!

Early access sign ups are available until the 9th on our carrd! This is completely free and will give you advanced access to the zine, as well as some sweet digital rewards. Make sure not to miss out!

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The Oracle’s hand.

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When you thought it would be easy peasy lemon squeezy but it turns out to be difficult difficult lemon difficult.

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The agony of thinking you’re finished doing the dishes only to turn around and to your horror: the pot.

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almost time

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When you thought it would be easy peasy lemon squeezy but it turns out to be difficult difficult lemon difficult.

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when i tell you i had an aneurysm

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🌟Team Interview- Epiphany 🌟

​​For our final story we have an interview from the duo behind the GLAAD and Harvey nominated, Stonewall Award winning, graphic novel Lunar Boy! (You can find it here!)

Here is a panel they've chosen to share as a sneak peak!

@jesncin : I'm a huge Martian Manhunter fan. When it comes to fanfiction, I always gravitate more to characters who aren't very popular. There's something so satisfying about reading/watching their stories and figuring out what it is about them that's made them struggle to gain footing as a character. I’ll do research about the context this character is written in, the meta surrounding them, and then add something personal about myself and my tastes onto my take of the character. A lot of people usually like making a Greatest Hits version of a character they like when they make an AU, but I really enjoy re-working the stuff about a character that doesn’t work. It’s untapped potential. That whole transformative process is so fun for me! J’onn is canonically a queer character, but most people wouldn’t know this because DC as a company doesn’t market him as one. Martian Manhunter’s fluid identity and themes of marginalization tend to be written off as alien shapeshifter science fiction “fish out water” stories. J’onn has canonically said he’s asexual (in context he meant agender), shapeshifted across gender identities (one of which was a woman who represented his heart), transformed into a transphobic genderbent version of himself, kissed Aquaman and has been purposely written as a queer allegory paralleled with a canonized queer character in Orlando and Rossmo’s limited run. So it's about time he got spotlighted as a queer character. The story we wrote for the DC Pride fanzine is a re-imagining of Martian Manhunter’s limited New 52 run. It’s an arc where J’onn accidentally splits himself into 4 people and has to find a way to save the world from a cosmic alien invasion. It’s a convoluted run with potential, so we felt this arc was a perfect basis to do a character study of J’onn and his relationship to the human forms he takes on Earth. Something that’s been taken for granted about J’onn is that because of how he’s appeared in adapted media, J’onn has become a Black and Black coded character. He’s talked about his complex relationship with race and what it means to choose a marginalized form when he has the ability to look like anything he wants. Actors David Harewood and Carl Lumbly have talked about a responsibility J’onn has with shapeshifting, and it separates him from so many other shapeshifters in fiction. What J’onn means to me is this evolution from a character who represents xenophobic fears of body snatching, to a character who empathizes with marginalization across race and gender. My favorite part of this project is finally being able to define J’onn’s relationship to humanity in a way that feels holistic to his history as a character.

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More DC Pride Fan Zine Creator Spotlights!

@space-specs @mantimae you’re both right about Jules having so much potential and room to grow, I can’t wait to see what you both do :).

🌟Team Interview- Loratu 🌟

@space-specs : Jules Jourdain is still a very new character, but one with lots of potential. Even in the few issues he's been in, there's some hints at the way his community reflects a lot of issues facing real communities in the northern Nevada area, especially land and water rights. I was really inspired by that potential. I wanted to write something that addressed those threads that we've been given about Jules' life up to this point by tackling those issues that have been hinted at. The superhero genre is, at its core, about hope and about the courage to fight back, and that was also a huge inspiration when writing this — the idea that we really can take on the injustice in this world and work together and win. I've been thinking a lot lately about community and queer resilience, especially in places like rural areas or the Southern United States, where people expect there to only be conservatism and hate despite the many marginalized folks (queer or not) living in these regions. I really wanted to tell a story about fighting back and finding joy, even in a small unknown place like Badland's Station. Since Jules is such a new character, he doesn't really have a good supporting cast built up yet, so it was actually quite fun for me to get to populate Badlands Station with a few characters to flesh out the story. They're just minor characters, but I really think having them there makes the place come to life.

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More DC Pride Fan Zine Creator Spotlights!

🌟Team Interview- Now You Try 🌟

Hankenstein : Xanthe is a character who is used to being caught between two worlds. The gendered expectations of being nonbinary, the cultural expectations of being both Chinese and American, the spiritual expectations of being neither alive nor dead… I wanted to bring that to life in a story that highlights Xanthe’s ability to find courage and balance in a troubled world. When you’re gender-expansive, it can be difficult to look back on your childhood self with love. I’m glad I was able to write a story where Xanthe looks back on- and makes peace with- themself as a child. The interactive element at the end [was my favorite], encouraging the reader to print, cut out, and fold the final panel into a simple origami heart!

@eggos-esper : I was blown away by Henry’s script. It was something so moving yet fantastical, a clear balance of the two themes integral to Xanthe’s journey here. It resonated with a piece of my own queer experience, and a desire to help make it available to others. The last page was my favorite to do. In its simplicity and focus on our two characters, I felt a personal sense of closure. Finding and loving yourself is always a joy.

Here is a sneak peak they’ve chosen to share!

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More DC Pride Fan Zine Creator Spotlights!

🌟Team Interview- …Who Knows? 🌟

Hankenstein: The inspiration for this story came from the idea of comparing the relationship between older and younger generations of queer folks with the relationship between modern superheroes and the old-school pulp heroes who inspired them. This story is a very special one. I wanted to make sure the Leather flag was represented in a modern pride zine, both to represent an important part of my identity and to honor the important place comics have had in the leather communities of yesterday and today. Blending the old-school, sinister pulp antihero of the Shadow with the modern antihero of Ghost-Maker was the perfect medium to do that! The Ray’s explosion on the rooftop [was my favorite]! The art for that scene turned out fantastic!

@ravendraculina : Personally I greatly enjoyed how much queer solidarity is in this story. Most that falls under the label of "LGBTQ" tag pertains to romance. Rarely do we see queer friendships in media without it being romance centric. Here we see gays of each generation interacting with each other and teaming up! Each with their important life experiences shaping who they are as a person and how their identity is a part of it. My favorite part to illustrate is silly light hearted panels. I wanted to keep with a strong graphic style with no blending of colors. Rather let the colors stand on their own with strong thick lines! Giving a classic yet modern appearance! The absolute attitude and sass from Ghostmaker is a delight to draw!

And here is a panel that they've chosen to share!

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More DC Pride Fan Zine Creator Spotlights! I’m really looking forward to this one @radioactive-earthshine @nopes-and-dreams-and-nightmares

🌟Team Interview- The Last Boris 🌟

@radioactive-earthshine : I was inspired to focus on [a story of] Natasha Irons grappling comphet with her “boyfriend” Boris by reading Steel (1994)! As I read this comic I saw many themes that resonated with me as a queer person, foremost Natasha’s relationship with her boyfriend Boris which came off to me as compulsory heterosexuality rather than a relationship she actually wanted. The second theme that I felt drawn to was her non-traditional relationship with Boris being intense, but not based on romantic or sexual attraction, like a Queer Platonic Relationship. The final detail that I wanted to address that DC never did was Phil’s positive HIV status, while this is not an exclusively queer experience, it is a painful part of queer history. I felt like all these themes deserved space in DC Pride. This story means more to me than just a coming out story grappling with comphet, it is also a love letter to the comics which have inspired and comforted me through hard times. My favorite part of this story to write was Natasha’s scenes with Boris! I wanted to really dig into the original comic from over two decades ago and make their interaction really feel as if it came from within those pages. Their goofiness, their genuine affection, their inside joke of being “bears” to each other really made me smile as I was writing it.

@nopes-and-dreams : I think anyone who took a while to figure out their sexuality, identity, or other parts of their ‘queerness’ will really resonate with Natasha’s big lightbulb moment when she realizes her attraction to women. My favorite part of illustrating this comic has to be Natasha’s hair from a visual standpoint, and her ‘face journey’ as she goes through the process of coming to her realization…and the realization that everyone close to her already figured it out.

Here is a panel they’ve chosen to share!

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More DC Pride Fan Zine Q&A Creator interviews!

🌟Team Interview- Dawn 🌟

@3hobbitsinatrenchcoat : It's very sappy but the inspiration for the story comes from the way the morning sunlight streams through my own bedroom window and pools on the bed. There was one morning a couple years ago that my girlfriend came over to visit and she was dozing in the sunbeam and it gave her such an ethereal quality. It seared its way into my brain forever. Harley and Ivy deserve that kind of peace. This story holds my hope for peaceful domesticity, for there to be one place in the world for life to slow down. My favorite bit to write was actually the hyenas being creatures on the couch. I felt it shows a kind of permanence to the whole thing even before Ivy enters the bedroom. It's a sign that Harley isn't just visiting, it's her home as well.

@herahawk : When I first read the script I was struck by how clear the imagery was and how peaceful and poignant it felt. I really liked the concept of the narration being a poem written by Ivy. I think the idea of the comic being like an illustrated love letter really resonated with me the most. My favorite part to illustrate was definitely the third page, where we see Harley for the first time. Something about the scene is so domestic and sweet to me. I also really enjoyed trying to design a space that looks like it's shared by the two of them.

Here is a sneak peak they've chosen to share!

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Unfortunately I do not, but I can’t wait to find out!

Another sneak peak for the @dcpridefanzine! Do you know the reference here?

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Hello! Here is the Q&A that collaborator @breakingthespacetimewall and I did for our story in the DC Pride Fan Zine!

I’m so excited for people to read this anthology, which includes my first published work outside of school, and am honored to be included alongside so many talented people. DC Fan old, new or not, you’re in for something special :).

Please ignore the many punctuation errors in my segment (starting below the Kate Panel) and know that I loved writing this story, and get hyped for the summer.

🌟Team Interview- Walking Through the Wreckage 🌟

@breakingthespacetimewall: I kinda helped choosing the villain of the story and the characters that would show up. Having trans heroes kicking nazi villains butts is something that I would love to see everyday in comics(and real life). This story was planned before the USA elections result but now than never I think it really says a lot about today with past enemies coming back with their old ideas but new technologies and while we don’t have superpowers we too learned new ways to fight. My favorite part to illustrate was all the panels with Kate, I really liked the design I come to her and specially her nose that I had a certain way to draw. But I just love drawing comics so is always a pleasure when I have the time and capacity to do so.

Here is a panel they've chosen to share!

@www-wonderfulmistakes: I was initially inspired to write this story after first learning about Kate Godwin. As DC Pride seemed to be a success to DC Comics and therefore more of a priority, they thankfully started showcasing the talent who had contributed to the queer characters in their stable as a result, the late Rachel Pollack and Kate being among them. Kate had significance as being the first trans superhero from either of the “Big Two” comic publishers, as well as the first created by an actual trans woman in Rachel Pollack. Having learned through research that Kate was unceremoniously killed off in a past Doom Patrol run pre-New 52/DC Universe Reboot, I was delighted to see her resurrection in the 2024 DC Pride: A Tribute to Rachel Pollack One-Shot story “Shining Through The Wreckage.” Wanting to see more of her, I immediately dove into Rachel Pollack’s run on the second volume of Doom Patrol.

Admittedly, Doom Patrol running with the bizarre concepts that it usually does as well as being 30 years old, there are moments where the run shows it’s age, but Kate was imbued with a sense of self-confidence, humor and humanity that I think is noteworthy even today, no doubt informed by Rachel Pollack’s lived experience. I was excited and had questions after “Shining Through The Wreckage” and immediately wanted more: what would life be like for as a trans woman like Kate, to effectively die and then come back after two decades (give or take how time actually passes in these comics) and see how things have and haven’t improved? I thought bringing back one of Rachel Pollack’s, a trailblazing writer and creative, most notable creations not long after her death (in the pages of a comic specifically designed to highlight and showcase her contributions, and written by her friends no less!) was significant, and was disappointed in that there have been no further announcements on what is going on with Kate, or the Doom Patrol in general, since then. This story to me is a lot of things: it is an escapist fantasy in the way a lot of superhero stories are (in the specific scenario where a group of superpowered trans women joined forces to defeat and humiliate a Nazi; I have to credit my collaborator lady G, as it was her ideas to both have Degaton as the main villain and bring Dreamer, Galaxy and Circuit Breaker into the story. However, when people read it, I hope that their takeaway is that these are actions that can be performed in real life as well: listening to, uplifting trans women, and allowing them to be angry and voice that is something that we should be doing in real life. We should be fighting and humiliating those who would call themselves Nazis at every turn.

I think I can narrow my favorite part down to two! The first being the opening conversation and walk with Kate and Cliff…their dynamic and relationship was a central point of Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol run. I was really impressed and delighted by how much their relationship defied easy classification. I think it’s important to have a reminder (in and out of queer spaces) that labels are not the end-all be-all of the queer experience, and they should never hinder more than they help: they ideally should only go so far as whatever works for the people involved in a given relationship. I think Kate and Cliff embody that really well: you don’t need to put a label on the relationship to know that they care about each other in ways that both leans platonic and goes outside of heteronormative standards. As I said earlier, of course there are parts of both Pollack’s run and Kate & Cliff’s relationship there are dated, including some moments that involve blatant transphobia from Cliff directed at Kate that never really got a full resolution, so one of my priorities in writing this story was to at least try to clear the air about that. I wanted to address it in a way that I didn’t trust corporate DC Comics too. (Cliff owed Kate an apology at the bare minimum! Even if he wasn’t entitled to her forgiveness, he needed to make that attempt!!) I’d say my second favorite part of the story would be the general team up at the end, especially Kate touching base with Galaxy. The 2023 DC Pride special included a few pages with text columns giving thanks for Rachel Pollack and her contributions and one of these columns was written by Galaxy’s creator, Jadzia Axelrod. Among other things, Axelrod went on to say how seeing Kate as a teenager showed her that a lesbian trans woman could be a hero, a viewpoint character, and live a good life.