Andrew Wheeler on JLQ and DC Pride / transcript via Bleeding Cool

DC editorial pushed me to pitch JLQ and then blackballed me when they decided JLQ was bad publicity. They call it pride. I call it exploitation.

Extrano. Midnighter and Apollo. Batwoman. DC has a long list of queer milestones that it was embarrassed to acknowledge in their own time. Throw JLQ on the pile. What does "DC Pride" mean, exactly?

They never tell you you're out, because they think the vague hope that they might still call you will keep you from speaking out. And they're right, usually. And it's that hope that breaks you down.

I know, I'm burning bridges, but my secret gift is that there is nothing holding me here, so there's nothing anyone can do anymore. I have no parents, no kids, no dog. I can roll over and die any time I want to, and there have been many times since DC Pride that I've wanted to.

Here's my manifesto: If you're a major publisher and you're putting out a "diversity anthology", those creators should reasonably be able to expect that you are committed to working with them. Otherwise, what is the point?

If you can't put a "diversity" book together with creators you're actually working with; you're not actually supporting creators of that identity, you're exploiting them.

I love it when comics folks have obscure characters they like and/or created that they just shoehorn in to every book they work on like hell yeah you funky little comics creator you obviously care about these blorbos now I’m gonna care about them too

Canon Aces 5/?: Roshanna Chatterji/Tremor as part of Justice League Queer/JLQ by Andrew Wheeler (DC Pride: Love Life art by Luciano Vecchio / 'Tis the Season to be Freezin': Break the Ice art by Meghan Hetrick [2021])

Hey everyone! My newest article on Comicosity discusses the history of Sigrid Nansen, formerly Icemaiden, now Glacier.

As the original “Ice” and one of DC’s first openly bisexual heroes, Sigrid’s last appearance was in JSA: Classified where they were skinned alive and left for dead. Imagine my surprise when this horrific treatment was finally addressed and dealt with in the pages of Tis The Season To Be Freezin’.

Review: DC Pride #1

DC Pride #1 is a fantastic showcase not just for DC Comics' LGBTQ+ characters, but the company's LGBTQ+ creators too #Comics #ComicBooks

In honor of Pride Month, DC Comics dropped DC Pride #1, an 80 page anthology featuring short stories with LGBTQ+ characters by mainly LGBTQ+ creators. In addition to the stories, there’s an introduction by prominent gay comics writer Marc Andreyko (Manhunter, Love is Love) and pinups by some of the best LGBTQ+ artists (and artists period) like Sophie Campbell, Nick Robles, and Kevin Wada. The…

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DC Pride sneak peek

1.“The Wrong Side of the Looking Glass” by James Tynion IV, Trung Le Nguyen and Aditya Bidikar (Batwoman) 2. “By the Victors” by Steve Orlando, Stephen Byrne and Josh Reed (Extraño and Midnighter) 3. “Try the Girl” by Vita Ayala, Skylar Patridge, José Villarrubia and Ariana Maher (Renee Montoya) 4. “Another Word for a Truck to Move Your Furniture” by Mariko Tamaki, Amy Reeder, Marissa Louise and Ariana Maher (Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn) 5. “He’s the Light of My Life” by Sam Johns, Klaus Janson, Dave McCaig and Tom Napolitano (Alan Scott and Obsidian) 6. “Clothes Makeup Gift” by Danny Lore, Lisa Sterle, Enrica Eren Angiolini and Becca Carey (Jess Chambers and Andy Curry) 7. “Be Gay, Do Crimes” by Sina Grace, Ro Stein & Ted Brandt and Aditya Bidikar (Pied Piper and Drummer Boy) 8. “Date Night” by Nicole Maines, Rachael Stott, Enrica Eren Angiolini and Steve Wands (Dreamer) 9. “Love Life” by Andrew Wheeler, Luciano Vecchio, Rain Beredo and Becca Carey (Jackson Hyde and JLQ)

Out this week: ‘Tis the Season to be Freezin’ #1 (DC, $9.99)

DC’s latest anthology has a frozen winter theme, as it features characters like Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Polar Boy and more by creators like Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, Rich Bernatovech, Tee Franklin, Tara Roberts, Amedeo Turturro, Bobby Moynihan, Jeff Trammell, Andrew Wheeler, Jordan Gibson, Travis Mercer, Yancy Labat, Eric Battle, Jason Howard, Pop Mhan, Justin Mason, Meghan Hetrick and more. It also features the debut of JLQ, the LGBTQ+ themed superhero team that proved quite popular in DC’s Round Robin contest earlier this year.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

Spoilers for comics in November!

These are from the official solicitations for that month, which you can also see at CBR.  

There’s only one new issue which mentions a Rogue, and it’s a fun-looking wintery special.  Featuring Len, natch.

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE FREEZIN' Written by ANDREW WHEELER, RICH BERNATOVECH, TEE FRANKLIN, TARA ROBERTS, PAUL DINI, ALAN BURNETT, BOBBY MOYNIHAN, and others Art by MEGHAN HETRICK, TRAVIS MERCER, YANCEY LABAT, and others Cover by JEN BARTEL Variant by POP MHAN $9.99 US | 80 PAGES | PRESTIGE ON SALE 12/14/21 Oh the weather outside is freezing, but these stories sure are pleasin’. So since you’ve no place to go, why not grab a sweater, pour a cup of hot cocoa, and stoke the fire…because these 10 tales are sure to lower the mercury! Join us as Harley Quinn and Blue Snowman ice out Hawkman, Batman fights the cold heart of Mr. Freeze, the JLQ don’t stand a snowball’s chance against Minister Blizzard, and the Flash and Superman team up to chill out Captain Cold. So warm your holiday heart with these freezin’ feats of frosty fiction!

The cover with Harley and Victor is apparently the variant, so maybe Len will be on the main cover.

Just for interest’s sake, here’s the very meta Flash solicitation.

THE FLASH #776 Written by JEREMY ADAMS Art by FERNANDO PASARIN Cover by BRANDON PETERSON Variant cover by JORGE CORONA and IVAN PLASCENCIA $3.99 US | 32 PGS | $4.99 US VARIANT (Card stock) ON SALE 11/16/21 Doctor Fate arrives to whisk the Flash away to the IN-BETWEEN, a two-dimensional causeway filled with demonic forces. Now it’s up to YOU, the reader, to help the Scarlet Speedster make his way through the dangerous dimension toward his final destination and the beginning of a brand-new adventure!

And these are all reprints (old Johns stories), but many have Rogues in them.  Plus the debut of the Renegades.

THE FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS OMNIBUS VOL. 3 Written by GEOFF JOHNS and STERLING GATES Art by SCOTT KOLINS, FRANCIS MANAPUL, ETHAN VAN SCIVER, and others Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL $99.99 US | 880 PGS | 7 1/16" x 10 7/8" | Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-77951-345-8 ON SALE 1/25/22 Barry Allen returns from the dead to reclaim the title of Fastest Man Alive in this massive hardcover! Collects stories from Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1-3; The Flash: Rebirth #1-6; The Flash (2010) #1-12; Blackest Night: The Flash #1-3; The Flash Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1; and Flashpoint #1-5.

did andrew wheeler legit make sigrid icemaiden nonbinary........this man is like my personal lgbt geoff johns. no thats grant morrison. this man is like a mediocre grant morrison raised on a steady diet of steven universe. please whos approving this or the existence of the jlq