{"id":32951,"date":"2025-04-29T12:17:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/?p=32951"},"modified":"2025-04-29T12:17:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:17:39","slug":"renowned-comics-writer-jenny-blake-joins-forces-with-acclaimed-artist-sara-soler-and-letterer-jodie-troutman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/renowned-comics-writer-jenny-blake-joins-forces-with-acclaimed-artist-sara-soler-and-letterer-jodie-troutman\/","title":{"rendered":"Renowned Comics Writer Jenny Blake Joins Forces with Acclaimed Artist Sara Soler and Letterer Jodie Troutman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As <\/em><\/strong>DC Pride 2025 heads to the printer, creators reflect on the importance of community and the power of storytelling<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sozomaika\u2019s <\/em><\/strong>DC Pride 2025 variant cover revealed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an extraordinary collaboration between two celebrated voices in comics, DC today announced the addition of an original story, \u201cMaster Planner\u201d by writer Jenny Blake and artist Sara Soler with lettering by Jodie Troutman, to DC Pride 2025<\/em>. This new story, like Kevin Conroy\u2019s personal story \u201cFinding Batman\u201d (art by J. Bone) in 2022 and Phil Jimenez\u2019s autobiographical story \u201cSpaces\u201d (art by Giulio Macaione) in 2024, is a poignant exploration of Blake\u2019s identity, authenticity, and the universal quest for self-understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Blake, a trailblazing figure with over five decades of contributions to the comics industry, shared her heartfelt reflections on the project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I came out as transgender, the comics community was overwhelmingly loving and supportive. Being asked to contribute to this anthology was unexpected and so affirming. I\u2019ve done a lot of cool things in my 50-plus years in comics, but this story is one of the things I\u2019m most proud of. I see myself in this story and I hope readers see something of themselves in it. I had a wonderful time writing my story, and I hope the readers enjoy it as much as I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story, brought vividly to life by the extraordinary artistry of Sara Soler, invites readers into a journey that is both deeply personal and widely relatable, bridging human experiences of transformation, resilience, and belonging. Soler\u2019s style beautifully captures the essence of Blake\u2019s narrative, creating a perfect harmony between words and visuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blake\u2019s original story, along with the entire creative team across DC Pride,<\/em> is a testament to the strength of community, and the power of storytelling, in building empathy and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuperhero comics are a really perfect medium for telling a story about community,\u201d said Jude Ellison S. Doyle about DC Pride 2025<\/em>. \u201cThese characters inherently live in community, in-universe and out, and are kept alive by the community of fans and readers that sustains their existence. So getting to sit with a bunch of queer comics creators and build a story about queer superheroes together felt really healing and right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up, I was a huge DC Comics fan,\u201d continued Maya Houston. \u201cOnce I realized my own queerness and found a community within that identity, it became even more exciting to see the heroes I grew up loving resemble the lives of my loved ones and myself. It showed that we didn’t need a cape to feel triumphant. DC Pride<\/em> is so important because it serves as a celebration of LGBTQ+ experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really is an honor to work alongside these talented, passionate creators and tell stories that celebrate our community,\u201d added Josh Trujillo. \u201cI came out at a time when there were virtually no mainstream queer superheroes, so I can\u2019t overstate what being a part of DC Pride<\/em> means to me. All of us in the book are lucky enough to build on the hard work of previous queer creators. I hope together we can move the needle and expand what representation means in the DC Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh man, I\u2019m like a broken record on this when I say: Every reader deserves to see themselves in comics!\u201d said Tim Sheridan. \u201cAnd if Pride stands for anything, it should stand for our resilience in the face of uncertainty, anxiety, and hate\u2014and for the heroes, all around us and in the mirror, who, despite all of it, keep on going. This year\u2019s story (and it is, for the first time, one big, unified story) will try and address some of what we\u2019re collectively feeling, because ignoring it just feels dishonest. And, like, if we\u2019re gonna have pride, let\u2019s have pride in everything, including our anxieties and fears. The idea is to own all of it, even that darker stuff, and, together, look for the light to lead us through. Now, that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t any joy in this book! Quite the opposite, in fact. It\u2019s got all the things: highs, lows, ups, downs, a smooch or two, and a big, cosmic superhero problem to be dealt with!\u201d
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Additionally, DC\u2019s editorial team has selected a handful of letters, cosplay, and fan art to be published in a letters column within the pages of DC Pride 2025<\/em>. Originally shared on the DC Official Discord server, fan contributions to DC Pride 2025<\/em> reflect how the legacy of DC\u2019s storytelling has impacted, or reflected, their LGBTQIA+ identity, journey, or experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DC Pride 2025<\/em>\u00a0will publish on June 4, available wherever comic books are sold. Contributors include writers\u00a0Vita Ayala, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Maya Houston, Sam Maggs, Tim Sheridan, and Josh Trujillo; artists Don Aguillo, Vincent Cecil, Derek Charm, A.L. Kaplan, Giulio Macaione, Alex Moore, Skylar Patridge, Emilio Pilliu, Max Sarin, and Phillip Sevy; colorists Eren Angiolini, Jordie Bellaire, Tr\u00edona Farrell, and Marissa Louise; letterers Aditya Bidikar, Frank Cvetkovic, Lucas Gattoni, Ariana Maher, Morgan Martinez, and Jodie Troutman for main story \u201cThe Heart Wants\u201d; along with Blake, Solar, and Troutman for \u201cMaster Planner.\u201d The 96-page Prestige format comic will feature a main cover by Kris Anka and variant covers by Sozomaika, Julia Reck, and Jack Hughes (1:25), all priced at $9.99 US (card stock).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DC Pride 2025<\/em>\u00a0variant cover by Sozomaika (not final cover)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For more information about DC Pride, visit the DC website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.dc.com\/<\/a>\u00a0and follow DC on social media at\u00a0@DCOfficial<\/a>. Fans can catch up on everything DC Pride by visiting the\u00a0DC Pride hub<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0dc.com<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0DC Universe Pride collection page<\/a>\u00a0on DCUI, DC\u2019s premium digital comic book service. DCUI subscribers can download comics for unlimited offline reading on their favorite\u00a0iOS<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Android devices<\/a>, while registered users will find a selection of free-to-read Pride titles available. For more information on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, visit the DCUI website at\u00a0https:\/\/www.dcuniverseinfinite.com\/<\/a>. DCUI is not available in all countries and is not intended for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As DC Pride 2025 heads to the printer, creators reflect on the importance of community and the power of storytelling Sozomaika\u2019s DC Pride 2025 variant cover revealed In an extraordinary collaboration between two celebrated voices in comics, DC today announced the addition of an original story, \u201cMaster Planner\u201d by writer Jenny Blake and artist Sara Soler with lettering by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":32958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[26,277,226],"class_list":["post-32951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dc","tag-lgbtqa","tag-trans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32959,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951\/revisions\/32959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gayleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}