In 1991, Flash writer William-Messner Loebs addressed a long-standing elephant in the writer’s room: the tendency in media to assign stereotypically homosexual traits to bad guys. Here, I’d like to share the stories of each comic under the DC banner to win this prestigious recognition to date. Since the prize’s debut, the company has garnered eleven GLAAD Awards for Outstanding Comic Books, nearly twice the number of any other publisher. DC has been in the running consistently ever since, too. In 1992, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation founded a new category in their annual GLAAD Media Awards, recognizing achievements in the comic book field-and DC received the very first one. Pride Month is designed to show those struggling to simply be themselves that they are not alone, and that the parts of themselves they’ve been made to fear are worthy of celebration. It’s why visibility in media, in literal parades, and yes-in comics-is so important.
It’s an act of self-declaration to a culture that ignored and resisted them for years. Pride Month is a joyful, celebratory occasion where for thirty days, every stripe of the queer community bands together to present themselves to the world without reservation.
