Marvel Comics has revealed their full lineup of Pride month variant covers. This June is Pride month in honor of the LGBTQ+ community. Marvel is celebrating readers, creators, and their LGBTQ characters with not just a special Pride issue, but also with newly announced variant covers.
Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1 is the first LGBTQ+ special issue that Marvel will release. Over the years, there have been numerous fan-favorite queer characters, but now many of them will be gathered in the same place. Previous Marvel’s Voices issues included Legacy #1 celebrating Black History Month and Indigenous Voices #1. This year, Marvel has also released Women of Marvel #1.
Marvel has announced all variant covers for nine ongoing comic titles. These variants will begin releasing on June 2nd and continue through the rest of the month. The series included are Black Cat, Marauders, X-Men, The Mighty Valkyries, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s Voices: Pride, Wolverine, and X-Factor. The special issue of Marvel Voices: Pride #1 will have two variant covers. Each of these covers is illustrated by Phil Jimenez. Featured characters include Northstar, Iceman, Hulking, Wiccan, Mystique, Black Cat, Moondragon, Runa, America Chavez, and Daken. Check out all the variants here:
Phil Jimenez, whose Marvel work includes a collaboration with Grant Morrison on New X-Men – is a gay artist. He had the following to say about Marvel Voices:
I’m always blown away at how different things are now in comics when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation than when I started, and Marvel’s dedication to that inclusion.
As an (ahem!) older gay creator, I’m always thrilled by the opportunity to draw iconic LGBTQ+ characters from Marvel’s past and present, and grateful to contribute to Marvel’s future: one that truly represents the world — and the wonderful diversity of humanity — right outside your window.
The first of these covers that will release are Black Cat #7 and Marauders #21, which feature Black Cat and Iceman, respectively. They will release on June 2nd. Black Cat was recently revealed as bisexual in a previous issue in this ongoing series and Iceman came out as gay in 2015. X-Men #21, featuring Mystique, will follow on June 9th, then The Mighty Valkyries #3 on June 16th. This cover features Runa, the Valkyrie who recently discovered her name in the first issue of the series.
On June 23rd, numerous variants will release including those for Guardians of the Galaxy #15, Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1 with Cover A (America Chavez), Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1 with Cover B (Hulkling and Wiccan), and Wolverine #13. Guardians of the Galaxy will feature Drax’s daughter, Moondragon while Wolverine will feature Wolverine’s son, Daken. X-Factor#10 will be the final issue to release, ending the month on June 30th, with Marvel’s very first openly gay character, Northstar. A former member of Alpha Flight, he was revealed to be gay and married his boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, in Marvel’s first featured gay wedding in 2012. The character line-up is not surprising, as these are some of Marvel’s most recognizable LGBTQ+ heroes.
These variants are skillfully rendered and they highlight the progressive history Marvel has made in LGBTQ+ representation within the comic industry. Marvel’s heroes will come back together in these variants and the Pride Month special issue, while a new queer hero, Somnus, makes a debut, adding to Marvel Comics’ inclusive legacy. Fans can add these variants to their collections beginning June 2nd, with Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1 releasing June 23, 2021.
