Marvel Reveals Stunning Special Edition Star Wars Covers in Celebration of Pride

In celebration of Star Wars Day this May 4th, Marvel has unveiled seven special edition Stars Wars Pride Variant covers that will decorate their popular Star Wars comics this coming Pride Month. The covers build on recent, if gradual and occasionally unsteady, progress within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and their parent company Disney regarding LGBTQ+ representation. This has included the introduction of a lesbian character in Pixar’s Onward, a gay romance and gay lead in Marvel’s Eternals, and the refusal to censor a lesbian reference in Doctor Strange 2 for Middle Eastern audiences after backlash from the Saudia Arabian film board. Although Marvel comics themselves have historically had a much more consistent track record on LGBTQ+ representation, with canonically queer superheroes and romances having appeared in the comics since the 1990s, the announcement still comes as an important new chapter in Marvel’s self-avowed and on-going commitment to “uplifting, honoring, and supporting LGBTQIA+ storytelling.”

The gorgeous covers, which feature seven fan-favourite characters in “eye-catching trade dress that features a bright rainbow burst and a special Star Wars progress logo”, were each drawn and designed by a roster of talented LGBTQ+ artists, including Lucas Werneck, Javier Garrón, Paulina Ganucheau, Luciano Vecchio, and Phil Jimenez.

Photo 1. Stars Wars: Darth Vader #35, Pride Variant Cover by Luciano Vecchio.

“As a queer Star Wars fan it feels awesome to contribute to this aspect of the franchise,” Vecchio told StarWars.com, “[f]ully developed characters like Magna and Doctor Aphra [two of those featured on the covers] prove once again that comics as a medium is a place in entertainment where limits and representation are pushed and equality is restored.”

Jimenez further expanded on the importance of these covers: “As a gay kid obsessed with Star Wars — I’m old enough to have seen the first movie in theaters when it came out back in ‘77 — I could never have dreamed that not only would I be able make artwork for the universe itself as a working adult, but that I would be drawing LGBTQIA+ Star Wars characters to celebrate Pride! The very idea would have blown my seven-year-old mind. What an extraordinary opportunity and a real gift to be a part of expanding the Star Wars universe in a really vital way.”

The full list of characters to be featured in the Pride Month collection are:

· Cinta Kaz & Vel Sartha, a pair of brave rebel operatives making their first comic book appearance following their 2022 debut in the original Disney+ series Andor.

· Doctor Aphra, a breakout Marvel Comics icon currently headlining her second solo series.

· Domina Tagge, the head of the powerful Tagge Family embroiled in bitter feud with Doctor Aphra in the on-going Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comics.

· Just Lucky, a highly-skilled assassin who fings himself aligned both with and against Doctor Aphra in Star Wars: Doctor Aphra.

· Kantam Sy, a young Jedi during the High Republic era and a determined padawan of Jedi Master Yoda

· Magna Tolvan, a once high-ranking officer in the Galactic Empire who has since swapped sides and found romance with Aphra.

· Sana Starros, the no-nonsense smuggler who has a past with both Han Solo and Doctor Aphra, and who is currently starring in her very first solo series, Star Wars: Sana Starros.

Photo 2. Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #35, Pride Variant Cover by Lucas Werneck.

The covers will be landing in local comic books stores throughout Pride Month, so be sure to keep an eye out! The release schedule is as follows:

· Wednesday 7 June: Star Wars #35, Pride Variant cover by Phil Jimenez; Star Wars: Yoda 8, Pride Variant Cover by Javier Garrón.

· Wednesday 14 June: Stars Wars: Darth Vader #35, Pride Variant Cover by Luciano Vecchio; Star Wars: Sana Starros #5, Pride Variant Cover by Besty Cola.

· Wednesday 21 June: Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #35, Pride Variant Cover by Lucas Werneck; Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 #1, Pride Variant Cover by Paulina Ganucheau.

· Wednesday 28 June: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #33, Pride Variant Cover by Phil Jimenez.

Contact your local comic book store for more information. You can find and support your local comic book shop at ComicShopLocator.com.

 

Article by Jude Jones

Jude Jones is social media manager and staff writer at Gay45. He is also an undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge researching the literary, visual, and academic cultures of HIV/AIDS in Britain, France, and the USA.

 

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