Batgirl, Robin, and a new Catgirl lead DC Asian superhero special

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DC to celebrate May's Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration
(Image credit: Jim Lee/Alex Sinclair (DC))

DC will be celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May in a special that includes creators like Jim Lee, Mariko Tamaki, Francis Manapul, and more.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration is a 96-page one-shot anthology starring and created by Asian and Asian Americans.

"The 96-page one-shot issue will commemorate DC's rich roster of Asian and Asian American characters, presenting new tales by some of the most lauded storytellers in comics," reads the publisher's description of DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration.

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"Ram V— the current Catwoman series writer—will at last unveil the long-seeded mystery behind Shoes in an action-packed tale that follows the character as she becomes Catwoman's protégé, revealing her real name, secret origin, and who her mother is.

"Eisner Award-winning author Mariko Tamaki will continue her work on the Batman mythos and present an original Cassandra Cain story, marking the author's first time taking on DC's iconic Asian Batgirl," DC's description continues. 

"Joining these stories, Minh Lê—the acclaimed writer behind the smash-hit middle grade graphic novel Green Lantern: Legacy—will team with artist Trung Le Nguyen (author and artist of The Magic Fish) for an all-new story featuring Vietnamese American Tai Pham, DC's newest Green Lantern co-created by Lê and Green Lantern: Legacy artist Andie Tong. This anthology marks Nguyen's first work with DC."

(Image credit: Jim Lee/Alex Sinclair (DC))

Additional creators involved in DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration include:

  • Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair
  • Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang
  • Francis Manapul
  • Greg Pak
  • Alyssa Wong
  • Marcio Takara
  • Sumit Kumar
  • Amy Chu
  • Marcus To
  • Dustin Nguyen
  • Cliff Chiang
  • Jen Bartel
  • Gurihiru

Additional characters planned for inclusion are Damian Wayne, the al Ghul clan, Katana, Lady Shiva, the Atom, Dana Tan, Red Arrow, Lady Shiva, and the New Super-Man.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration goes on sale May 11 in comic book stores and on digital platforms. 

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Chris Arrant
Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)