T'onga and Losha kick-off Marvel's Pride 2022 LGBTQI+ Star Wars celebration

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #24 Pride variant cover by Jan Bazaldua (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel Comics continues to provide new details on its plans to celebrate the LGBTQI+ community.

The Marvel's Voices: Pride anthology will return in June for a second annual edition showcasing Marvel LGBTQI+ characters and creators, plus the publisher will offer a variety of Pride variant covers for both its Marvel Universe titles and its Star Wars line, like this Pride variant cover for June 15's Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #24 by artist Jan Bazaldua featuring T'onga and Losha from the Bounty Hunters series.

This will be the second year the Star Wars Universe will celebrate Pride week with Marvel. The remaining six (of seven) Star Wars Pride variant covers will feature artwork by Kei Zama, Paulina Ganucheau, Javier Garron, Derek Charm, Phil Jimenez, and JJ Kirby featuring the Star Wars Universe's LGBTQI+ characters and will be revealed next week.

full Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #24 Pride variant cover by Jan Bazaldua (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

According to the publisher, Marvel's Voices: Pride 2022 anthology will give creators and readers an opportunity to "explore and celebrate the wide range of identities and experiences of the LGBTQI+ community with uplifting and exciting adventures all set in the main Marvel Universe!"

Like last year's edition, the 2022 volume will introduce brand-new characters. 2021's Marvel's Voices: Pride introduced the mutant Somnus, who stars in the ongoing X-Men series Marauders.

This year author Charlie Jane Anders will introduce Escapade, a new trans mutant superhero to the Marvel Universe, who like Somnus will be seen again.

The other starring characters and stories include:

Valkyrie (Rúna) puts on the first-ever Asgard Pride celebration in "Over The Rainbow" by writer Ira Madison III, artist Lorenzo Susi, and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg.

Hercules and Marvel Boy (Marvel’s newest power couple) in "Ancient & Modern" by writer Andrew Wheeler, artist Brittney L. Williams, and colorist José Villarrubia.

Marvel's Voices: Pride 2022 variant cover (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Moondragon on "Stay Outta My Mind Turf, Jack" by writer Christopher Cantwell, artist Kei Zama, and colorist Rico Renzi.

The Young Avengers in "All My Exes In The Nexus" by writer Alyssa Wong and artist Stephen Byrne.

D-Man in "LGBT-D" by writer Grace Freud, artist Scott B. Henderson, inker Lee Townsend, and colorist Brittany Peer in a story about "the power of responsibility featuring the Marvel Universe's favorite gay ginger, D-Man."

Finally, Taku and Venomm in "Perfectly Scene" by writer Danny Lore, artist Lucas Werneck and colorist Michael Wiggam about two Black Panther characters "long left in the closet" in a tale of love and redemption.

Here's a look at images from some of the stories:

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Creator Amy Reeder illustrated a Loki variant cover for the special, featuring "variant Lokis" appropriately enough, leaning heavily into the Disney Plus Loki streaming series. In addition to Loki, the cover features Lady Loki, Kid Loki, a "classic Loki," Alligator Loki, and a Loki wearing what looks to be some sort of uniform that brings to mind Loki while acting as an agent of the TVA.

Here's a look at that Reeder cover and other Marvel's Voices: Pride variant covers:

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In addition, the Marvel's Voices Pride trade paperback goes on sale in May collecting last year's anthology as well as "powerful moments from throughout Marvel Comics history" such as Northstar's wedding and the debut of Aaron Fischer in the United States of Captain America series.

Plus Marvel revealed its 2022 Pride Month variant cover program, which includes a total of eight covers by artists Luciano Vecchio and Betsy Cola.

Here's the line-up of covers followed by a gallery:

On sale June 1

Aaron Fischer: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 by Luciano Vecchio
Daken: X-Men #12 by Vecchio

On sale June 8

Valkyrie: Thor #26 by Betsy Cola

On sale June 15

Somnus: Avengers Forever #7 by Vecchio

On sale June 22

Iceman: Marauders #4 by Vecchio

On sale June 29

Destiny: Immortal X-Men #4 by Cola
Karma: New Mutants #27 by Cola
America Chavez: Thunderbolts #2 by Cola

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Marvel Pride Month variant covers — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

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Marvel's Voices: Pride #1 goes on sale June 22.

Northstar and the Young Avengers Hulkling and Wiccan are on Newsarama's list of the most iconic LGBTQIA+ superheroes of all time.

Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.