Spinning out of The Pride, The Pride Adventures is an anthology of short stories expanding on your favourite characters and the world of the comic.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered the awesome new comic-book series The Pride, about a group of LGBT superheroes, and reviewed the current 4 issues, starting with The Pride #1. I highly recommend the series. Really, go get it!

Now publisher Queer Comix has put out this anthology featuring new stories about the various members of the team. Co-creator Joe Glass writes the three stories that appear in this volume, with a variety of artists:

RIDE THE PAIN
This 4-page story features Twink and White Trash. It opens with them sparing together in the team’s headquarters, and then they go to a tattoo parlor where White Trash discusses his background, including his father’s reaction when he found out that White Trash was gay. Samir Barrett provides the artwork.

IT GETS BETTER
This 5-page story has Fab Man confronted a teenage boy who is ready to jump off a bridge to his death, because some kids at his school just found out that he’s gay, and he’s afraid of what’s going to happen next. The Pride Co-creator Gavin Mitchell does the art on this story.

IN THIS SHIRT
This 9-page story has Joshua Faith on artwork, and it introduces a new hero (villain? anti-hero?) named Outrage. A gay male couple is assaulted one one night, one of the men is beaten to death. We see the emotional pain that the survivor goes through as he recovers. He build himself a suit of armor and takes the streets to get revenge on the homophobes who attacked him, and he does so with brutal efficiency. The big gimmick of this is that there is no dialog in this story, it narrated using the lyrics to the song IN THIS SHIRT (written by Jamie Mcdermott) by the band The Irrepressibles.

Be warned, this issue isn’t an easy read. Each story packs a pretty heavy emotional punch, these are serious topics, but it’s handled well here. Joe Glass manages to address these issues with sensitivity. And the three artists all provide solid illustrations, making this anthology an essential addition to your comic-book collection. Chacebook rating: 5 STARS

available on comixology