The first issue of DC Comics latest six-issue comic book series, Nubia & the Amazons, debuted last week, and its Black and Afro-Latine creators want to make sure readers got the message loud and clear: all women, including transwomen, are welcomed.
“If you’ve read Nubia & the Amazons #1, the answer to your burning question is yes, there are trans-Amazons,” tweeted co-writer Stephanie Williams. “One of the newest Amazons is a Black trans woman.”
In Nubia & the Amazons, the transwoman who graces the pages of the comic book goes by the name Bia. She lives on Themyscira, the same island nation Wonder Woman calls home. Creators of Nubia & the Amazons want comic book fans to know that Bia is far from a token character. “Bia will have a role on Themyscira beyond just existing,” Williams tweeted. “She isn’t set dressing. She isn’t a box to tick. She’s a fully-fledged character that is important to her community.”
Williams explained that when she and co-writer Vita Ayala, who identifies as a trans non-binary Afro-Cuban, were thinking of a way “to make things as clear as possible” in their new comic book, they found there could be “endless possibilities” for the women of Themyscira by including a portal known as the Well of Souls in the narrative. The Well of Souls allows women killed by acts of violence outside of Themysciran to be reincarnated as Themysciran Amazons.
DC Comics recently made headlines when the company announced a new bisexual version of Superman will take the helm of a new comic book debuting in November. This past summer, DC Comics also acknowledged that Batman’s sidekick Robin was written as a bisexual character for the 2021 comic book Batman: Urban Legends #6.
Nubia & the Amazons was written by Williams and Ayala. It was illustrated by Alitha Martinez, Emilio Lopez, and Mark Morales.
