DC Reveals New Hero Monkey Prince and "Festival of Heroes"
DC Comics will introduce the Monkey Prince in their anthology book DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration as well as details about the various stories collected in the book. This special one-shot celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and features new stories about DC characters with Asian heritage. Besides the first appearance of Monkey Prince, the book will also showcase characters like Batgirl, Katana, Cheshire, and a variety of other DC characters.
Previously, DC Comics celebrated May with writer Gene Luen Yang and illustration team Gurihiru's Superman Smashes the Klan, an adaptation of a Superman radio serial called "Clan of the Fiery Cross" from the 1940s about Superman facing off against the Ku Klux Klan. This year, instead of an adaptation, there will be completely new stories featuring Asian characters and creative teams in the DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration. Yang and Gurihiru will be teaming up once again for the Monkey Prince story.
The Beat teased the appearance of the new Monkey Prince entering the DC Universe. According to DC Comics, the character of the Monkey Prince was “inspired by the Monkey King, legendary hero of Chinese mythology and the classic tale Journey to the West," - not to be confused with DC's Kamara the Monkey King. There will also be a 1:25 incentive Chang variant cover featuring the Monkey Prince. More of Chang's design work for the story, which features the characters of Marcus as well as Shifu Pigsy, was also unveiled.
The Monkey Prince will appear in a twelve-page story called "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes," in which the hero will face off against and join forces with Shazam to stop Dr. Sivana and the demon spirit of a Chinese deer. There are ten other stories listed in the special as well with a couple featuring some notable firsts. There is the first-ever mainstream comic book appearance of the youngest Green Lantern (with the exception of Keli), Tai Pham, who previously appeared in the original graphic novel Green Lantern: Legacy, which will be written by Minh Lê and illustrated by Trung Le Nguyen. There is also the first-time comic book writing debut of Aniz Ansari (Master of None), who is teaming up with artist Sami Basri to create a Damian Wayne story.
It's nice to see a special that promotes both already established diverse characters as well as introducing some new characters into the official DC Universe, which has the potential to launch new series going forward. Plus the anthology presents the opportunity for readers to learn about more Asian superheroes they may not know about. Support the DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration anthology when it comes out in comic book stores on May 11, 2021.
Source: The Beat