We’ve had a gay superhero all along thanks to Kevin Conroy
DC Comics announced a special Pride Month anthology, DC Pride ’22, which would feature a host of queer writers and artists crafting stories focused on the publisher’s roster of heroes who represent a wide swath of the LGBTQ spectrum.Among the storytellers was none other than actor Kevin Conroy, known to fans far and wide as the definitive voice of Bruce Wayne, having leant his talents to countless iterations of the Caped Crusader since he first donned the bat-eared cowl for Batman: The Animated Series in the ’90s.The announcement prompted many to ask: Wait, Batman is gay???Related: Twitter explodes after learning–yes–Batman is gayIn fact, he is—well, Conroy is, and he wasn’t exactly hiding it, either.
The Dark Knight may lurk in the shadows, but the voice actor has been pretty forthcoming about his life as a gay man over the years, opening up in interviews about his experiences voicing the (canonically straight) superhero and living through the AIDS crisis.Conroy brings his personal journey to the comic pages in his moving DC Pride story, “Finding Batman,” which was illustrated and colored by J.
Bone, and features lettering from Aditya Bidikar. In a starkly realized vision that makes sparing, effective use of color, the actor takes us back to his childhood, tumultuous years rampant with homophobia and abuse that kept him deep in the closet.As he grew up and decided to pursue show-business, Conroy details how he continued to hide his identity so as not to jeopardize his career.
It was at this time when the AIDS epidemic emerged, and the young actor watched in horror and helplessness as many of his friends and colleagues fell victim to the disease.
