DC Pride 2023 #1 – My Best Bet: Constantine Bets Against Superman???

This chapter of DC Price 2023 follows a brief adventure featuring Jon Kent Superman and John Constantine. The story follows Constantine betting Felix Faust that Superman will lose a fight against a Golem he has summoned. While this plot is straightforward, the themes and inspiration significantly drive the narrative.

Skylar Partridge’s art elegantly fits into this narrative, especially the darker magic tones, with her grittier style harkening back to classic Constantine tales. The design of the Golem is very dark, twisted, and powerful, making it easy to believe that it’s a formidable foe for the Man of Steel. Dearbhla Kelly’s color palette wonderfully builds on this, with the panels shifting between red and blue tones. These creators draw and color some great iterations of Superman and Constantine, setting a new bar with the few pages they have.

Morgan Martinez’s letters are fascinating as she uses onomatopoeia throughout the story. This may be a bit distracting in some reports, but it is used brilliantly here. The crux of the plot is that Constantine and Superman are tricking Faust, with Superman intentionally throwing the fight. The onomatopoeia featured in the battle between Superman and the Golem helps convince the reader that this fight is authentic, further adding to the surprise reveal that this was all a con. This aspect of the issue was subtle but very fun to decipher when going back and rereading it.

By the end of the story, we learn that this con Constantine and Superman are pulling is all to free a soul from hell. Constantine reveals that this soul belonged to an ex-partner of his. While it is never said outright, it becomes clear that Constantine specifically asked Jon for help instead of Clark because he knew Jon would better understand his plight since they both identify as bisexual men. Christopher Cantwell’s excellent writing brilliantly accentuates this moment by leaving things unsaid. Jon didn’t even know that the soul belonged to Constantine’s former partner until the fight ended, but the subtext says it all.