Jess Chambers, DC's first non-binary in the DC Pride anthology. Chambers will star in a new story titled "Clothes Makeup Gift," from Danny Lore, Lisa Sterle, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Becca Carey.
Chambers first debuted in DC's Very Merry Multiverse #1, where they were the speedster of Earth-11. Chambers got a more prominent role in DC's Future State event, where they were the future Justice League's Flash and one of Earth's greatest heroes. Now, Jess Chambers is returning in DC Pride. We spoke to Danny Lore (they/them) about getting the chance to write Chambers and how important it was for the non-binary writer to tackle a non-binary hero.
How did this project come about?
Danny Lore: I had done Truth & Justice, and then a short Wonder Woman and Zatanna story digitally. My editor on all of those pieces was Michael McCalister. He asked if I wanted to write Jess. And I don't have this confirmed, but I imagine that this is because from the moment that Jess was revealed, I have been kind of very loudly flipping out about Jess.
But yeah, from there, I had a couple of ideas for what I wanted to do with Jess - but this one really is based on my initial idea. Which is that, with a new legacy character, it's really fun to play with both what makes them stand out in the legacy and also what things they share. Because no matter who's in the suit, there are certain things that you want to vibe with when you pick up a Flash story. For me, I also have ADHD, so I related to Wally West a lot because a lot of his experience of trying to interact with people while being at warp speed - which is kind of my lived experience. That, for me, is an iconic part of the Flashes. But I wanted to play with how that looks different with Jess.
How important is it that a non-binary character like Jess is being written by a non-binary author?
I think, across the board, it is incredibly important to make sure that marginalized creators are participating both in the creation of and the continuation of marginalized characters. There are swaths of my life that, until recently, I've never seen in a comic.
And it's not big race issues or big gender issues; it's just the little things that make characters feel more lived-in and make people see themselves in the books. Every day, there's potential for new comic fans to be created as long as we get the comics that resonate with them in their hands. And we can't do that if they can't ever see themselves in those books.
I think it's also just an awkward, unfortunate truth that sometimes things are tonally different. You can do the exact same action, but if the creator is from that marginalized community versus outside of that community, it has a different context. It is a very different choice for me to decide to write a scene in which I say, "cool. Here, Jess is gonna wear a skirt. And in this other page, they're not going to wear a skirt." It is different contextually if a non-binary person is putting their experience into that story than if the decisions for non-binary characters are being made by people who don't live that experience. A non-binary writer deciding whether or not a non-binary character has dysphoria is a different thing.
It is difficult to explain it, except that when it's not done well, it hurts - and it hurts a lot of people. And it's important that we don't do that. The only pain should be because we wrote a really great angsty scene, and we all hurt. But it shouldn't actually cause harm to our readers.
Obviously, there are still ways to go, but how does it feel to be working in a much more inclusive community than even five years ago?
Danny Lore: I would say that five years ago, I did not think I was going to be here. Before I was actually in the industry, I knew I was always going to be a writer, but I thought that it was going to be prose entirely. I did not see myself fitting into the industry for a bunch of reasons, but I was fortunate enough, with James Tynion, Vita Ayala, and people coming in before me, to have doors pretty widely kicked open.
It's really exciting. The desire to give more space to diverse, marginalized writers allows us to be more experimental on a craft level as well. Because they're looking for different voices, they're looking for different styles, so there's a lot of space for creativity in that. And that's really exciting for me.
This book showcases Jess's fashion sense, what was it like exploring that with artist Lisa Sterle?
Danny Lore: It's actually super fun. So, I immediately DMed her, like, "0h my gosh." And we were just trading fashion ideas. The fashion thing is really fun and cute, but it was also very intentional about being non-binary. On the surface, I was like, "I just want to have a mini tribute to Harley Quinn's Mad Love costumes." But really, what it was also about was that it was really important for me that, if Jess is non-binary, we see that doesn't necessarily mean presenting in a particular definition of androgynous.
One day, it might be a cute skirt with patterns, and another day, it might be super butch. Or it might be a day where the top is super butch, and you're wearing a cute skirt. There are so many different ways of expressing fashion and gender. And I feel like a lot of times - in part because we have not yet reached an equilibrium of genderqueer writers writing those big name, newer genderqueer characters - there is a concern about what that presentation looks like that kind of prevents that presentation from being a spectrum.
It's really a spectrum for me. And that was kind of why, when Lisa was like, "can we do makeup?" I was like, "yes, absolutely." Because anyone who follows me on social media knows that was actually one of the ways that I became more comfortable. There was that wave of, "oh, but people are gonna see me as more femme when I'm wearing makeup," to "I can use makeup to look however I want to feel that day."
Jess and Andy Curry's romance was teased heavily in Future State. What was it like to cement that relationship in a new way?
Danny Lore: It was so much fun. Part of the thing that I really particularly enjoy with characters, like Zatanna and John Constantine, is just this kind of swagger confidence. And it's really fun in particular to play with that with characters like Jess in a relationship - being a charmer. That was something I really wanted to play with, with them and Andy. But Andy is also like, "I know you." When you know that flirt who gets that tone in their voice and you're like, "you're doing it, and I know you're doing it. And I know you know that you're doing it." That was just fun.
There's something really great about just writing a non-binary character with their girlfriend, and they're established. If they have any issues in their relationship, it's not because they're queer, or because of gender. They just are. Anytime I get to write that, it's a highlight.
How was it creating a new villain in Reflek?
Danny Lore: That was me really shooting my shot and taking a chance, because I was like, "Oh, my gosh. What if I did this?" I messaged Michael, and I was like, "Hey, I want to give Jess their villain to fight. I want to do a little bit more than taking down randos."
And Reflek actually came out of a two-fold joke for me, because obviously, they're based on the classic villain is Mirror Master. And then from there, I was like, "wouldn't it be really fun to have a Flash villain with big puffy curly hair?" In part because there's a lot of fun you can do with wet dry hair with curls or with frizziness, and speed and heat. So, I wanted to leave that on the table for all of us who might get to write Reflek afterwards.
I turned to Lisa and I went, "Is there a way," because in recent years, there's been a 70s revival fashion-wise, "that we can do a disco-inspired outfit without being tacky?" Lisa was like, "That's actually something I'm obsessed with right now." And then the next couple of days, shot back these outfit designs, and I was like, "Yes. Yes, absolutely." So, our inspiration is a disco ball kind of thing, but not tacky.
What do you hope readers take away from Jess's story?
Danny Lore: I want them to be excited for more of this disaster queer in the universe. I think that some of the plot is very inspired by my thinking that, "on paper, the schedule worked out today. I don't know why it didn't. And it went terribly wrong." So, I like to think that the story is really relatable, and that it'll make you smile a bit. Especially because some people want us to cry while reading the DC anthology. So, I want them to have fun, and be excited by a non-binary character like Jess enjoying their life.
It was very intentional for me to write this story without a bunch of pain in it. There are so many ways that superheroes suffer. But Jess is gonna be a cocky disaster queer right now, and it's gonna make you smile.
What can you say about the other stories in DC Pride?
Danny Lore: Yeah, I think it's very important that we both have stories that are about being queer, and that just are queer. I think that those are two different things that are important, and what I love about the DC Pride anthology is that both are happening there. You have stories that are about queerness and examining it, and then you have stories where the characters are queer and the worlds that they inhabit are queer, but it's not about that specifically. I think that both are equally important for audiences, and both can be difficult to navigate.
But one of the things that I love about the anthology is everyone doing it in such different ways, with such different tones and different styles. And it matters so much. Because I can think of the books, both prose and comics, where I'm like, "I saw that book, and then I realize that I was allowed to write in a certain way and allowed to do a certain thing." And there will be people who pick up DC Pride and are like, "oh, I can just do that."
For me, my fantasy moment is learning that somebody was able to write something that they weren't able to write before because of something that I participated in. And I think that the DC Pride book will do that a lot.
Will we see more of Jess going forward?
Danny Lore: Yeah, I definitely hope so. I'm just gonna be a personal cheerleader for Jess no matter what happens. I'm, in fact, possibly changing my hair color next week as part of this. I will be a walking billboard for Jess, I don't care. And whoever ends up writing Jess down the line, I will be first to pick up an issue and just cheer them on.
The other day I was texting [DC editor] Andrea Shea and talking about Jess, and I literally ended up tearing up thinking about how important Jess was, and how I have not experienced a superhero character like Jess. To be able to be part of that legacy is really important to me.
Jess Chambers returns when DC Pride #1 is in stores on Wednesday.
