AqualadAqualad will be the main character in DC Comics’ newly-announced You Brought Me the Ocean, an LGBTQ+ graphic novel for young adult readers.

The book’s creative team features Lambda Award-winning writer Alex Sanchez (Rainbow Boys) and bestselling illustrator Julie Maroh (Blue is the Warmest Color). The new Aqualad book marks the first DC Comics work for both creators. Due out in June 2020, You Brought Me the Ocean is “a fresh, contemporary twist on Aqualad’s classic origin story and tells an eloquent coming-out romance set against the backdrop of the DC Universe,” the publisher noted in a press release. Both Sanchez and Maroh are critically-acclaimed creators who have had major influences on shaping LGBTQ+ stories in literature for young adults.

In You Brought Me the Ocean, readers will follow Aqualad during his senior year of high school as he learns to embrace his true self, which involves discovering his powers and his heritage as an Atlantean. This story embraces the origin in which the Jackson Hyde Aqualad character is a resident of New Mexico (Truth and Consequences, N.M., specifically), who is totally unaware of his connection to the sea.

“This story will allow readers to delve deep into the conflicts of being both a teen and super-powered—and what it’s like to be friends with a super-powered teen,” said Sanchez in a statement. “I believe it will be the type of book that fans will read twice—the first time, compelled to turn pages to find out what happens next, and the second time to linger over Julie’s spectacularly beautiful imagery. I hope the book will do what graphic novels do best—tell a story on two levels—through words and art.”

Maroh added, “I’m particularly excited and proud to see this book coming to life in a crucial decade for LGBTQ+ rights. Lives of gay, queer, and trans people of color are particularly at stake. I sincerely hope that this book will bring light and strength to the daily life of whoever suffers due to discrimination or just feels different.”

The full solicitation for the new book, which is due out on June 9, 2020, can be found below followed by preview artwork:

You Brought Me the Ocean
Written by Alex Sanchez
Illustrated by Julie Maroh
On sale everywhere books are sold June 9, 2020
MSRP: $16.99

Jake Hyde doesn’t swim––not since his father drowned. Luckily, he lives in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, which is in the middle of the desert, yet he yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown for a college on the coast. But his best friend, Maria, wants nothing more than to make a home in the desert, and Jake’s mother encourages him to always play it safe.

There’s nothing “safe” about Jake’s future—not when he’s attracted to Kenny Liu, swim team captain and rebel against conformity. And certainly not when he secretly applies to Miami University. Jake’s life begins to outpace his small town’s namesake, which doesn’t make it any easier to come out to his mom, or Maria, or the world.

But Jake is full of secrets, including the strange blue markings on his skin that glow when in contact with water. What power will he find when he searches for his identity, and will he turn his back to the current or dive headfirst into the waves?

Aqualad