LGBT themes in American mainstream comics
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In American mainstream comics, LGBT themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic books, due to either formal censorship or the perception that comics were for children and thus LGBT themes were somehow inappropriate. With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) until 1989,[1] earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext regarding a character's sexual orientation.[2] LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.
Mainstream comics—the genre of superhero comics published in the United States since the late 1930s—have historically excluded gay characters, and the superhero genre and its two largest publishing houses, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, have been criticised for their lack of inclusivity.[3] Transgender characters have likewise been under-represented, although the common storyline of a superhero having their sex changed by magical or technological means has been regarded as an oblique reference to transgender and transsexual issues.[4] Queer theory analyses have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are often shown as assimilated into heterosexual society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is at the forefront.[5] Mainstream comics have also been labelled as "heteronormative", in comparison to "integrationist" alternative comics.[6] Since the 1990s LGBT themes have become more common in mainstream US comics, including in a number of titles in which a gay character is the star.
Censorship, criticism and inclusivity
For much of the 20th century, creators were strongly discouraged from depicting gay relationships in comic books, which were regarded as a medium for children. Until 1989 the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which imposed de facto censorship on comics sold through newsstands in the United States, forbade any suggestion of homosexuality,[1] and LGBT characters were excluded from comics bearing the CCA seal. The CCA itself came into being in response to Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, in which comic book creators were accused of attempting to negatively influence children with images of violence and sexuality, including subliminal homosexuality. Wertham claimed that Wonder Woman's strength and independence made her a lesbian,[7] and stated that "The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies."[8] Storytellers subsequently had to drop subtle hints while not stating directly a character's orientation.[2] Overt gay and lesbian themes were first found later in underground and alternative titles which did not carry the CCA's seal of approval.
In recent years the number of LGBT characters in mainstream superhero comics has increased greatly. At first gay characters appeared in supporting roles, but their roles have become increasingly prominent.
According to writer
Scott Lobdell claims that it is more often the fans, rather than editors, that have stronger negative reaction to LGBT issues.[10] Moore notes however, that "it's probably quite fashionable... to have the odd gay character," and that the inclusion of LGBT people continues to improve in mainstream comics, but that the characters continue to be limited by stereotypes and do not represent a varied cross-section of LGBT people.[10] Greg Rucka says that some scenes of same-sex interactions are rejected by editors due to unease with sexual content in general rather than the LGBT content.[10]
On the other hand, inclusion of LGBT issues attract media attention, in which the hype makes some fans and creators uncomfortable.[11] Podcaster Faust points out for example, that gay marriage in a comic issue is treated almost as an "event", when that series had already been significant with openly gay characters.[11] Lobdell, while wondering about the attention media gives gay characters, hopes that in the near future, they will not "make the news at all, because they are as common as capes and cowls."[11]
DC
Pre-1990s
The Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures (2000) notes that gay subtext can be found in
One Autostraddle reviewer, Mey Rude, noted that one early example of a "not-quite-trans recurring character" was in the 1940 Action Comics #20 with Ultra-Humanite, a villain to superman, was killed, but he kidnaps a famed actress, placing "his mighty brain in her young vital body."[17] Two issues later, in no. 22, this version of Ultra-Humanite is gone with the character instead transferring his "consciousness into the body of an albino ape." Many years later, in the 1980s, in the Camelot 3000 series, one night, Sir Tristan, is "reincarnated as a woman", tries to change back into a man for much of the comic, but ultimately accepts it. Rude criticized this as showing a "lack of awareness of real life trans people that comics had."[17]
The first obviously gay character was
Previous to this, in the hugely influential
1990s
The early 1990s saw a few more LGBT minor characters portrayed in DC titles. Transgender themes were explored in a 1992 storyline in
The 1990s title
DC Comics has a number of imprints, including
An example of a gay character in a starring role is the violent vigilante superhero
The 1990s also brought with it more almost trans characters. In the 1992 issue of Legion of Super-Heroes #31, Shvaughn Erin was revealed to be male, born with the
2000s
Homosexual interpretations of Batman have continued into the 21st century. One notable example occurred in 2000, when DC Comics refused permission for the reprinting of four panels (from Batman #79, 92, 105, and 139) to illustrate Christopher York's paper All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s.[38] In summer 2005, painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolours depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses.[39] DC threatened both the artist and the Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts gallery with legal action if they did not cease selling the works and demanded the surrender of all remaining art, as well as any profits derived from them.[40]
In 2006 DC drew widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character
In 2006, Gail Simone brought back the Secret Six relaunched in December 2014, with Gail Simone returning as the writer. Scandal Savage, Rag Doll, and Jeannette return as recurring characters. The team consists of new members save Catman, and among them, Porcelain is genderfluid.
2010s
In Earth 2, Green Lantern Alan Scott was revealed as gay. In issue 3, Scott is revealed to have a boyfriend named Sam, to whom he intends to propose while on vacation in China. Before he can do so, however, the train on which the couple is travelling is suddenly wrecked. A mysterious green flame protects Scott and heals him; a disembodied voice informs him that the crash was caused by a force that threatens the whole world, and that Sam did not survive. The grief-stricken Scott is then told that he will be given the power to avenge his love and protect the world.
Alongside Batwoman, DC also released a series starring Voodoo, a bisexual African American woman, as part of The New 52 relaunch.[48] The same relaunch also introduced Bunker, an openly gay Latino superhero, as part of the core cast of the new Teen Titans series.[49] Demon Knights brought back Shining Knight, who previously appeared in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory as a girl crossdressing as a male knight. In the new series however, The Shining Knight says that he is "not just a man or a woman[, but] both."[n 10] This makes him the possible first intersex hero.[50]
The number of minor DC characters being identified as LGBT continues to increase, including bisexual superheroes Sarah Rainmaker and
In 2016, Sensation Comics featured Wonder Woman officiating a same-sex wedding (Issue #48) drawn by Australian illustrator Jason Badower. Inspired by the June Supreme Court ruling that established marriage equality in all 50 United States, Badower says DC Comics was "fantastic" about his idea for the issue. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, he said his editor "Was like 'great, I love it! Let's do it. It was almost anticlimactic."[55] Wonder Woman's advocacy for gay rights was taken a step further in September 2016, when comic book writer Greg Rucka announced that she is canonically bisexual, according to her rebooted Rebirth origin.[56] Rucka stated that in his opinion, she "has to be" queer and has "obviously" had same-sex relationships on an island surrounded by beautiful women.[57][58] Wonder Woman's bisexuality had previously been hinted at by Rucka when he wrote the character in 2003.[59] It had also been explicitly stated in the alternate continuity or non-canon Earth One by Grant Morrison,[60] and fellow Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone staunchly supported Rucka's statement.[61] Surprised at the amount of backlash from her fanbase, Rucka responded to "haters" that consensual sex with women is just as important to Wonder Woman as the Truth is to Superman.[62] As well as Wonder Woman herself, several members of her supporting cast have since been revealed as gay or bisexual including Hippolyta, Philippus, Nubia, and Etta Candy.[63]
2020s
Tim Drake's storyline in Batman: Urban Legends sees him deal with unexpressed insecurities while reconnecting with a friend from earlier volumes, Bernard Dowd. Bernard is kidnapped,[64] sending Tim on a rescue mission while still trying to understand what he truly desires from life.[65] During the rescue, Bernard tells Robin that his friend Tim helped him come out and understand himself, prompting Robin/Tim to have the same realization for himself. Afterward, out of costume, Bernard asks Tim on a date, which Tim accepts.[66]
In Issue #5 of Superman: Son of Kal-El, Clark Kent's son Jon Kent, the new Superman of Earth, is revealed to be bisexual and begins a relationship with his new partner, a reporter named Jay Nakamura.[67][68]
Marvel
1990s
Marvel Comics' incorporation of LGBT themes has been unfavorably compared with that of DC; its use of gay characters has been described as "less prolific but more deliberate".[12] Some reviewers have pointed out in Alpha Flight #45, in 1987, there was an "almost" trans character: Sasquatch. He was "killed", with his soul transferred into a woman's body, meaning that he had a female body when human, and male when in his "Sasquatch form".[17] More broadly, Marvel reportedly had a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy during Jim Shooter's 1980s tenure,[69] and Marvel's policy from the 1990s had stated that all series emphasizing solo gay characters must carry an "Adults Only" label, in response to conservative protests. Yet in 2006 publisher Joe Quesada claimed that this policy is no longer in force.[70] Although same-sex couples are depicted occasionally kissing, intimate or sexual scenes have not been shown, even in Marvel's "Adult only" imprint.[71] The use of mutants and the discrimination they face in the X-Men comics has been seen as a metaphor for the real-world discrimination directed at minority groups including LGBT people.[72]
After the cancellation of Alpha Flight Northstar appeared in his own miniseries, which mostly ignored his sexuality, and eventually became a member of the X-Men. During his time in this team he became a mentor to gay teenage mutant
2000s
Freedom Ring was a character depicted as gay from his debut by his creator Robert Kirkman. Joe Quesada touted him as Marvel Comics' leading gay hero, with stories dedicated to his adventures in Marvel Team-Up. Despite this, the character was killed one month later. His death and general treatment was met with some negative reactions, including accusations of homophobia, particularly with respect to the phallic imagery of the death, with the character being killed by being impaled with spikes.[78] Kirkman commented on the controversy, stating "Freedom Ring was always planned as an inexperienced hero who would get beaten up constantly and probably die. I wanted to comment on the fact that most superheroes get their powers and are okay at it... and that's not how life works. During working on the book, I was also noticing that most gay characters... are all about being gay. Straight characters are well-rounded characters who like chicks. So I wanted to do a well-rounded character who just happened to like dudes. Then I decided to combine the two ideas. In hindsight, yeah, killing a gay character is no good when there are so few of them... but I really had only the best of intentions in mind."[79] Kirkman later stated, "Frankly, with the SMALL amount of gay characters in comics in general, and how unfortunate the portrayals have been thus far, whether intentional or not—I completely understand the backlash on the death of Freedom Ring, regardless of my intentions. If I had it to do all over again... I wouldn't kill him. I regret it more and more as time goes on. I got rid of what? 20% of the gay characters at Marvel by killing off this ONE character. I just never took that stuff into consideration while I was writing."[79]
In the 2000s there was the introduction of two characters who were almost trans: Jessica Drew, a "female clone of Peter Parker", and Courier, a shapeshifting friend who becomes "trapped in a female form by the evil Mr. Sinister."[17] There was also the advent of Xavin, a shapeshifter in the Runaways with Xavin originally male but changes to a female form, saying in issue no. 8 that "for us changing our gender is no different than changing our hair color." While Autostraddle's Mey Rude says that she does not consider Xavin to represent the human trans experience, the character explored gender changes in "a way that was pretty revolutionary for a comic book character."[17]
In 2002, Marvel revived
The
In the latest incarnation of X-Factor, written by Peter David, depowered mutant Rictor and his longtime friend Shatterstar (with whom he'd had an ambiguous relationship)[n 11] were shown in an on-panel kiss.[n 12] After the issue was published, Peter David confirmed Rictor and Shatterstar's bisexuality in his blog and expressed his desire to develop the relationship between them further.[85][86] Shortly after, one of Shatterstar's creators, Rob Liefeld, expressed his disapproval of Peter David's decision.[87] Despite his complaints, however, both Peter David and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada have defended the development, and the story will most likely go on as planned.[88][89]
2010s
2010's Avengers: The Children's Crusade #9 would see Wiccan and Hulkling get engaged and have their first on-panel kiss, a story that would be continued in 2020's Empyre #4, which reveals the secret wedding of Wiccan and Hulkling on Earth with their fellow Young Avengers in attendance, and Empyre Aftermath: Avengers #1 which shows their traditional Kree/Skrull and Jewish wedding in space, with numerous amoints of other superheroes attending after Hulkling became the emperor of the Kree/Skrull alliance.[90][91][92]
2012's Astonishing X-Men #51 held Northstar and his long-term partner, Kyle Jinadu's wedding. Though it is not the first same-sex marriage to be featured in superhero comics, as Apollo and Midnighter had married in The Authority, this is the first in mainstream comics.[93]
Due to flirtations with characters of various genders and sexuality, fans have speculated Deadpool as pan- or omnisexual. Writers Gerry Duggan and Gail Simone, as well as Terry Miller, the director of the Deadpool film, accepts the fan theory.[94][95][96] However, Fabian Nicieza, one of the creators of the character, stated on Twitter that such speculation on his sexuality is invalid because his "brain cells are in CONSTANT FLUX. He can be gay one minute, hetero the next, etc." The comment upset many fans, for it suggests that Deadpool's sexuality is linked to his mental disorder.[97]
Hercules, in previous works such as Hercules: Fall of an Avenger and X-Treme X-Men have been portrayed as bisexual.[n 13] However, Marvel's editor-in-chief Axel Alonso stated that Hercules in the new series will be heterosexual, which disappointed fans and critics for "straightwashing" an LGBT character.[98]
Other recent major characters that have confirmed to be LGBT include Iceman, who came out as gay, and Loki, who is now genderfluid and bisexual.[99][100]
Other publishers: Archie, Malibu, Image, Dark Horse
The 1990s saw the creation of a number of independent publishing houses with output that competed with the giants of mainstream comics publishing, Marvel and DC. The companies included
Dark Horse's
Mey Rude, writing for Autostraddle, stated that the vast majority of actual trans representation happened from 2013 forward, which she considered the "Golden Age of Trans Comics", noting comics like Bitch Planet(by Kelly Sue DeConnick), The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (by Erika Henderson), and various anthologies.[17] This came with more comics being funded through crowdfunding sites and created by trans people, resulting in a "new kind of trans representation by the trans people, of the trans people and for the trans people."
Fandom and awards
As the visibility of LGBT comic book creators and characters has increased, comic book fandom has taken notice. Panels discussing LGBT topics occur regularly at comic book and LGBT conventions such as
GLAAD awards
The first
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy or horror published in the United States, and their "other works" category allows nomination of comic book series or individual issues.[109][110][111] Comic book winners include issues of DC's Green Lantern, The Authority and Gotham Central, and nominations have been given to titles from Marvel (X-Force, X-Statix), Dark Horse (Buffy Season Eight) and Image Comics (A Distant Soil).
See also
- LGBT themes in comics
- LGBT themes in speculative fiction
- LGBT characters in comics
- LGBT-related comics
Notes
- ^ First appearance in Millennium #2 (1987)
- ^ Watchmen #1 (1986)
- ^ In The Legion of Super-Heroes #31 (1992)
- ^ Camelot 3000 #1–12 (1997)
- ^ In Green Lantern #137 (June 2001) and #154 (November 2001)
- ^ Created by Grant Morrison and Brendan McCarthy and first appeared in Doom Patrol vol. 2, #35 (August 1990).
- ^ Hellblazer #51 (1992)
- ^ Hellblazer #170 (2002)
- ^ First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (1998)
- ^ Demon Knights #14 (2012)
- ^ See, for example: Cable #22, X-Force #56, X-Force #59–60, X-Force #60, X-Force ’99 Annual
- ^ X-Factor v.3 #45
- ^ Hercules: Fall of an Avenger (2010), X-Treme X-Men #10 (2013)
- ^ Buffy Season Eight #12 (March 2008) and #15 (June 2008)
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{{cite web}}
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General
- Haggerty, George E. (2000), Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-8153-1880-4
- Rothschild, D. Aviva (1995), Graphic novels: a bibliographic guide to book-length comics, Libraries Unlimited, ISBN 978-1-56308-086-9
- Lopes, Paul (2009), Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book, Temple University Press, ISBN 978-1-59213-443-4
- Furey, Emmett. Homosexuality in Comics – Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV, Comic Book Resources, July 16–19, 2007
External links