The Gayest Comics You'll See This Week

A lot has been made lately about gay comic book characters. Marvel Comics recently portrayed a gay wedding between the Canadian X-Man Northstar and his human partner Kyle, while DC Comics announced that the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott came out as gay in the 'Earth Two' series, in which all previous incarnations of the DC Universe are apparently moot.

Being practically ancient, Uncle P really doesn't get the Superhero comics of the modern world. There have been so many reboots and re-writes, I am actually confused by who is whom. And truth be told (and as I've mentioned before), I'm a DC guy. I just love Superman; Batman; Aquaman; Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. They are the superheroes I grew up with (Spider-Man notwithstanding) and the superheroes I still love (yes, even Bryan Singer's Superman Returns).

And of course, it doesn't matter to me which comic characters are gay or straight. I'm just glad that the industry has embraced its LGBTQ readers and included characters with whom we can relate. And while Marvel may have revealed Northstar's sexuality over 20 years ago (with little opposition at the time), it's nice to see them giving his marriage to Kyle some serious coverage. The X-Men series has always had gay undertones anyway, especially in the movies based on them.

70's Gay Clone Superman

 The hate group known as "One Million Moms" (which should probably be called 'Forty-Thousand Uptight, Teabagger Morons') has come out in opposition to the inclusion of LGBT characters in comics. Meanwhile, not one of them has come out against the extreme violence in comics like The Punisher, where brutal decapitations are commonplace. Heaven forfend that the writers should portray honest and heartfelt love between two men, but it's OK to have a straight hero rip the beating heart out of his enemy. Am I the only one to sense a serious disconnect here? I must think not.

Anyway, comic artist Dale Lazarov just published his own (very NSFW) tome, "Comics Made Me Gay," in which he explains how comic book Superheroes helped to shape his personal ideals of what and who is sexy in the pen-and-ink world of pulp fiction. Trust me, I totally identify with everything he has to say, Comic book heroes embody everything gay men have taught one another about what is hot. Muscles; strength; empathy; attractive young wards and ideals about justice and fairness are the cornerstones of every Superhero comic since Superman made his first appearance in Detective Action Comics in 1938. These heroes, often closeted to protect their true identities from an non-understanding public, have provided inspiration for generations of LGBTQ youth for more than seven decades. It seems so empowering that they are finally coming out of their closets to inspire a new generation of young people to be proud of who they are.

lately, I find myself so amazed at how far the LGBTQ community continues to make ourselves known among mainstream media and I can finally envision a day when that inclusion is no longer an exception.

Keep on fighting the good fight, folks.And know that it's okay to drool over Brendan Routh:

More, anon.
Prospero