Dr.Strangefate
He Sees You When You're Sleeping. He Knows When Yo
I've wanted to start this discussion for a while, but I've been a little nervous that the board wouldnt be able to aproach the topic seriously
I want to know what people think about the portrayal of Homosexuality in comic books today.
Its becoming more and more common as the years roll by, and as DC and Marvel become less and less afraid to introduce these characters in mainstream books, even in the Teen books like Young Avengers, which are designed for younger readers. This past year Midnighter became the first homosexual character to carry his own ongoing title, one that has potential to run for a long time in the Wildstorm Universe... But Gay characters have existed in Wildstorm and Vertigo since the eighties, so its the more mainstream titles that i'm thinking about.
There are a limited number of Gay Heroes in the core titles, men or women... And there's virtually nobody a gay teenager can look up to and idealize in the same way straight kids can idolize Superman and Batman, or Spider-Man. The closest thing is the X-Men, and that's not all that close... The trouble is that with companies today, wanting to introduce more gay characters creates a lot of problems...
They only have two real options, Introduce an Entirely New Character (like they did with Batwoman), or Retcon an Old Character's sexuality (like they did with Northstar)... Now each of these has worked on several occasions, but introducing a character as gay usually winds up slipping said character into one of the many old stereotypes: The Victim, The Effeminate Flirt, or The Amoral Sex-Machine... You almost never get real people... Some of the Lesbian characters (ie: Maggie Sawyer, Renee Montoya) have been well handled, but the Male characters always seem to be Gay first and People second. Ultimate Colossus and Ultimate Northstar might break that mold, and so might Wiccan and Hulkling, if UXM takes a little more time to deal with it, and if Young Avengers ever comes back.
We've had Gay and Lesbian supporting characters in comics for ages... But why can't we have a noble hero character? Northstar is a bit of a narcissistic jerk, but maybe he can have a boyfriend who is a bit more of a leader, somebody who can show people that just being gay doesn't define you, but its what you do...
A healthy relationship here and there wouldn't hurt. The healthiest gay relationship in comics is between Apollo and Midnighter, and there's isn't all that great... And its not like either of them are role-models. Sure, Midnighter kicks ***, but if any of you had a kid who turned out to be playing for the other team, would you really want them looking up to the Midnighter?
But as a gay person, my view on all this is a little skewed, does anybody want there to be Gay Heroes? Even a few more gay supporting characters here and there?
Because these characters, at their hearts, are there for us to make a connection, and the true heroes are the ones we can see ourselves in... and the closest thing i've got is a egotistical canadian, and a pair of confused sixteen year olds (in a book that never comes out).
Any Thoughts are Welcome, even dissenting oppinions... But lets try not to get immature on this. I really want to prove to myself that we can have threads about serious subjects on this message board.
I want to know what people think about the portrayal of Homosexuality in comic books today.
Its becoming more and more common as the years roll by, and as DC and Marvel become less and less afraid to introduce these characters in mainstream books, even in the Teen books like Young Avengers, which are designed for younger readers. This past year Midnighter became the first homosexual character to carry his own ongoing title, one that has potential to run for a long time in the Wildstorm Universe... But Gay characters have existed in Wildstorm and Vertigo since the eighties, so its the more mainstream titles that i'm thinking about.
There are a limited number of Gay Heroes in the core titles, men or women... And there's virtually nobody a gay teenager can look up to and idealize in the same way straight kids can idolize Superman and Batman, or Spider-Man. The closest thing is the X-Men, and that's not all that close... The trouble is that with companies today, wanting to introduce more gay characters creates a lot of problems...
They only have two real options, Introduce an Entirely New Character (like they did with Batwoman), or Retcon an Old Character's sexuality (like they did with Northstar)... Now each of these has worked on several occasions, but introducing a character as gay usually winds up slipping said character into one of the many old stereotypes: The Victim, The Effeminate Flirt, or The Amoral Sex-Machine... You almost never get real people... Some of the Lesbian characters (ie: Maggie Sawyer, Renee Montoya) have been well handled, but the Male characters always seem to be Gay first and People second. Ultimate Colossus and Ultimate Northstar might break that mold, and so might Wiccan and Hulkling, if UXM takes a little more time to deal with it, and if Young Avengers ever comes back.
We've had Gay and Lesbian supporting characters in comics for ages... But why can't we have a noble hero character? Northstar is a bit of a narcissistic jerk, but maybe he can have a boyfriend who is a bit more of a leader, somebody who can show people that just being gay doesn't define you, but its what you do...
A healthy relationship here and there wouldn't hurt. The healthiest gay relationship in comics is between Apollo and Midnighter, and there's isn't all that great... And its not like either of them are role-models. Sure, Midnighter kicks ***, but if any of you had a kid who turned out to be playing for the other team, would you really want them looking up to the Midnighter?
But as a gay person, my view on all this is a little skewed, does anybody want there to be Gay Heroes? Even a few more gay supporting characters here and there?
Because these characters, at their hearts, are there for us to make a connection, and the true heroes are the ones we can see ourselves in... and the closest thing i've got is a egotistical canadian, and a pair of confused sixteen year olds (in a book that never comes out).
Any Thoughts are Welcome, even dissenting oppinions... But lets try not to get immature on this. I really want to prove to myself that we can have threads about serious subjects on this message board.