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The new "X-Men" series has two gay characters ... will it amount to anything?
For anyone who has been reading superhero comics, complaining about the abundance of comics tied to the X-Men franchise is a familair pastime. However, for gay readers, there just may be reason to pay attention to one new series, Young X-Men. Young X-Men is the latest X-book to focus on younger mutants and one of the heroes featured in Young X-Men is Anole, a gay character whose outing was nixed in 2003 but was eventually outed in 2006. Anole isn't the only gay mutant in Young X-Men, however. Find out about the new gay after the break! One of the new characters in Young X-Men is Jonas Greymalkin, a character whose history was revealed with a story in X-Men: Manifest Destiny #3. It turns out that Greymalkin is over 200 years old and his powers were activated soon after his father realized that Jonas was gay. Furious, Jonas was beaten unconscious by his father and buried alive. Fortunately for Jonas, his powers (which include invulnerability) work best in darkness and, therefore, were well suited to surviving being buried alive. Jonas spent the last 200 years in a state of suspended animation, a time that ended when Jonas' grave was disturbed and he was thrown back into the modern world. Greymalkin and Anole The Manifest Destiny story where we learn of Greymalkin's sexual orientation ends with his teammate Anole offering a few understanding words. This could definitely be interesting, even if we're not headed towards a romance between the two. With the small number of gay superheroes out there, camaraderie between gay characters is as rare as same-sex couples. Back when the X-Men first made their move to San Francisco, there were rumblings about a new gay character coming, though I admit I was hoping that would happen in one of the more prominent X-Men titles. What do you think? Does this make Young X-Men a title to check out? Also, after Young Avengers, is "Young" on the verge of becoming code for gay-inclusiveness, much like "Adventures" became a sign of an all-ages comic? If so, sign me up for a Young Justice revamp at DC. Submitted by on Wed, 2008-11-19 15:10. |
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Personally...
...Even though I was glad to see another gay character added to the main cast of an X-Book (by definition, a proeminent book in the Marvel line), and in a very poignant story (the art is beautiful), I'm really not very confident that Marvel will actually DO something with him. We've got our hopes up with Hulkling and Wiccan (who might as well be called Luke and Noah, for all the virginal chastity in their relationship), then Anole, then with Ultimate Northstar...
I'd rather not get my hopes too high - Karma is being featured on Uncanny X-Men, but she's been peripheral at best, and even though they (clumsily) acknowledged she's a lesbian.
So right now I'm on "wait-and-see" mode regarding Graymalkin.
"I walk with dignity. I step with pride."
Let me ask a stupid,
Let me ask a stupid, rhetorical question: so, both gay characters look completely grotesque...Should we read something into that? Maybe the fact that it will make less absurd their never getting boyfriends?
(and yes, I know some straight mutants also look grotesque).
François
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http://gaycomicslist.free.fr
As an X-Men dork for years,
Well, I've read the first 6
Well, I've read the first 6 issues (I love Paquette's art), and I quite enjoyed them, especially since I couldn't help reading something into the revelation about Cyclops. Those badass methods looked to me to be a comment about some modern (or at least 90's) versions of the clean-cut superheroes, who'd all become as awful as the Punisher. Or maybe it's just my tastes speaking.
François
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http://gaycomicslist.free.fr
I think it's important to
I think it's important to present gay male characters who don't resemble A&F models. Not every gay man is a twink or a hunk. It provides role models for the rest of us.
Now Steve's New & Improved with Andre Norton Award Finalist power for Vintage!
www.steveberman.com
In case what I said came
In case what I said came out wrong: I'm not asking for model-like gay characters (I find that pretty boring). But there's room between that and the what these two look like (at least in the art here).
François
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http://gaycomicslist.free.fr
Young X-Men
Sorry, Rockslide