Because he's just so damn adorable, here's one more of True Blood star Allan Hyde
Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear. Yes, we're serious.
Veteran sitcom producer Jay Tarses is teaming up with his comedy writer son Matt and TV producer daughter Jamie to write and produce a new sitcom called Assisted Loving, which centers around a "gay man who helps his father find love after the family matriarch dies." We'll keep you informed about the show's progress.
He's no Bryan Safi but above you can see Mediaweek's Alan Frutkin in the third episode of Gay TV Now. This edition looks at the gay storyline on Mad Men.
I've never been a big fan of comics, but the news that someone has created the "first all-gay superhero" comic, and called it Spandex, and filled it with character names such as Prowler, Glitter and Mr. Muscles & Butch makes me ... understand why I've never been a big fan of comics (although I do love the tag line "They Watch Men").
As a tennis fanatic I couldn't let this week go by without paying tribute to bad boy Marat Safin, who retired last week after two grand slams and a myriad of broken rackets. Above you can see Marat at his most playful, in an outtake from a tennis documentary.
gayamericanheroes.info is creating The Rainbow Memorial, "a national, traveling memorial to celebrate the lives of GLBT persons who have been murdered because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity."
Above you can see a bit from The Jimmy Fallon Show that has Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue ... um, going rogue and doing something dastardly to our favorite lesbian news show host. (Yes, I realize the irony of posting this clip right after the post about the Rainbow Memorial)
Happy Birthday to Christian Siriano, who turns twenty-four today, and Happy Belated Birthday to RuPaul, who turned forty-nine yesterday.
Yeah, periodically minority comics creators get the idea that the way to fame and fortune is to fill a perceived empty niche by creating a gimmick superhero team composed of members of their minority, or a solo superhero whose entire existence is built around that minority concept (Moses Man!)
It's pretty much always self-published, or by some micro-publisher, to a vanishing towards zero market. I wouldn't view it as a reason not to like comics, any more than a cheesy web series would be a reason to dislike television.
I find the comments about Spandex rather harsh, if not stupid.
I don't think any gay comics creator does it for money, because there's about no money to be made in this (look at the Boy Meets Hero creators, they had one book published, and then they went back to web publishing). And this particular creator has been doing his own self-published comic for years, so he obviously knows what he's doing.
I've read that first issue of Spandex. It's not Great Literature, but it's fun, with a solid plot. Just like good mainstream super-hero comics.
I reviewed all the comments, and no one claimed he was in it for the money. For that matter, I don't think there's anything wrong with creating entertainment for money.
Well then, maybe the word "fortune" doesn't mean what I think it means in "periodically minority comics creators get the idea that the way to fame and fortune...".
And I never said there was anything wrong with creating entertainment for money. I only said it's very hard (and getting harder) to make money by creating niche/minority comics.
Hey! It's nice to see indie queer comics getting some love on AfterElton. We gay comic lovers and creators need all the support we can get. So bravo for Martin.
But I think it would help your readers to know that this comic isn't actually the "first" all-gay superhero team, although it might just be the most fabulous. Nor is it the first gay comic featuring gay superheroes. There's a nice article on the same site provided above giving some history to indie gay comics and mainstream gay superheroes:
Also, a super radical place to find more gay comics is on the LGBT comic site Prism Comics, www.prismcomics.org. They have a great library of queer comics.
And in the name of self-promotion you can always check out my line of gay themed superhero comics at www.sosuperduper.com. They're fun, cute, and groovy.
Long live gay comics! Martin, and all indie comic creators, don't make comics for money or fame. We do it because we love it. We have stories to tell and we want to share these stories with the world. I say good for you, Martin! Many happy returns!
My word, I never understand the vitriol espoused on these forums. He's a nice guy doing something he loves. He's made lots of other work (The O Men) and wanted to do something different. People in Brighton seem to like it - why the hate people? Why don't you make something instead? It's fun.
If you're going to create ham-fisted humor like an all-gay team with Mr. Muscles and Butch, a "male Dazzler" named Glitter, and The Man With the Golden Bum and have them fight "Pussy and the Pink Ninjas," you should expect it to not be to everyone's taste.
I guess there's a market for humor that involves throwing every possible cliche and stereotype in turned to 11, but expect everyone to like it is foolish.
And fans of it trying to browbeat people into liking it isn't really an marketing strategy.
I don't think it's supposed to appeal to usual DC or Marvel comic-book readers, Dave. It's an amateur comic-book writer in Brighton who's using the comic-book genre to explore gay/lesbian/trans issues.
I'm not being critical here, but I wouldn't expect you to get the jokes. You'd have to know why the idea of a 50-foot lesbian attacking Brighton (a tremendously gay seaside town in the UK) is incredibly funny. You'd need that knowledge before you laughed - and quite understandably you don't know Brighton.
The creator of the series seems only to have meant it to be a comment on British gay life and I don't really understand why it's gone global as a story. You're entirely right to be a bit 'meh' about it. I get the jokes and enjoy them, but I'm dumbfounded why anyone outside the British Isles should get them.
It's like Carry On films. Very few people in the US understood them, but they're a national institution in the UK that still make people laugh out loud. It's just a different country thing. I find Spandex funny and interesting, but I'd be surprised if anyone outside my country did.
Sometimes humour and philosophies travel, sometimes they don't. In this case, it hasn't - and there's no way in hell I'd be critical of you because of it. But Spandex makes me laugh and I'm glad it adds a bit of laughter and thought to my local life.
Thanks so much to the guys that are being positive about the comic.
To the ones who are being negative and cynical, you should maybe read the comic before you form your opinion. And I'm not writing these Spandex features myself!
Spandex is a crazy soap opera and it's meant to be a lot of fun, something with a lot of twists and turns. There's a lot more to it than stereotypes and cliches (which is just the surface of it - it's just tongue in cheek). Shall I just do another superhero comic? Or shall I do something with a cool hook to it? Do you want to be surprised or do you just want to buy another yawnfest of a 'Final Crisis tie-in' comic?
I'm just an amateur artist who likes making comics and for some reason the global media has picked up on it. I wish they'd picked up on my O Men comic before, cos I loved that to bits!
I'm not in it for the money - I wish! I'm doing it because there's nothing else out there like it at the moment and because I'm going to be doing storylines that you will not believe and show you stuff that has not been shown in comisc before.
Spandex is just there to put a smile on people's faces - and in many cases it has. It's just a shame I can't seem to turn all those grumpy old frowns upside down ;-(
Ugh...
It is not the first
Boy Meets Hero has been around for years and it great!! http://www.boymeetshero.com/
Minority Gimmick Comics
Yeah, periodically minority comics creators get the idea that the way to fame and fortune is to fill a perceived empty niche by creating a gimmick superhero team composed of members of their minority, or a solo superhero whose entire existence is built around that minority concept (Moses Man!)
It's pretty much always self-published, or by some micro-publisher, to a vanishing towards zero market. I wouldn't view it as a reason not to like comics, any more than a cheesy web series would be a reason to dislike television.
Wolf Boy
This one showcases his naughty body a little better. And his "this guy" thumbs. ;Þ
I find the comments about
I find the comments about Spandex rather harsh, if not stupid.
I don't think any gay comics creator does it for money, because there's about no money to be made in this (look at the Boy Meets Hero creators, they had one book published, and then they went back to web publishing). And this particular creator has been doing his own self-published comic for years, so he obviously knows what he's doing.
I've read that first issue of Spandex. It's not Great Literature, but it's fun, with a solid plot. Just like good mainstream super-hero comics.
François
---------------
http://gaycomicslist.free.fr
Comics For the Money
Well then, maybe the word
Well then, maybe the word "fortune" doesn't mean what I think it means in "periodically minority comics creators get the idea that the way to fame and fortune...".
And I never said there was anything wrong with creating entertainment for money. I only said it's very hard (and getting harder) to make money by creating niche/minority comics.
François
---------------
http://gaycomicslist.free.fr
Ahaha!
Gay Superheroes
Hey! It's nice to see indie queer comics getting some love on AfterElton. We gay comic lovers and creators need all the support we can get. So bravo for Martin.
But I think it would help your readers to know that this comic isn't actually the "first" all-gay superhero team, although it might just be the most fabulous. Nor is it the first gay comic featuring gay superheroes. There's a nice article on the same site provided above giving some history to indie gay comics and mainstream gay superheroes:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/11/18/yet-another-first-gay-superhero/
Also, a super radical place to find more gay comics is on the LGBT comic site Prism Comics, www.prismcomics.org. They have a great library of queer comics.
And in the name of self-promotion you can always check out my line of gay themed superhero comics at www.sosuperduper.com. They're fun, cute, and groovy.
Long live gay comics! Martin, and all indie comic creators, don't make comics for money or fame. We do it because we love it. We have stories to tell and we want to share these stories with the world. I say good for you, Martin! Many happy returns!
comics can make you smile :)
If you're going to create
If you're going to create ham-fisted humor like an all-gay team with Mr. Muscles and Butch, a "male Dazzler" named Glitter, and The Man With the Golden Bum and have them fight "Pussy and the Pink Ninjas," you should expect it to not be to everyone's taste.
I guess there's a market for humor that involves throwing every possible cliche and stereotype in turned to 11, but expect everyone to like it is foolish.
And fans of it trying to browbeat people into liking it isn't really an marketing strategy.
It's funny
I don't think it's supposed to appeal to usual DC or Marvel comic-book readers, Dave. It's an amateur comic-book writer in Brighton who's using the comic-book genre to explore gay/lesbian/trans issues.
I'm not being critical here, but I wouldn't expect you to get the jokes. You'd have to know why the idea of a 50-foot lesbian attacking Brighton (a tremendously gay seaside town in the UK) is incredibly funny. You'd need that knowledge before you laughed - and quite understandably you don't know Brighton.
The creator of the series seems only to have meant it to be a comment on British gay life and I don't really understand why it's gone global as a story. You're entirely right to be a bit 'meh' about it. I get the jokes and enjoy them, but I'm dumbfounded why anyone outside the British Isles should get them.
It's like Carry On films. Very few people in the US understood them, but they're a national institution in the UK that still make people laugh out loud. It's just a different country thing. I find Spandex funny and interesting, but I'd be surprised if anyone outside my country did.
Sometimes humour and philosophies travel, sometimes they don't. In this case, it hasn't - and there's no way in hell I'd be critical of you because of it. But Spandex makes me laugh and I'm glad it adds a bit of laughter and thought to my local life.
Why so serious?
Thanks so much to the guys that are being positive about the comic.
To the ones who are being negative and cynical, you should maybe read the comic before you form your opinion. And I'm not writing these Spandex features myself!
Spandex is a crazy soap opera and it's meant to be a lot of fun, something with a lot of twists and turns. There's a lot more to it than stereotypes and cliches (which is just the surface of it - it's just tongue in cheek). Shall I just do another superhero comic? Or shall I do something with a cool hook to it? Do you want to be surprised or do you just want to buy another yawnfest of a 'Final Crisis tie-in' comic?
I'm just an amateur artist who likes making comics and for some reason the global media has picked up on it. I wish they'd picked up on my O Men comic before, cos I loved that to bits!
I'm not in it for the money - I wish! I'm doing it because there's nothing else out there like it at the moment and because I'm going to be doing storylines that you will not believe and show you stuff that has not been shown in comisc before.
Spandex is just there to put a smile on people's faces - and in many cases it has. It's just a shame I can't seem to turn all those grumpy old frowns upside down ;-(
Martin - Spandex Creator