It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Gay Webcomics!

Community is one of the benefits Sean Seamus McWhinny found in taking his latest work, Diary of a Catering Whore, online. Diary is McWhinny’s third time publishing a mini-comic, but the first comic he’s published online. “I didn't hear feedback from strangers who might have bought [my comics]. On the Web, I hear from all sorts of folks and get so much more exposure… It's when I have a presence at the Alternative Press Expo with hard copies do I actually meet some of the folks who read my strip online. The whole process, then, becomes a little less lonely.”

A panel from Diary of a Catering Whore
© 2008 Sean Seamus McWhinny

Diary is a semi-autobiographical comic about McWhinny’s time working as a server at private parties in the Bay Area. His stories vary from the mundane – running into an ex-boyfriend – to some unusual experiences like working at George Lucas’ birthday party.

Before webcomics, printed mini-comics were the most affordable way to self publish – each was photocopied and assembled at the local copy shop on standard office paper folded in half and stapled by hand. While some comic shops carry mini-comics, they’re primarily sold at comic conventions like the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco, where fans buy directly from the creator.

For McWhinny, the benefits to publishing his comic online are more than economic. “Not being dependent on a big convention and churning out hard copies helps.  My schedule and deadlines are of my own making.”

Gay content isn’t coming just from gay webcomic creators. Gay characters can also be found as part of the cast of other ensemble webcomics. Two strips focusing on geek culture have earned loyalty from gay webcomic readers for their inclusiveness.

One such comic is David Willis’ Shortpacked, which follows the crew at a collectors’ toy store. Trying his best to deal with the peculiarities of his co-workers is Ethan, a former stand-up comedian and Transformers fanatic who has moved on to a retail career. However, several months after Shortpacked’s 2005 debut, Ethan’s co-workers began to question his sexual orientation, eventually leading Ethan to realize he is gay. Since then, it’s become more and more clear that Ethan uses his interest in collectables as an excuse to avoid dealing with the ramifications of his sexuality.

Ethan has finally come to realize this about himself after his slowly developing romance with Thad, a customer and fellow Transformers fan, ended because of Ethan’s issues. The heartbreak was fitting and Ethan remains a prominent character and one whose sexual orientation hasn’t been forgotten since his heartbreak.

A panel from Shortpacked
© 2008 David Willis

Meanwhile, another popular webcomic is The Rack, which follows the staff of a comic shop that includes Rick, whose tastes run to the edgier superhero titles and who often deals with his customers and co-workers’ excesses with a deadpan wit. Rick came out at the beginning of the year and briefly had to deal with his co-workers’ reactions. “It just seemed natural,” explained Rack co-creator Kevin Church. “Rick had been a bit of an enigma for me. His homosexuality is part of his character, just like Lydia's Korean-American upbringing, Aaron's love of crappy variants, and Danny's bookish tendencies.”

Publishing comics to the Web hasn’t just made things easier just for creators; it’s also made things easier for readers seeking gay-inclusive comics. Since comic shops can’t return unsold comics, most retailers are wary of stocking comics they’re not sure will sell. Thus, most comic store shelves are unlikely to have self-published and small press titles for a customer to discover by browsing.