Gay Comics 101

This article was co-written by François Peneaud

Comic books historically have not been particularly friendly to gay characters, especially when considering Marvel and DC, two of the largest and most legendary publishers of superhero comics. With two notable exceptions (a Northstar miniseries over a decade old, which dodged the character's sexuality, and a Rawhide Kid story from early 2003 that was a fun take on an old Western character), both companies have relegated LGBT characters to supporting roles or ensemble cast members.

But last August, Marvel announced a U-turn concerning their use of gay characters, signaling a glimmer of better things to come. In addition, independent comics and even mainstream book publishers are getting into the action, and providing gay comics readers with more nuanced gay characters for their reading pleasure.

Marvel's Don't Ask, Don't Show

In early 2003, Marvel published its first comic featuring an openly gay title character, The Rawhide Kid, which was a revival of a comic originally published in the 1950s. But conservative groups quickly protested the gay take on the character and claimed that children would be corrupted by it.

This past August at Wizard World Chicago, Quesada explicitly reiterated Marvel's policy on gay characters, which was prompted by the conservative protests. Marvel's policy stated that all series emphasizing solo gay characters must carry an "Adults Only" label.

In mid-August of this year, Quesada announced that this unwritten policy was no longer in effect and touted new gay character Freedom Ring as an example. In a Sept. 15, 2006, article in the Washington Blade, Marvel spokesperson Jeff Klein spun the topic by saying that news stories about the “MAX: Explicit Content” warning label had been “taken out of context,” which seems at best disingenuous.

It's not that LGBT characters don't exist at Marvel, but they are a mixed bag. Gay writer Allan Heinberg created the Young Avengers comics about a group of superpowered teens. Two of the Avengers, Wiccan and Hulkling, are boyfriends. Both supportive and homophobic comments were printed in the Young Avengers letters column, and homophobic comments drew rebuttals from both writer and editorial staff. Young Avengers won GLAAD's 2005 Media Award for comics.

Freedom Ring, the character mentioned by Quesada, appeared in his own stories in Marvel Team-Up, a series that ended this month. He's a 20-something guy who comes across a ring that makes his wishes become reality. In his secret identity of Curtis Doyle, he goes on a date with a another man. In his last appearance a month ago, he heedlessly tried to fight a supervillain and was impaled by 28 spikes from the villain's cybernetically controlled body armor. One spike appears to pierce Freedom Ring's groin and buttocks. The treatment of the character over the whole series is often demeaning, marking another missed opportunity to add a well-rounded gay character to Marvel's stable.

Many gay readers were recently shocked to learn that the entry for Rawhide Kid in an encyclopedia-style comic, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe No. 9 (published Sept. 27), fails to mention his homosexuality and even seems to do its best to erase the possibility of it. That being said, in recounting histories, Handbook writers are limited to story content.

Quesada stated in an interview that the incident was unintentional and no offense was intended, and Rawhide Kid is still gay. Quesada has not responded to AfterElton.com's request for comments regarding the general treatment of gay and lesbian characters in Marvel comics.

Other gay characters in the Marvel comics universe include a lesbian couple in Runaways, but until recently, they've made irregular appearances. Also, several X-Men comics have had gay characters, among them Northstar and Colossus.