Gay Comics 101

DC's Gay Quota

Earlier this year, Dan DiDio, Quesada's counterpart at DC Comics, hinted at two upcoming gay-oriented events that are part of DC's attempts to improve diversity in their comics. The first involved Midnighter who is featured with his lover, Apollo, in The Authority; the two are gay analogs to Batman and Superman. In November, Midnighter will become DC's first comic with a solo gay lead, but the writer has stated that his relationship will take a definite back seat. In other words, more violence, not so much gay mushy stuff.

In May 2006, DC announced its plans for a new Batwoman. A minor character who has been unseen since 1979, she returned in July as a lesbian, with editorial intention to make her a more prominent character. Conservative groups took issue with DC's plans, as they had several years before with the publisher's positive portrayal of Terry Berg, a gay cast member of a Green Lantern series. Their objections were simply ignored by DiDio.

Currently DC has several comics with gay or lesbian content. Holly Robinson has been Catwoman's right hand in protecting the down-and-out of Gotham's East End. Robinson's girlfriend, Karon, is cautiously supportive of her activities, especially when Robinson dons the costume after the original Catwoman retires. Holly Robinson is arguably DC's first lesbian lead.

In Manhunter, lawyer Damon Mathews, a secondary character, once hit on a burly Hawkman; more recently he has dated a superhero, Obsidian. Gay writer Marc Andreyko even wrote a post-coital scene for the pair.

Gay marriage and the unconfirmed sexuality of central character Mitchell Hundred have been two of the themes explored in Ex Machina, a story about a fictional New York mayor after 9/11. Ex Machina is as intelligent and realistic as comics can be within the superhero genre.

In Gotham Central, Detective Renée Montoya was outed as a lesbian, and her relationship with her girlfriend, Daria, was featured until her detective partner was murdered. Fueled by alcohol, her anger caused her to resign her position and destroyed her relationship. Montoya became a central character in 52, the comic that debuted Batwoman. A stormy relationship from their mutual past colors their current association.

DC Comics' mature readers imprint, Vertigo, also has some gay and lesbian characters. Gender and sexuality, among other things, are handled engagingly in Y:The Last Man, a post-apocalyptic world where every man except Yorick Brown dies. Dr. Alison Mann, one of the tightly knit band trying to unravel Yorick's secret of survival, has had a couple of lesbian encounters, and a special highlighting her coming-out during her college years.

In the recently concluded series Lucifer, written by Mike Carey, a lesbian relationship was funnily and tenderly used to give a finger to the sanctimonious angels, while an earlier gay-bashing conducted by a closeted character was handled in a very mature and non-Manichaean way.

Ratings: What Are They Good For?

Each company has a rating system somewhat analogous to the one used for movies. X-Men, Young Avengers and Runaways are given a PG equivalent, while only Marvel Team-Up is rated G. A few DC titles are rated G with a seal of approval, while a majority carry no label. Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man are for mature readers.

Same-sex couples kiss in titles from both publishers, but intimate scenes, both sexual and nonsexual, have appeared only in DC titles in the past few years. Marvel's G-rated comic hasn't shown physical affection, and it remains unexplained why Marvel has not used the “Adults Only” label to its advantage.

Writers such as Andreyko and Heinberg raise the standard for writing gay characters. Diversity also comes from gay-friendly writers like Brian Vaughn (Runaways, Y, Ex Machina) and Greg Rucka (Gotham Central, 52). Their works make up for badly conceived ideas and poor writing that can smack of tokenism.