Eric Bana isn't gay, but we like him anyway
(In Berlin to promote The Other Boleyn Girl)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• The Berlin Film Fest has awarded its gay "Teddy" awards, with The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (about a Filipino "ladyboy" prostitute who fancies himself the Queen of France) taking top prize.

• Michael Musto has found the gayest page in the Manhattan phone book. And yes, I'd listen to Ian McKellen read it aloud.

• AfterElton reader Not_so_Witty tipped us off to EW Online's gay-inclusive list of the best couples in pop culture, which includes Ennis and Jack from Brokeback Mountain as well as superheroes Midnighter and Apollo.

• Jimmy Kimmel has a nice rapport with Lance Bass, no? Well, if his girlfriend is getting up to no good with Matt Damon, I think it's Jimmy's turn to cut loose!

• Be sure to read up on all the latest in Michael's new Best.Gay.Week.Ever. column, and have a beautiful weekend.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

In 1999, the Women in Refrigerators list (also known as "WiR") spurred discussion in superhero comic fandom about the treatment of female characters. Assembled by a group of fans that included Gail Simone — who'd later go on to write superhero comics herself — the list drew reactions from superhero writers and artists and had a lasting effect on readers. The term "Women in Refrigerators" has taken meaning outside of comics as well, like when Television without Pity editors used the term to criticize one season of CSI.

Perry Moore, the author of Hero, takes a similar look at the treatment of gay characters in superhero comics with "Who cares about the death of a gay superhero anyway?", a list of over 70 lesbian and gay characters that was inspired by the 2005 death of Northstar.

Moore notes, "Yes, bad things do happen to all people, gay people included. But are there positive representations of gay characters to counterbalance these negative ones? Who cares about the death of a gay superhero anyway?"

Moore also takes a "by the numbers" approach to gay characters in superhero comics. Here are a few highlights:

• 65 The number of “Ultimate X-Men” issues it took for the hero Colossus finally to come out of the closet, thus alienating teammate Nightcrawler.
• Ages 4-10 The age-correlated sizes in which Wolverine Deluxe Child Costume is available for children for Halloween. Available with muscle torso, jumpsuit, boots, mask, and pair of claws. Northstar costume not available for impaling.
• ZERO. Number of straight X-Men that the most popular X-Man, Wolverine, has killed.
• ONE. Number of gay X-Men that the most popular X-Man, Wolverine, has killed:
• ZERO. Number of boyfriends Northstar has had since his coming out in 1992.
• TWO. Number of times Apollo has been the victim of male bondage and rape.

I'm definitely curious to what trends others see in the list Moore has assembled. For our superhero comic readers, I'm also curious to hear your overall perspective on what it's like to be a gay comics fan and how you react to (positive and negative) developments with gay characters.

Do you feel accepted by the major publishers as a part of the superhero audience? Do you watch for z-list characters who are gay or find hints at minor characters' orientation? When you see a positive development, do you worry that it will be undone?

Comic news site Comic Book Resources, is attempting an overview of LGBT characters and themes in comics, including comments from queer writers and writers who've handled gay characters. Overall, it's a pretty thorough overview of the topics LGBT comic fans have discussed and the stories they've followed.

Even if you've followed discussions on the topic before (like our article from last fall), comments from talent like Devin Greyson (Nightwing) and Alan Moore (V for Vendetta) are worth a reread. Moore has an especially insightful moment when he notes that:

No one would say that the majority of superhero characters should be constantly dealing with the fact that they're white, or the fact that they're heterosexual, or the fact that they're men, but because the white heterosexual man is the norm, I suppose a lot of the white heterosexual men who are publishing these comics kind of think that everybody else is in terrible conflict, because they're not white heterosexual men. They don't seem to be able to imagine gay people being on the same planet as everybody else. That they are on some special gay planet, and they're not a part of mainstream society, which is clearly rubbish.

Since its debut is coming right up, I've been thinking a bit about Who Wants to Be a Superhero.

Its first season managed to be pretty inclusive (despite the gay contestant, Levity, getting booted in the first episode) and this season Parthenon is an openly gay hero. In reality TV, one can be a superhero who happens to be gay, but in print, gay characters still have a long way to go.

Be sure to check back next week for our coverage in the leadup to Who Wants to Be a Superhero's second-season premiere.