IF COMIC STRIPS WERE DRAWN BEFORE A STUDIO AUDIENCE THIS IS WHEN YOU'D HEAR THEM GO 'AWWWWW':
The Concord Monitor recently ran a delightful little autobiographical comic strip by Clay McCuistion about his civil union to his partner, Max. (You can check it out as a JPEG or as a PDF file), "How We Got Gay Married". McCuistion's strip is so mundane, it's adorable.

A panel from "How We Got Gay Married"

Yeah, it did get the expected grumpy readers writing:

One woman said she didn't want to be confronted with "this garbage" and said she would canceled her newspaper subscription. Another said that the cartoon format seemed intended for children - but that the subject matter was inappropriate for kids. A third caller said he had no trouble with gay people but didn't want the issue of civil unions "pushed on me" by his morning newspaper. In a letter to the editor, the minister of a local church accused the newspaper of promoting "sodomy."

I should be a little bothered about the anti-gay crowd getting worked up (or the racist anonymous comment at the end of the article) but McCuistion's comic has me in too happy a mood.

WHEN THINGS ARE BETTER BEHIND THE SCENES:
Gay advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign recently released its 2009 Corporate Equity Index and gaming sites were quick to note that three gaming companies recieved a prefect score -- Microsoft, EA and GameStop. The HRC says their index measures anti-descrimination policies.

However, as comment threads at sites like GayGamer have noted, how does the way a company treat its LGBT employees match up with how they treat their LGBT customers? Microsoft still has gay gamers frustrated with their banning of "gay" as an X-Box Live gamertag, as well as the declaration that identifying yourself as gay is "inappropriate sexual innuendo".

Where do you find the balance? Does seeing Microsoft's employment practices make up at all for any frustration their X-Box Live policies may have created?

METAPHORICALLY, SHE'S STILL WEARING THOSE SATIN TIGHTS:
When she first hit the national radar, pop culture fans were quick to notice the resemblance Gov. Sarah Palin held to a number of celebrities, including TV Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter. Some people have also called Palin a Wonder Woman and it turns out the still-fabulous gay geek icon had a few words to say about that comparison:

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman

Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about... Doesn’t mean that I’m godless. Doesn’t mean that I am a murderer. What I hate is this demonization of everybody but one position. You’re un-American because you’re against the war. It’s such bullshit. Fear. It’s really such a finite way of thinking about God to think that your measley little mind can know the mind of God. It’s a very little God that way. I think that God’s bigger. I don’t presume to know his mind. Or her mind.

Let me join Dorthy Snarker in swooning... though, I guess we're swooning for different reasons.

And going on a nerd tangent, am I the only one who sees those signs calling Palin "Superwoman" and gets nostalgic for time-traveling superhero historian Kristen Wells? Yeah, I figured it was just me. Y'know I don't think Marvel would let a trademark like that laspe...

Sigh, not that Superwoman...

Speaking of the Amazon Princess, MTV's Splash Page blog asked if we'll ever see a Wonder Woman movie.

Sadly, it sounds like we're as likely to see Emma Peel return to the big screen just as soon as we see Diana, with producers Leonard Goldberg and Joel Silver lamenting a lack of good ideas, even when Joss Whedon was attached to the project. That seems a shame, considering Wonder Woman's iconic nature... is there another superhero who appears on so much merchandise without appearing on the big or small screen?

AFTER THE BREAK: Best. Rock Band addition ever and nostalgia for the adventure game

• It's still too late for Wonder Woman, however:
  With all the grim news about the Writers' Strike, comic fans have a silver lining to hope for -- TV writers who dabbled in comics (only to leave their stories running late) might now have the time to return to those projects (reported in a variety of spots including Lying in the Gutters). Hey, if that means Allan Heinberg returns to Young Avengers (home to two of the coolest gay superheroes you haven't heard of), I could momentarily stop missing my Heroes.
  
  
• A new mayor in Paragon City:
  NC Soft buys out City of Heroes, taking most of the game's staff with it. (Jack "Statesman" Emmert isn't part of the transition. Judging from some of the comments he made on the game boards, I'm not sure if I'll miss him.) Considering how NC Soft has been incredibly supportive to the game's community of gaymers, I think CoH will hold onto its reputation as one of the most gay-friendly MMORPG games.
  
  
• Fighting evil by disco ball light, Winning love by disco ball light:
  The Absorbascon turns a snarky eye to Dazzler, one of the Marvel universe's most fabulous heroines. (That wimpy Jem wishes she were half as cool as Alison Blaire.) I loved Dazzler back in her day. I mean:

She fought supervillains wearing mirrored roller skates, with face paint make up while also carrying around a shiny little purse. Also:
She knew the secret to make-up that doesn't smudge easily. Too bad she didn't think of selling that secret... and don't get me started on how her bit of Marvel superhero family angst (™) was her search for her long-lost mother.

• Who wants to be a Fable?:
  Lionhead Studio is conducting a charity auction to become a supporting character in their upcoming game Fable 2. Will that make you one of the many characters your protagonist will be able to romance and marry?
  
  

• Link of the week:
  There's a new gay geek blog in town: enter DoorQ.com, which is chock full of reviews, news and previews. Now if I could get the webmasters to give me an RSS feed for Christmas, everything would be peachy.
  
  

• Sadly, Question Four no longer cares:
  If you were a gaymer in the late 90s, you probably remember You Don't Know Jack, which was like having a game show on your computer. Jack came with a snarky host who'd insult your wrong answers as well as memorable bumpers preceding each question -- like the saccharine jingle that announced Question Four as "The Question that cares".
  The game faded after a brief moment of near-ubiquity, but a new web version of You Don't Know Jack is here. A new "Dis or Dat" round debuts every day. See if you can identify the openly gay celebrities in "It's fun to stay at the I-R-A-N" or separate the insults Donald Trump threw at Rosie O'Donnell from ones Hugo Chavez made about the President in "Everything's Not Rosie".


• There are some obvious, bawdy puns I'm resisting, right now::
  Out comic artist J. Bone has posted the Batman and Robin parody he did for the superhero romance anthology comic Love in Tights, "Fruit-Bat and Swallow: All that Glitters" I've been a fan of Bone's work since I first saw an Elasti-Girl sketch he did, but I admit I was a tad annoyed that the first gay-themed story in Love in Tights was so full of sexual innuendos.


• Yes, I am that much of a nerd:
  Ever dream of working the reference desk at the library? Then check out "I'll Get It", a game where you have to help library patrons help find the answer to their questions. You mean it's just me?


• Building blocks of geekery:
  Over at AfterEllen.com, our sister site, nogal4u takes a look at the fun world of customized Lego figures. Be sure to check out the hilarious clip Monty Python and The Holy Grail re-made with Lego. Because I am a total nerd, Lego always makes me think of how I learned the phrase"man hours" at a traveling exhibit of Lego sculptures at a major department store.







• Link of the Week:
  Since one of my favorite comics makes its anime debut on Adult Swim this weekend, (please be good, please be good) check out some Death Note 'shipper comics. I have to admit the idea of Near having a snuggle pillow with L's image printed on it is as cute as it is creepy.

• AKA Johnny Everythinghands
  GayGamer first brought my attention to Eternity's Child, a game that initially reminds me of Okami done with Western art, which will have a gay character. Now they've got more information on the game's gay character, who can replace his hands with various devices. He definitely has the potential to be very interesting (or, if not done just right, offensive). More reason for me to be wishing for a Wii. Check out the graphics below...
  

• Show your pride, Paragon City!
  Hey City of Heroes players! Celebrate your pride with City of Gaymers' "Out and Proud '07" dance on the Victory server on Thursday. The event celebrates National Coming Out Day and will meet under the statue of Atlas in Atlas Park at 6PM PDT. How come no one ever parties at the base of Galaxy Girl's statue? (Thanks to Knightengale for the tip!) Now, to figure out which of my various Victory alts to bring...
  
  
• The post-apocalyptic barren wasteland needs you!
  Speaking of gay friendly games, Fallout is having a tenth anniversary contest, asking for players to design a perk to be included in the upcoming Fallout 3.
  
  
• Street fair comic con
  If any Bay Area residents are planning to attend this weekend's Castro Street Fair, stop by the new Castro Street comic shop (how long has it been since I've walked past the Tully's?) Whatever... where Bay Area comic creators will be signing comics all day. Finding gay creators whose work you enjoy and supporting them is one positive way to help gay representation in comics.
  
  
• Gay site of the Week!
  If you can't wait until Sunday to get your hands on some positive gay superheroes, check out Boy Meets Hero, a webcomic that combines classic superhero action with a steamy same-sex romance.
  
  I love creator Chayne Avery's visual style, which mixes so nicely with Russell Garcia's coloring.
  
  

Come on, admit it. You know you think you're funnier than everyone else, right? Heck, I bet you're dying for a crack at writing the BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! (Well, forget it! That baby is mine!). But thanks to Logo (AfterElton.com's parent company) and the creators of Rick & Steve you've now got your chance to create your very own comic and show the whole world just how freakin' hilarious you are! Just visit their site, create your own comic, then pop back over and upload it for all of us to judge harshly enjoy! I'll even go first!

Yeah, yeah — Charles Schulz just rolled over in his grave! So come on! Show me you can do better! If there is a really good one by Thursday evening, I'll post it in my BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! column and you'll be famous! Or something.