The next issue of The Advocate celebrates the publication's 40 year history with a cover story in which the mag ranks 40 gay and lesbian icons. Its called "40 Years, 40 Heroes," and we won't spoil the surprise here by telling you who ranks number one. But if you really want to know, after the break we'll offer you two clues.

At any rate, it's a great piece though and we're glad to see included in this list of icons the likes of Pedro Zamora, Mark Bingham, Sir Ian McKellen, and Armistead Maupin.

Interesting to compare the 40 heroes selected by The Advocate to the 31 GLBT icons selected for "National GLBT History Month." The Advocate seems to have picked individuals who may be less well known outside of the gay community (Tony Gill, Randy Shilts, Bayard Rustin) but who are incontrovertibly gay or lesbian.

The issue hits stands soon, or check out after the jump for a few hints about who took the top spot.