Comic Book Nerds: Gay Green Lantern. :o)
DietingMommy08
Posts: 1,345 Member
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/green-lantern-relaunched-brave-mighty-gay-070052544.html
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Green Lantern, one of DC Comics' oldest and most enduring heroes, is serving as a beacon for the publisher again, this time as a proud, mighty and openly gay hero.
The change is revealed in the pages of the second issue of "Earth 2" out next week, and comes on the heels of what has been an expansive year for gay and lesbian characters in the pages of comic books from Archie to Marvel and others.
But purists and fans note: This Green Lantern is not the emerald galactic space cop Hal Jordan who was, and is, part of the Justice League and has had a history rich in triumph and tragedy.
Instead, he's a parallel earth Green Lantern. James Robinson, who writes the new series, said Alan Scott is the retooled version of the classic Lantern whose first appearance came in the pages of "All-American Comics" No. 16 in July 1940.
And his being gay is not part of some wider story line meant to be exploited or undone down the road, either.
"This was my idea," Robinson explained this week, noting that before DC relaunched all its titles last summer, Alan Scott had a son who was gay.
But given "Earth 2" features retooled and rebooted characters, Scott is not old enough to have a grown son.
"By making him younger, that son was not going to exist anymore," Robinson said.
"He doesn't come out. He's gay when we see him in issue two," which is due out Wednesday. "He's fearless and he's honest to the point where he realized he was gay and he said 'I'm gay.'"
It's another example of gay and lesbian characters taking more prominent roles in the medium.
In May, Marvel Entertainment said super speedster Northstar will marry his longtime boyfriend in the pages of "Astonishing X-Men." DC comics has other gay characters, too, including Kate Kane, the current Batwoman, The Question, and married characters Apollo and the Midnighter.
And in the pages of Archie Comics, Kevin Keller is one of the gang at Riverdale High School and gay, too.
DC has been a leader in incorporating gay characters into its comics — they had one of the first male gay kisses back in 1988.
Since then, numerous comic book heroes and villains have been written as gay, lesbian or transgender — from Batwoman to Hulkling and Wiccan in the pages of "Young Avengers."
Green Lantern would be the highest-profile openly gay hero — even the parallel earth version.
"It was just meant to be — Alan Scott being a gay member of the team, the Justice Society, that I'll be forming in the pages of 'Earth 2,'" Robinson said. "He's just meant to be part of this big tapestry of characters."
Some groups have protested the inclusion of gay characters, but Robinson isn't discouraged, noting that being gay is just one aspect to Scott.
"This guy, he's a media mogul, a hero, a dynamic type-A personality and he's gay," Robinson said. "He's a complex character."
___
DC Comics is owned by Time Warner Inc.; Marvel is a unit of The Walt Disney Co.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Green Lantern, one of DC Comics' oldest and most enduring heroes, is serving as a beacon for the publisher again, this time as a proud, mighty and openly gay hero.
The change is revealed in the pages of the second issue of "Earth 2" out next week, and comes on the heels of what has been an expansive year for gay and lesbian characters in the pages of comic books from Archie to Marvel and others.
But purists and fans note: This Green Lantern is not the emerald galactic space cop Hal Jordan who was, and is, part of the Justice League and has had a history rich in triumph and tragedy.
Instead, he's a parallel earth Green Lantern. James Robinson, who writes the new series, said Alan Scott is the retooled version of the classic Lantern whose first appearance came in the pages of "All-American Comics" No. 16 in July 1940.
And his being gay is not part of some wider story line meant to be exploited or undone down the road, either.
"This was my idea," Robinson explained this week, noting that before DC relaunched all its titles last summer, Alan Scott had a son who was gay.
But given "Earth 2" features retooled and rebooted characters, Scott is not old enough to have a grown son.
"By making him younger, that son was not going to exist anymore," Robinson said.
"He doesn't come out. He's gay when we see him in issue two," which is due out Wednesday. "He's fearless and he's honest to the point where he realized he was gay and he said 'I'm gay.'"
It's another example of gay and lesbian characters taking more prominent roles in the medium.
In May, Marvel Entertainment said super speedster Northstar will marry his longtime boyfriend in the pages of "Astonishing X-Men." DC comics has other gay characters, too, including Kate Kane, the current Batwoman, The Question, and married characters Apollo and the Midnighter.
And in the pages of Archie Comics, Kevin Keller is one of the gang at Riverdale High School and gay, too.
DC has been a leader in incorporating gay characters into its comics — they had one of the first male gay kisses back in 1988.
Since then, numerous comic book heroes and villains have been written as gay, lesbian or transgender — from Batwoman to Hulkling and Wiccan in the pages of "Young Avengers."
Green Lantern would be the highest-profile openly gay hero — even the parallel earth version.
"It was just meant to be — Alan Scott being a gay member of the team, the Justice Society, that I'll be forming in the pages of 'Earth 2,'" Robinson said. "He's just meant to be part of this big tapestry of characters."
Some groups have protested the inclusion of gay characters, but Robinson isn't discouraged, noting that being gay is just one aspect to Scott.
"This guy, he's a media mogul, a hero, a dynamic type-A personality and he's gay," Robinson said. "He's a complex character."
___
DC Comics is owned by Time Warner Inc.; Marvel is a unit of The Walt Disney Co.
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Replies
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As A long time comic book geek I am glad to see more heroes "outed". My favorite to date is still Batwoman because who doesn't love a hot redhead in black tights??0
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Who doesn't!!!
Isn't Batgirl either a lesbian or bi?0 -
Not sure about Batgirl but Batwoman is definately all about the ladies
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YES she is, and btw the new run that started at the end of last year is GORGEOUS.0
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Batgirl, sadly is straight. And Air- I'm a Marvel Guy, but I started getting into DC with the relaunch. Sadly, I haven't been able to dig Batwoman, and I really wanted to! The art is AMAZING, but the story hasn't done it for me...0
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Woohoo - Just downloaded first three comic for my iPad. I am looking forward to reading them. Zoom.0
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Its cool and all, but my understanding that is it's an 'alternative universe' story arch, so it depreciates the value that a gay character can't be a main story-arch? I mean I'm sure it's great writing and a good direction to have comic book characters that relate to everyone, don't get me wrong.0
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Big comic book fan here, in fact I write and self publish my own comic (tarochcomic.com). Mainly a Marvel fan (Magik is my girl) but DC is getting more and more interesting these days. Love anything written by Gail Simone, Secret Six, birds of Prey and Batgirl)0
