LGBT themes in comics
Encyclopedia
LGBT themes in comics are a relatively new concept, as lesbian
, gay
, bisexual
, and transgender
(LGBT
) themes and characters
were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic book
s and their comic strip
predecessors, due to either censorship
or the perception that comics were for children. With any mention of homosexuality
in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority
(CCA) until 1989, earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext
regarding a character's sexual orientation. LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix
from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.
Since the 1990s LGBT themes have become more common in mainstream US comics, including in a number of titles in which a gay character is the star. European comics have been more inclusive from an earlier date. The lack of censorship, and greater acceptance of comics as a medium of adult entertainment led to less controversy about the representation of LGBT characters. The popular Japanese manga
tradition has included genres of girls' comics that feature homosexual relationships since the 1970s, in the form of yaoi
and yuri. These works are often extremely romantic and idealized, and include archetypal characters that often do not identify as gay or lesbian. Since the Japanese "gay boom" of the 1990s, a body of manga by queer creators aimed at LGBT customers has been established, including both bara
manga for gay men and yuri aimed at lesbians, which often have more realistic and autobiographical themes. Pornographic manga
also often includes sexualised depictions of lesbians and intersex
people. Queer theorist
s have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are usually shown as assimilated into heterosexual
society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is emphasized.
Comic strip
s have also dealt in subtext and innuendo, their wide distribution in newspapers limiting their inclusion of controversial material. The first openly gay characters appeared in prominent strips in the late 1970s; representation of LGBT issues in these titles causes vociferous reaction, both praise and condemnation, to the present day. Comic strips aimed at LGBT audiences are also syndicated in gay- and lesbian-targeted magazines and comics have been created to educate people about LGBT-related issues and to influence real-world politics, with their format and distribution allowing them to transmit messages more subtle, complex, and positive than typical education material. Portrayal of LGBT themes in comics is recognized by several notable awards, including the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
and GLAAD Media Awards
for outstanding comic book and comic strip.
Early comic strips also avoided overt treatment of gay issues, though examples of homosexual subtext have been identified. The 1938–1939 edition of Milton Caniff
's Terry and the Pirates
features a primary villain, Sanjak, who has been interpreted by some as a lesbian with designs on the hero's girlfriend.
The first widely distributed comic strip to tackle LGBT themes and include a gay character was Garry Trudeau
's Doonesbury
. The strip introduced the character Andy Lippincott
in 1976, and his diagnosis with HIV
in 1989 and AIDS
related death in 1991 was the first representation of this issue in comic strips. This storyline led to a Pulitzer Prize
nomination for Trudeau, but three newspapers of the 900 carrying the strip refused to publish it as being in bad taste. Two years later, the long-standing character Mark Slackmeyer
was revealed to be gay, continuing a reputation for controversial content. Slackmeyer, a liberal, continues to feature in the strip, with focus on his relationship with his politically conservative partner, Chase, including their marriage in 1999 and separation in 2007
The 11 July 1984 installment of “Bloom County” had the strip's main characters staying at Bob & Ernie’s Castro Street Hotel, run by a gay S&M couple.
When Lynn Johnston
's For Better or For Worse
explored the coming out of a teenaged character in 1993, it provoked a vigorous reaction from conservative groups. Readers opposed to homosexuality threatened to cancel newspaper subscriptions, and Johnston received hate mail and death threats towards herself and her family. Over 100 newspapers ran replacement strips or canceled the comic. One result of the storyline was that Johnston was made a jury-selected "nominated finalist" for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
in 1994. The Pulitzer board said the strip "sensitively depicted a youth's disclosure of his homosexuality and its effect on his family and friends." Subsequent appearances of the character have not focused on his sexuality, and the creator has said that this will continue.
In most widely circulated strips, LGBT characters remained as supporting figures into the 21st century, with some, including Candorville
and The Boondocks, featuring occasional appearances by gay characters. The conservative strip Mallard Fillmore
occasionally approached gay issues from a critical perspective; these storylines have been described as "insulting" to LGBT people. Many openly gay and lesbian comic creators self-publish their work online as webcomics, giving them greater editorial freedom, and some of the strips are printed in collections. One example is Greg Fox
's Kyle's Bed & Breakfast
, a series focusing on a group of gay friends who live together and face realistic problems associated with their sexualities, including relationship troubles and being closeted.
Since the late 1980s specifically gay publications have also included comic strips, in which LGBT themes are ubiquitous. Local LGBT newspapers sometimes carry their own strips, like Ron Williams's Quarter Scenes in the New Orleans paper Impact. Strips including Wendel by Howard Cruse, and Leonard and Larry by Tim Barela
, have been syndicated in national gay magazines like the Advocate.
Heavy Metal
is a US-produced comic-stip magazine inspired by the French Métal Hurlant
, with early issues being made up of direct translations from the French original. In Métal Hurlant science fiction and fantasy themed erotica often touches upon issues of sexuality. Much of the work of Frank Margerin
was first published in Métal Hurlant before being collected in anthologies. Margarin's most famous strips follow the lives of working class heterosexual men centred around the character of "suburban rocker" Lucien, and occasionally feature LGBT themes that show the characters' assumptions of stereotypes. In Votez Rocky, the characters dress as the Village People
and when a stereotypically gay character tries to chat-up Lucien in Le Retour (1993), he remains oblivious to the attempt. These occurrences have been noted to be about reaffirming their masculinity by comparison with non-masculine gay stereotypes, rather than depictions of homophobia
. The relationship between social class and sexual orientation is also explored when a character is arrested by vice police in a park along with a number of gay couples and is humiliated by the police officers homophobic insults. In Comme s'il en Pleuvait (2001), the same character finds that the assumption that he is gay, due to a close male friendship, is to his benefit when in fashionable literary groups, where he is seen as more interesting and trendy.
One of the best known and longest-running LGBT comic strips, Dykes to Watch Out For
, was written by Alison Bechdel
– dubbed the "elder stateswomen of LGBT comics" – from 1983 to 2008. Dykes to Watch Out For is known for its social and political commentary and depictions of characters from all walks of life. Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
was lauded by many media outlets as among the best books of the year.
or alternative comics
, often published by small independent presses, or self-published. Such comics frequently advocated political positions and included depictions of sex, usually not intended solely to cause arousal but included as part of the exploration of themes including gender and sexuality.
“Captain Pissgums and His Pervert Pirates” by S. Clay Wilson
in “Zap
” #3 (1968) featured explicit sexual homosexual acts, and was instrumental in making other underground cartoonists approach taboo subjects. However gay characters rarely featured underground comics from 1968–1975, and when they did they were usually lisping caricatures and comic transvestites. An instalment of “Harold Hedd” by Rand Holmes
in 1971 stands out for attacking the homophobia of Dr Reuben
’s sex manual “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
”, featuring explicit mutual gay sex acts, and promoting Gay Lib.
Eventually comics appeared aimed at a gay audience: the first documented example of a widely-circulated underground gay comic was Gay Heart Throbs, which produced several issues in the mid-1970s, but struggled to find an audience.
Notable publications included Gay Comix
, which was created in 1980 by Howard Cruse
, featured the work of gay, lesbian, and transsexual artists, and had close ties with the gay liberation movement. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions. Autobiographical themes included falling in love, coming out, repression, and sex. Gay Comix also served as a source for information about non-mainstream LGBT-themed comics and events. Artists producing work for Gay Comix included Mary Wings
, creator of the first one-off lesbian book Come Out Comix (1972) and Dyke Shorts (1976), and Roberta Gregory
, who created Dynamite Damsels (1976) the first lesbian underground serial comic book and the character Bitchy Bitch. Wimmen's Comix
also tackled issues of homosexuality on a regular basis, and the first issue was also the venue for the first ever comic strip featuring an out lesbian, called "Sandy Comes Out", by Trina Robbins
. Excerpts from Gay Comix are included in the 1989 anthology Gay Comics, one of the earliest histories of the subject.
Meatmen: An Anthology of Gay Male Comics and its sequels collect works by a range of artists and cartoonists. The work of "every gay cartoonist of note" has appeared in the series, including works by Howard Cruse, Jeff Krell, Brad Parker, John Blackburn, Jon Macy
, and the stylized pornography of Tom of Finland
. The contents of Meatmen are generally more explicit and lewd than the more mainstream oriented Gay Comics. Tom of Finland was a prolific fetish artist, specializing in images of men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits, such as extreme muscularity and improbably large penis
es. His drawings frequently feature two or more men either immediately preceding or during explicit sexual activity. Howard Cruse has been described as "the most important gay cartoonist", and his work explores both pop and gay culture. His LGBT-themed work is often adults-only, and in addition to being featured in Meatmen and Gay Comics, has been syndicated in publications such as Heavy Metal, RAW, and Village Voice.
Creators have used the comics medium to educate readers about LGBT-related issues including safe sex
, examples being Strip AIDS U.S.A; and to influence real-world politics, as with the British comics book AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia)
, produced by British, American, and Canadian artists in response to a law that would make "promoting homosexuality" illegal by the British government. The comic book format and humour has been described as giving such works a more positive message than typical education material. Comic strip style educational material about AIDS dates back to a chart in the French magazine Liberation from 1986, which used simple figures to explain unsafe practices. Fiction comics produced specifically to foster AIDS provention include the widely distributed French-language La Sida (1995), created by the Institut Alfred Fourrier as part of its "Prevention Sourire" series. La Sida was aimed at a young audience and used humour to de-dramatise the subject, with HIV status indicated a metaphorical "little green monster". Such educational comics have been criticised for ignoring the special relevance the subject has to the LGBT community, with homosexuality marginalized in favour of depicting HIV as a threat to conventional heterosexual relationships. This has been blamed on the continuing perception that comics are for young people, and as such should be "universalised" rather than targeting specific groups, and hence are heteronormative
, failing to provide characters that LGBT-identfying young people can identify with. Other educational comic books such as the Swiss Jo (1991) also exclude explicit reference to homosexuality (as well as drug-taking and prostitution), in spite of their target audience being older.
comics in particular and the publishing houses Marvel and DC, the two largest publishers in the genre, criticised for their lack of inclusivity. Transgender characters have likewise been under-represented, although the common storyline of a superhero having their sex changed by magical or technological means has been regarded as an oblique reference to transgender and transsexual issues. British comics author Neil Gaiman
has said that he included transgender characters in his works, such as Sandman, in response to the lack of realistic representation of such people in comics. Queer theory
analyses have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are often shown as assimilated into heterosexual society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is at the forefront. Mainstream comics have also been labelled as "heteronormative", in comparison to "intergrationist" alternative comics.
For much of the 20th century, creators were strongly discouraged from depicting gay relationships in comic books, which were regarded as a medium for children. Until 1989 the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which imposed de facto
censorship
on comics sold through newsstands in the United States, forbade any suggestion of homosexuality, and LGBT characters were excluded from comics bearing the CCA seal. The CCA itself came into being in response to Fredric Wertham
's Seduction of the Innocent
, in which comic book creators were accused of attempting to negatively influence children with images of violence and sexuality, including subliminal homosexuality. Wertham claimed that Wonder Woman
's strength and independence made her a lesbian, and stated that "The Batman
type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies." Storytellers subsequently had to drop subtle hints while not stating directly a character's orientation. Overt gay and lesbian themes were first found later in underground
and alternative
titles which did not carry the CCA's seal of approval.
In recent years the number of LGBT characters in mainstream
superhero comics has increased greatly. At first gay characters appeared in supporting roles, but their roles have become increasingly prominent. The trend has prompted both praise from the LGBT community and organizations like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and criticism from conservative
groups. Critics make regular accusations that comics are attempting to subvert readers into a "gay lifestyle
", trying to "lure young American boys into the kinky web of homosexuality and AIDS".
The Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures (2000) notes that gay subtext can be found in DC Comics
publications as early as the Golden Age of Comic Books
, with readers inferring homosexuality between superheroes and their same-sex sidekick
s and on the women-only Paradise Island
. The introduction to Sandman Mystery Theatre
: The Tarantula discusses this in the case of the replacement of Dian Belmont with Sandy, the Golden Boy
in The Sandman
serial in Adventure Comics
. Batman
's relationship with Robin
has famously come under scrutiny, in spite of the majority of creators associated with the character denying that the character is gay. Psychologist Fredric Wertham, who in Seduction of the Innocent asserted that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual," claimed to find a "subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend 'Robin.'" It has also been claimed that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality," and "the 1960s TV series
remains a touchstone of camp
." Frank Miller
has described the Joker
as a "homophobic nightmare," and views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting. Burt Ward
has also remarked upon this interpretation in his autobiography, noting that the relationship between the two could be interpreted as a sexual one.
In the first appearance of the Nightmaster
, a fat man who seems to be a closet homosexual gay basher repeatedly calls Jim Rook a "cutie pie," compliments his hair, and grabs his girlfriend, saying (to Rook) "And what? You gonna hit me with your purse?" after which his friends start hitting Rook with a chair.
The first obviously gay character was Extraño
, an effeminate Peru
vian man whose name means "Strange" in Spanish, who was created by Steve Englehart
and Joe Staton
and appeared in Millennium
and New Guardians
in 1987.First appearance in Millenium #2 (1987) New Guardians was not successful, but during its short run it also featured one team member, Jet
, contracting AIDS. The series was controversial, as several characters on the team were infected with HIV
through the scratch of a character called the Hemo-Goblin. Many angry letters were printed in response to this misinformation about HIV transmission, along with some gay readers complaing that Extraño was too stereotypical. An official aftermath to Millennium, The Spectre (vol. 2) #11, depicted a "mostly male and mostly gay" AIDS rally. Several characters, including the Enchantress
(describing them as "filthy disgusting men") and a police helicopter pilot named Ed (screaming about "fags") are influenced into attempting to crush the rally by a seven-headed spirit. Thanks to the actions of the Spectre, Doctor Fate
, Deadman
, Madame Xanadu
(later herself revealed to be bisexual), and Ben Turner
, the men are saved. In 1988's Wonder Woman
Annual #1, Kevin Mayer, brother of Diana'a late publicist Myndi Mayer, shows up at her will reading, saying she was the only member of the family who didn't hate him for being gay. Mitch Sekofsky, mechanic for Task Force X, is a gay dad. Simon La Grieve, the organization's head psychiatrist, refers to this as his "choice of sexuality" and wonders how Sekofsky's son is adjusting. Priest Kramer counsels Mitch and tells him that his homosexuality is a natural part of himself that does not conflict with Christian scripture. The early 1990s saw a few more LGBT minor characters portrayed in DC titles. John Constantine
dealt with gay bashers in Hellblazer
#6 and 7 and Swamp Thing
#74 (1988). In the latter issue, Constantine, having jumped from a train at the end of Hellblazer #6, is found by gay bashers in a weakened state and severely beaten until rescued by Swamp Thing. While Constantine is not gay (he is bisexual but is mostly sexually active with women), some of his gay friends were beaten and hospitalized, and he tried to protect them. In this case, the gay bashers were working at the behest of the demon, Nergal
. Both this run and The Sandman story arcs Preludes and Nocturnes
and The Kindly Ones
arc featured elderly gay men. Transsexual themes were explored in the The Sandman: A Game of You
story (1991) and in a 1992 storyline in Legion of Super-Heroes
. Notable storylines featuring LGBT themes include the coming out of Kyle Rayner
's assistant and an arc about his "gay bashing
" in Green Lantern
.In Green Lantern #137 (June 2001) and #154 (November 2001) These stories earned the writer title two GLAAD awards and a Gaylactic Spectrum Awards (and a further nomination). Green Lantern also has a lesbian couple, Lee and Li, as supporting characters. An example of a gay character in a starring role is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter
, who appears in comic books published by Wildstorm
, an imprint
of DC Comics.First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (1998) The Batman
-like Midnighter was revealed to be in a relationship with the Superman
-like Apollo
during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority.
The comic book Manhunter (which focused on a female lawyer hunting down super villains who dodged trial) was notable for featuring the gay supporting character of Damon Matthews, a well-adjusted gay lawyer who later starts dating superhero Obsidian
.
In 2006 DC drew widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman
The number of minor DC characters being identified as LGBT continues to increase, and includes the bisexual superheroes Sarah Rainmaker
and Icemaiden
, and the reformed villain Pied Piper
. Policewoman Renee Montoya
, introduced in Batman: The Animated Series
without any stated sexual preference, was eventually introduced in the comic books as a lesbian and made considerably more butch. She was a main character in Gotham Central
and 52
.
' incorporation of LGBT themes has been unfavorably compared with that of DC; its use of gay characters has been described as "less prolific but more deliberate". Marvel reportedly had a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy during Jim Shooter
's 1980s tenure, and Marvel's policy from the 1990s had stated that all series emphasizing solo gay characters must carry an "Adults Only" label, in response to conservative protests. Yet in 2006 publisher Joe Quesada
claimed that this policy is no longer enforced. Although same-sex couples are depicted occasionally kissing, intimate or sexual scenes have not been shown, even in Marvel's "Adult only" imprint. The use of mutants and the discrimination they face in the X-Men
comics has been seen as a metaphor for the real-world discrimination directed at minority groups including LGBT people.
Alpha Flight
s Northstar
, a member of the original Alpha Flight superhero team, was the first major gay character created by Marvel Comics. Creator John Byrne said that Northstar was planned to be gay from his inception in 1979, The character was finally revealed to be gay in 1992's Alpha Flight issue 106, the only comic book issue to have been inducted into the Gaylactic Hall of Fame. Storylines involving Northstar in Alpha Flight and his limited series have generally ignored his sexuality: Criticism has been levelled at the fact that in 30 years Northstar has never been shown kissing another man, though he finally kissed his boyfriend Kyle in the first issue of the 2011 relaunch of the series. Northstar eventually became a member of the X-Men. During his time in this team he became a mentor to gay teenage mutant Anole
, who later became a Young X-Men
member along with another gay teen, Graymalkin.
Other LGBT members of Marvel's mutant
teams are the New Mutant Karma
, X-Statix
s Phat
, Vivisector
, and Bloke
(until their deaths) and the villains Mystique
and Destiny. In the latest incarnation of X-Factor
, written by Peter David
, depowered mutant Rictor
and his longtime friend Shatterstar
(with whom he'd had an ambiguous relationship)See, for example: Cable #22, X-Force #56, X-Force #59–60, X-Force #60, X-Force ’99 Annual were shown in an on-panel kiss.X-Factor v.3 #45 After the issue was published, Peter David confirmed Rictor and Shatterstar's bisexuality in his blog and expressed his desire to develop the relationship between them further. Shortly after, one of Shatterstar's creators, Rob Liefeld
, expressed his disapproval of Peter David's decision and has stated that should he get the chance, he will undo Rictor and Shatterstar's bisexuality. Despite his complaints, however, both Peter David and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada
have defended the development, and the story will most likely go on as planned. David went on to win the 2011 GLADD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for his work.
In 1997, writer Ivan Velez, Jr.
, who had previously written for the adult underground, Gay Comix
, reintroduced Jennifer Kale
with a closely cropped "butch" haircut in the pages of Ghost Rider
, portrayed her as related to both Johnny Blaze
and Daniel Ketch, and said that an issue of Howard the Duck
had shown Jennifer and Doctor Strange
as those who initially brought Howard to Earth-616
(no such issue of Howard the Duck exists, and Jennifer and Doctor Strange did not meet until Man-Thing
(vol. 2) #4 (May 1980)), after Howard's series had concluded). In issue #92 (January 1998), he depicted Ketch having a vision of life without Ghost Rider in which Jennifer had been in a relationship with a woman, Marie, for three years. Jennifer's first boyfriend, Jaxon, was shown in Fear
#13 (April 1973) and #18 (November 1973) and Man-Thing (vol. 2) #4 (May 1980), by which point they had broken up over Jennifer's sorcery. She was shown sharing a bed with a chubby boyfriend named Bernard Drabble in The Legion of Night (October 1991), which was written by her creator, Steve Gerber
(later writer of the GLAAD Award-nominated Hard Time
), who thought making her related to both Ghost Riders was bad writing, saying that Marvel should change its name to DC for "Deliverance
Comics" for being so inbred (he did not read the issues in question, nor was he told of Jennifer's newfound lesbianism). In Witches
, Brian Patrick Walsh presents her with the attitude that having slept with women makes her a "bad girl" as a direct character foil to Topaz
as a "good girl" (which does not match earlier portrayals of Topaz), and Satana
as "the ugly." In Marvel Zombies 4
, Topaz teasingly calls Jennifer "girlfriend" to be ironic. Her entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
now states that she is bisexual.
In 2002, Marvel revived Rawhide Kid
in their Marvel MAX
imprint, introducing the first openly gay comic book character to star in his own magazine. The first edition of the Rawhide Kid’s gay saga was called Slap Leather. The character’s sexuality is conveyed indirectly, through euphemisms and puns, and the comic’s style is campy. Conservative groups protested the gay take on the character, which they claimed would corrupt children, and the covers carried an "Adults only" label.
The Young Avengers
series, which debuted in 2005, featured two gay teenager major characters, Hulkling
and Wiccan
, from its inception. The characters' sexuality was criticised by some readers and defended by the writers in an extended series of letters on the title's letters page. The Young Avengers earned Marvel its first GLAAD Award Best Comic Book Award in 2005.
Xavin
is transgender and transsexual Skrull
(a race of shape-shifters) from the award-winning series, Runaways
. Xavin was created by author Brian K. Vaughan
& artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #7. Xavin had first appeared to the Runaways, as a black male, but changed into a black female for the sake of Karolina Dean
, a lesbian hero whom she/he was to marry. Regardless, Xavin often switches between being a male and female.
As widely considered traditional, predictable, and wholesome publishers to the nth degree for generations, Archie Comics' open recognition of homosexuality through the addition of Kevin Keller came as a surprise to many readers. However, as Lyle Masaki of AfterElton.com recognizes, "There is a long-standing misconception that sexuality has to be a part of a gay character, but being gay doesn't have anything to do with sex." With no mention of even a romantic interest, Kevin Keller's introduction presents a character even less sexual than the current Archie characters. Kevin behaves like any of the other Archies characters, except, perhaps, he acts a little more emotionally mature—and gay.
, Image Comics
and later, Dark Horse Comics
. These companies gave greater artistic freedom to their writers and artists and chose not to ascribe to the Comics Code, allowing exploration of more mature themes. As a result, comics from these companies included a greater relative number of LGBT characters and storylines than their more traditional competitors. LGBT superhero characters include Spectral and Turbo Charge (from Malibu comics), and Gen13's Sarah Rainmaker (created by Wildstorm for Image Comics before being taken over by DC).
Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer-related comics feature the lesbian characters of Willow, Tara and Kennedy and the closeted character Andrew from the television series. The Buffy Season Eight comics attracted media attention when the title character has a one night stand
with another girl who had fallen in love with her.Buffy Season Eight #12 (March 2008) and #15 (June 2008) The encounter was repeated, but both the character and the creators denied that this made Buffy
gay, with Joss Whedon
saying: "We're not going to make her gay, nor are we going to take the next 50 issues explaining that she's not. She's young and experimenting, and did I mention open-minded?".
, and conventions also feature stands dedicated to LGBT comics. Ted Abenheim, event chair of Prism Comics
said in 2008, “We’re in our sixth year of exhibiting at Comic-Con, presenting a larger booth and more panels and events than ever before.” A number of websites dedicated to LGBT comic book fandom and featuring content from staff writers exist, such as Prismcomics.org, Pinkkrytonite.com and Gayleague.com.
The first GLAAD Award for Best Comic Book was awarded in 1992 (to DC's The Flash). Since then, a number of GLAAD awards have been awarded to mainstream titles, including for DC's Green Lantern and The Authority titles, and Marvel's Young Avengers. According to Paul Lopez, LGBT fans and creators have "debated whether the awards for mainstream comics were more about media hype than the actual content of the comic's stories."
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
are given to works of science fiction, fantasy or horror, and their "Other Works" category allows nomination of comic book series or individual issues. Comic book winners include issues of DC's Green Lantern, The Authority and Gotham Central
, and nominations have been given to titles from Marvel (X-Force, X-Statix), Dark Horse (Buffy Season 8) and Image Comics.
have been described as having a greater range of "themes, narratives and forms of visual impact" than English-language comics, but have been superseded in popularity by American comics since the mid-1980s, with only French comics matching the popularity of Japanese and American comics. The lack of a "comics code" equivalent to the US system has made the incorporation of LGBT themes less controversial. This is exemplified by the Kelly Green graphic novels (1982–93), created by Stan Drake
and Leonard Starr
. Drake and Starr are American cartoonists who chose to publish in France, where they would not be limited by US censorship and "could write and draw anything they wanted"; this included episodes in which the vigilante title character dresses as a boy to lure a gay villain into an ambush, and a stereotypically gay secondary character who ran a strip-club.
At the beginning of the 20th century, French and Belgian comic strips ("Bande Dessinee") had become regarded as an medium for children – this restricted their inclusion of adult and sexual themes, and lasted until at least the 1960s. However, early Franco-Belgian comics
for children such as The Adventures of Tintin
, Asterix
, and The Adventures of Alix have also had sexual and LGBT subtext inferred by readers. Readers of Tintin
books have speculated about his sexuality, leading to Marcel Wilmet, spokesperson of Studios Hergé
, saying that Tintin is macho and not homosexual; Tintin has many male friends, but they are not boyfriends. The Adventures of Alix comics by Jacques Martin are amongst the most prominent historical comics, and the text concerns the restoration of a moral order, but with a "homosexual subtext that may have been invisible to the original readers", which includes the portrayal of a close relationship between Alix and his companion Enak and the full frontal depiction of teenage male bodies. Martin has disputed any gay readings of the central friendship in the books, but an article in Le Palace still called the "heroes homosexuel de notre enfance"
Strips in the 1960s strove to break taboos, but were still censored by a law passed in 1949 that assumed comics were for children, which prevented the inclusion of explicit sexual themes, as in Barbarella album (1964), which had to be redrawn to remove nudity. The late 1960s saw greater acceptance of comic strips as a mature artform, and their use as social commentary and satire was established in mainstream newspapers by the 1970s, although some anthologies continued to be banned as "pornographic".
The works of French comic book creator Fabrice Neaud
have been described as the "most ambitious autobiographical comics project yet published". These include his 1994 series Ego Comme X and the ongoing Journal, of which Neaud has self-published one volume every other year since 1996. The works chronicle day to day experiences and place them in a framework that examines representation and self-identity of sexual-minorities and the creative process. Volumes one and three focus on the author's homosexuality and status as a struggling gay artist in French small-town life: One story arc covered Neaud's unrequited love for a male friend. Neaud's works have been have been pointed to as examples that legitimised comics as serious literature, and elevated the regard for autobiographical works within comics. The retrospective and subjective nature of the works leads to significant emotional events being afforded greater coverage, with the result that issues of sexuality and interactions between the author and other men are highlighted, reflecting the importance of sexuality to identity. This has led critic (and character) Dominque Goblet to dismiss the works as trivial; such criticisms have been attributed to bias against autobiography or comics, or inability to identify with a gay character.
Spanish comics have been described as less conventional and more diverse than American comics. Anarcoma, by creator Nazario Luque, is a "bizarre noir thriller" starring a gay transvestite detective. Anarcoma has been "widely celebrated" as one of the foremost subversive and countercultural comics that challenges preconceptions of sexuality and gender. Luque is openly gay and also writes the underground comic El Vibora. However, Gema Pérez-Sánchez says that the subversive impact of underground comics is less than one might expect, in comparison to mainstream and government-subsidised comics, as the readers of underground comics are unlikely to be shocked. The "veiled" queer content that appears in the Socialist government-sanctioned Madriz has a greater impact.
In Germany, the openly gay cartoonist Ralf König
has created several popular comics taking an ironic but affectionate view on both gay and straight relationships. In 1979 he began creating comic strips that appeared in the Munich underground magazine Zomix and the gay periodical Rosa Flieder. In 1981, his first comics Sarius, Das sensationelle Comic-Book and SchwulComix (GayComix) were published by Verlag Rosa Winkel in Berlin. In 1987 he wrote his first comic with a continuous story (Kondom des Grauens). These comics have a large gay fan base, and despite initial skepticism from broader comics audiences due to the work's consistent "gay culture" setting, have also gained great popularity among heterosexual readers. Several of König's comics have been adapted into films; his work has sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into 14 languages.
British comics were for significant parts of the 20th century regarded as being aimed at children, hence avoiding adult themes. One exception is 2000 AD, a more mature and violent comic book. 2000 AD introduced its first openly gay hero in 1992 in the story Swimming in Blood, in the form of the camp vampire exorcist Devlin Waugh
. Waugh was created by writer John Smith
and artist Sean Phillips
and his character's homosexuality is frequently referenced in the strip; in his first story he attempts to seduce one of the men he is rescuing. The character was deliberately created in opposition to such characters as Judge Dredd
and Johnny Alpha, gruff, macho men. Waugh, by contrast, was camp, flippant and flamboyant. In the annual poll of readers' opinions, Waugh became the first and last character ever to knock Judge Dredd off the top spot as Favourite Strip. However, the character was not used for seven years after his initial introduction, due to production problems. In the British small press
Martin Eden launched Spandex, which claimed to be "the world's first all-gay superhero team".
ese genres incorporating homosexual romance themes across various media. The genres emerged in the 1970s in a branch of manga aimed at girls. Yaoi and yuri have spread beyond Japan: both translated and original yaoi and yuri are now available in many countries and languages. The characters in yaoi and yuri manga do not tend to self-identify as homosexual or bisexual. Famous works include Hiizuredokoro no Tenshi (The Angel that Came from the Sun), an 11-volume series beginning in 1980 that reinterprets the life of the introducer of Buddhism
to Japan; and Kaze to Ki no Uta
(Poem of the Wind and the Trees), a 17-volume series beginning in 1976 that chronicles the relationship between two schoolboys in France.
As with much manga and anime, science fiction
and fantasy tropes and environments are common: Ai no Kusabi
, a 1980s yaoi light novel series described as a "magnum opus" of the Boys Love genre, involves a science fictional caste system. Simoun
has been described as "a wonderful sci fi series" which does not have to rely on its yuri content to appeal to the audience. The various terminologies for both male/male pairings and female/female pairings are sometimes used to denote the level of sexual explicitness or romanticism in a work. Although yuri originated in female-targeted works, today it is featured in male-targeted ones as well.
Yaoi has been criticised for stereotypical and homophobic portrayals of its characters, and for failing to address gay issues. Homophobia
, when it is presented as an issue at all, is often used as a plot device to "heighten the drama", or to show the purity of the leads’ love. Matt Thorn has suggested that as yaoi is a romance narrative, strong political themes may be a "turn off" to the readers. Critics state that the genre challenges heteronormativity via the "queer" bishōnen
("beautiful boys"), and Andrew Grossman has written that the Japanese are more comfortable with writing about LGBT themes in a manga setting, in which gender is often blurred, even in "straight" manga.
" (called Bara (rose)) specifically targeted at gay men, with gay characters. Yaoi writers and fans distinguish these "gay manga" from yaoi, sometimes calling it "bara". Prior to the early 2000s, the primary venue for publication of gay men's manga was gay men's general-interest magazines, which have included manga since the inception of Barazoku
in 1971. The typical manga story in these magazines is an 8–24 page one-shot, although some magazines, notably G-men
, also carry some serialized stories. McLelland, surveying gay men's magazines from the mid to late 1990s, indicates that most manga stories were simply pornographic, with little attention to character or plot, and that even the longer, serialized stories were generally "thinly developed". McLelland characterizes Barazoku as containing "some well-crafted stories which might be better described as erotic rather than pornographic", while the manga in G-men were "more relentlessly sexual", with less attention to characterization and mood.
The 1990s saw increased media focus on LGBT people in Japan, and a large increase in the production of such works written by gay men. Gengoroh Tagame
has been called the most influential creator of gay manga in Japan to date. Most of his work first appeared in gay magazines and usually feature sexual abuse. Much of Gengoroh Tagame's early work was published in the magazine G-men
, which was founded in 1994 to cater to gay men who preferred "macho fantasy", as opposed to the sleeker, yaoi-inspired styles popular in the 1980s. Like most gay men's general-interest magazines, G-men included manga as well as prose stories and editorial and photographic material. G-men encouraged steady readership by presenting a more well-defined fantasy image, and with serialized, continuing manga stories which encouraged purchase of every issue. Tagame's depiction of men as muscular and hairy has been cited as a catalyst for a shift in fashion amongst gay men in 1995, away from the clean-shaven and slender stereotypes of Yaoi and towards a tendency for masculinity and chubbiness. Tagame's work has been criticised by notable gay manga writer Susumu Hirosegawa for its lack of complex storylines. Susumu Hirosegawa's early works were yaoi, but later Hirosegawa moved into gay manga. Hirosegawa's works sometimes contain no sex at all, with greater focus on plot, but when sex is present it is often in the form of sadomasochism or rape, in which the victim learns to enjoy the experience. Bara manga's popularity has continued to increase, with four major publishers of bara manga anthologies in today's Japan.
in English, often contains depictions of lesbianism for the titillation of male readers, examples being Demon Beast Invasion
(1994) and Twin Angels
(1995). Futanari
are common character types in hentai; they are hermaphodite or intersex figures usually represented as girls with male genitalia.
Mainstream, non-pornographic manga also frequently contains explorations of gender and sex roles, although usually for purposes of exoticism or comedy rather than in a realistic manner. Some supporting characters cross-dress, such as Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi, and some series are centred around the idea of changing sex, such as Ranma ½
, whose protagonist changes sex, but not gender, when splashed with cold water. IS
, a manga about two intersexual characters, won the 2007 Kodansha Manga Award
in the girls' manga division. Class S
is a genre of girl's fiction that tells stories about crush
es between a female upperclassman and an underclassman. Maria-sama ga Miteru
, a contemporary series which includes a manga adaptation, has been described as a revival of the Class S genre.
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) themes and characters
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s and their comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
predecessors, due to either censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
or the perception that comics were for children. With any mention of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
(CCA) until 1989, earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext
Subtext
Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
regarding a character's sexual orientation. LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.
Since the 1990s LGBT themes have become more common in mainstream US comics, including in a number of titles in which a gay character is the star. European comics have been more inclusive from an earlier date. The lack of censorship, and greater acceptance of comics as a medium of adult entertainment led to less controversy about the representation of LGBT characters. The popular Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
tradition has included genres of girls' comics that feature homosexual relationships since the 1970s, in the form of yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
and yuri. These works are often extremely romantic and idealized, and include archetypal characters that often do not identify as gay or lesbian. Since the Japanese "gay boom" of the 1990s, a body of manga by queer creators aimed at LGBT customers has been established, including both bara
Bara (genre)
, also known as the wasei-eigo construction or ML, is a Japanese jargon term for a genre of art and fictional media that focuses on male same-sex love and desire, usually created by and for gay men. The bara genre began in the 1960s with fetish magazines featuring gay art and content...
manga for gay men and yuri aimed at lesbians, which often have more realistic and autobiographical themes. Pornographic manga
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
also often includes sexualised depictions of lesbians and intersex
Futanari
Futanari is the Japanese word for androgyny or hermaphrodite. Until 1644, the appeal of sexually ambiguous, futanari characters portrayed by onnagata actors was a popular element in Japanese drama, and there is a flourishing futanari anime and manga genre in Japan today.- History in Japanese...
people. Queer theorist
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
s have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are usually shown as assimilated into heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is emphasized.
Comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s have also dealt in subtext and innuendo, their wide distribution in newspapers limiting their inclusion of controversial material. The first openly gay characters appeared in prominent strips in the late 1970s; representation of LGBT issues in these titles causes vociferous reaction, both praise and condemnation, to the present day. Comic strips aimed at LGBT audiences are also syndicated in gay- and lesbian-targeted magazines and comics have been created to educate people about LGBT-related issues and to influence real-world politics, with their format and distribution allowing them to transmit messages more subtle, complex, and positive than typical education material. Portrayal of LGBT themes in comics is recognized by several notable awards, including the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT topics in a positive way. Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic Network, with awards first awarded in 1999. In 2002 the awards were given their own...
and GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for outstanding comic book and comic strip.
Comic strips
Milton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...
's Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates (comic strip)
Terry and the Pirates was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff’s work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip,...
features a primary villain, Sanjak, who has been interpreted by some as a lesbian with designs on the hero's girlfriend.
The first widely distributed comic strip to tackle LGBT themes and include a gay character was Garry Trudeau
Garry Trudeau
Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
's Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
. The strip introduced the character Andy Lippincott
Andy Lippincott
-Publication history:The character first appears in January 1976, in a law library. Joanie Caucus becomes attracted to him while working before Lippincott confesses he is gay. Joanie is heartbroken, and takes some time to recover. Lippincott contributes position papers to Virginia Slade's failed...
in 1976, and his diagnosis with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
in 1989 and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
related death in 1991 was the first representation of this issue in comic strips. This storyline led to a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
nomination for Trudeau, but three newspapers of the 900 carrying the strip refused to publish it as being in bad taste. Two years later, the long-standing character Mark Slackmeyer
Mark Slackmeyer
Mark Sheldon Slackmeyer is a character in the comic strip Doonesbury. Mark starts out as a radical at Walden College, and leads several peace rallies . The character was initially modeled after Mark Rudd, then in the news as a leader of Columbia University's student protests of 1968...
was revealed to be gay, continuing a reputation for controversial content. Slackmeyer, a liberal, continues to feature in the strip, with focus on his relationship with his politically conservative partner, Chase, including their marriage in 1999 and separation in 2007
The 11 July 1984 installment of “Bloom County” had the strip's main characters staying at Bob & Ernie’s Castro Street Hotel, run by a gay S&M couple.
When Lynn Johnston
Lynn Johnston
Lynn Johnston, CM, OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.-Early life:...
's For Better or For Worse
For Better or For Worse
For Better or For Worse is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston that ran for 30 years, chronicling the lives of a Canadian family, The Pattersons, and their friends. The story is set in the fictitious Toronto-area suburban town of Milborough, Ontario. Johnston's strip began in September 1979, and ended...
explored the coming out of a teenaged character in 1993, it provoked a vigorous reaction from conservative groups. Readers opposed to homosexuality threatened to cancel newspaper subscriptions, and Johnston received hate mail and death threats towards herself and her family. Over 100 newspapers ran replacement strips or canceled the comic. One result of the storyline was that Johnston was made a jury-selected "nominated finalist" for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect...
in 1994. The Pulitzer board said the strip "sensitively depicted a youth's disclosure of his homosexuality and its effect on his family and friends." Subsequent appearances of the character have not focused on his sexuality, and the creator has said that this will continue.
In most widely circulated strips, LGBT characters remained as supporting figures into the 21st century, with some, including Candorville
Candorville
Candorville is a syndicated newspaper comic strip written and illustrated by Darrin Bell, a former editorial cartoonist, and the first African-American cartoonist to have two different comic strips in syndication concurrently. Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers...
and The Boondocks, featuring occasional appearances by gay characters. The conservative strip Mallard Fillmore
Mallard Fillmore
Mallard Fillmore is a comic strip written and illustrated by Bruce Tinsley that has been syndicated by King Features Syndicate since May 30, 1994. The strip follows the exploits of its title character, an anthropomorphic green-plumaged duck who works as a politically conservative reporter at...
occasionally approached gay issues from a critical perspective; these storylines have been described as "insulting" to LGBT people. Many openly gay and lesbian comic creators self-publish their work online as webcomics, giving them greater editorial freedom, and some of the strips are printed in collections. One example is Greg Fox
Greg Fox (author)
Greg Fox is an American author and social commentator.Fox began making comics at 12 years old, publishing his first strip at age 14 and continuing to illustrate and create editorial cartoons in college. He received a B.A. from Geneseo College...
's Kyle's Bed & Breakfast
Kyle's Bed & Breakfast
Kyle's Bed & Breakfast is a syndicated comic strip by Greg Fox.The comic strip takes place in a gay bed & breakfast, and features a diverse cast of regularly appearing characters, along with an ongoing flow of guests who contribute to the humor and drama...
, a series focusing on a group of gay friends who live together and face realistic problems associated with their sexualities, including relationship troubles and being closeted.
Since the late 1980s specifically gay publications have also included comic strips, in which LGBT themes are ubiquitous. Local LGBT newspapers sometimes carry their own strips, like Ron Williams's Quarter Scenes in the New Orleans paper Impact. Strips including Wendel by Howard Cruse, and Leonard and Larry by Tim Barela
Tim Barela
Tim Barela , is an acclaimed gay cartoonist, best known for his creation of the comic strip, Leonard & Larry. The Leonard & Larry characters first appeared in a 1984 issue of Gay Comix, then were later featured in The Advocate and Frontiers magazines...
, have been syndicated in national gay magazines like the Advocate.
Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
is a US-produced comic-stip magazine inspired by the French Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
, with early issues being made up of direct translations from the French original. In Métal Hurlant science fiction and fantasy themed erotica often touches upon issues of sexuality. Much of the work of Frank Margerin
Frank Margerin
Frank Margerin is a French author and illustrator of comics.- Biography :After high school, Frank Margerin went to a school of applied art, where he mets Denis Sire. He joined Denis's band, Los Crados, as a drummer...
was first published in Métal Hurlant before being collected in anthologies. Margarin's most famous strips follow the lives of working class heterosexual men centred around the character of "suburban rocker" Lucien, and occasionally feature LGBT themes that show the characters' assumptions of stereotypes. In Votez Rocky, the characters dress as the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
and when a stereotypically gay character tries to chat-up Lucien in Le Retour (1993), he remains oblivious to the attempt. These occurrences have been noted to be about reaffirming their masculinity by comparison with non-masculine gay stereotypes, rather than depictions of homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. The relationship between social class and sexual orientation is also explored when a character is arrested by vice police in a park along with a number of gay couples and is humiliated by the police officers homophobic insults. In Comme s'il en Pleuvait (2001), the same character finds that the assumption that he is gay, due to a close male friendship, is to his benefit when in fashionable literary groups, where he is seen as more interesting and trendy.
One of the best known and longest-running LGBT comic strips, Dykes to Watch Out For
Dykes to Watch out For
Dykes to Watch Out For was a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called "as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit...
, was written by Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home.-Early life:...
– dubbed the "elder stateswomen of LGBT comics" – from 1983 to 2008. Dykes to Watch Out For is known for its social and political commentary and depictions of characters from all walks of life. Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Fun Home
Fun Home is a 2006 graphic memoir by American writer Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, USA, focusing on her complex relationship with her father...
was lauded by many media outlets as among the best books of the year.
Underground and alternative comics
LGBT themes were found first in undergroundUnderground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
or alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
, often published by small independent presses, or self-published. Such comics frequently advocated political positions and included depictions of sex, usually not intended solely to cause arousal but included as part of the exploration of themes including gender and sexuality.
“Captain Pissgums and His Pervert Pirates” by S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson is an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix,...
in “Zap
Zap Comix
Zap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
” #3 (1968) featured explicit sexual homosexual acts, and was instrumental in making other underground cartoonists approach taboo subjects. However gay characters rarely featured underground comics from 1968–1975, and when they did they were usually lisping caricatures and comic transvestites. An instalment of “Harold Hedd” by Rand Holmes
Rand Holmes
Randolph Holton Holmes was a Canadian artist and illustrator probably best known for his work in underground comix....
in 1971 stands out for attacking the homophobia of Dr Reuben
David Reuben (sex author)
David R. Reuben is a California psychiatrist, sex expert, and author of several books, such as Any Woman Can! and How to Get More out of Sex. He is most famous for his book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex , published in 1969.-External links:...
’s sex manual “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex is a book by U.S. physician Dr. David Reuben. It was one of the first sex manuals that entered mainstream culture in the 1960s, and it had a profound effect on sex education and in liberalizing attitudes towards sex...
”, featuring explicit mutual gay sex acts, and promoting Gay Lib.
Eventually comics appeared aimed at a gay audience: the first documented example of a widely-circulated underground gay comic was Gay Heart Throbs, which produced several issues in the mid-1970s, but struggled to find an audience.
Notable publications included Gay Comix
Gay Comix
Gay Comix was an underground comics series published from 1980–1998. Created by Howard Cruse, Gay Comix featured the work of gay, lesbian, and transsexual artists. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions...
, which was created in 1980 by Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse is an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics.Cruse was raised in Springville, Alabama, the son of a preacher and a homemaker. His earliest published cartoons were in The Baptist Student when he was in high school. His work later appeared...
, featured the work of gay, lesbian, and transsexual artists, and had close ties with the gay liberation movement. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions. Autobiographical themes included falling in love, coming out, repression, and sex. Gay Comix also served as a source for information about non-mainstream LGBT-themed comics and events. Artists producing work for Gay Comix included Mary Wings
Mary Wings
Mary Wings is an American writer, artist, and musician.In 1973 Mary Wings made history by releasing Come Out Comix, the first lesbian underground comic book. She may be best known for her series of detective novels featuring lesbian heroine Emma Victor...
, creator of the first one-off lesbian book Come Out Comix (1972) and Dyke Shorts (1976), and Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
, who created Dynamite Damsels (1976) the first lesbian underground serial comic book and the character Bitchy Bitch. Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix, later titled Wimmin's Comix, was an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genre and subject matter, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex...
also tackled issues of homosexuality on a regular basis, and the first issue was also the venue for the first ever comic strip featuring an out lesbian, called "Sandy Comes Out", by Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
. Excerpts from Gay Comix are included in the 1989 anthology Gay Comics, one of the earliest histories of the subject.
Meatmen: An Anthology of Gay Male Comics and its sequels collect works by a range of artists and cartoonists. The work of "every gay cartoonist of note" has appeared in the series, including works by Howard Cruse, Jeff Krell, Brad Parker, John Blackburn, Jon Macy
Jon Macy
Jon Macy is a gay American comics writer and artist. He began his career in 1990 with the series Tropo. Since then he has contributed to various LGBT comics anthologies and gay pornographic magazines, but is best known for his graphic novel Teleny and Camille, which won a 2010 Lambda Literary...
, and the stylized pornography of Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland
Touko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland was a Finnish artist notable for his stylized androerotic and fetish art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W...
. The contents of Meatmen are generally more explicit and lewd than the more mainstream oriented Gay Comics. Tom of Finland was a prolific fetish artist, specializing in images of men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits, such as extreme muscularity and improbably large penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
es. His drawings frequently feature two or more men either immediately preceding or during explicit sexual activity. Howard Cruse has been described as "the most important gay cartoonist", and his work explores both pop and gay culture. His LGBT-themed work is often adults-only, and in addition to being featured in Meatmen and Gay Comics, has been syndicated in publications such as Heavy Metal, RAW, and Village Voice.
Creators have used the comics medium to educate readers about LGBT-related issues including safe sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
, examples being Strip AIDS U.S.A; and to influence real-world politics, as with the British comics book AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia)
AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia)
AARGH was a 76-page one-off comics anthology published by Mad Love in 1988.The comic was designed to aid the fight against Clause 28, which was a controversial amendment to the Local Government Act 1988, a British law which was designed to outlaw the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities...
, produced by British, American, and Canadian artists in response to a law that would make "promoting homosexuality" illegal by the British government. The comic book format and humour has been described as giving such works a more positive message than typical education material. Comic strip style educational material about AIDS dates back to a chart in the French magazine Liberation from 1986, which used simple figures to explain unsafe practices. Fiction comics produced specifically to foster AIDS provention include the widely distributed French-language La Sida (1995), created by the Institut Alfred Fourrier as part of its "Prevention Sourire" series. La Sida was aimed at a young audience and used humour to de-dramatise the subject, with HIV status indicated a metaphorical "little green monster". Such educational comics have been criticised for ignoring the special relevance the subject has to the LGBT community, with homosexuality marginalized in favour of depicting HIV as a threat to conventional heterosexual relationships. This has been blamed on the continuing perception that comics are for young people, and as such should be "universalised" rather than targeting specific groups, and hence are heteronormative
Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity is a term invented in 1991 to describe any of a set of lifestyle norms that hold that people fall into distinct and complementary genders with natural roles in life. It also holds that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation, and states that sexual and marital relations...
, failing to provide characters that LGBT-identfying young people can identify with. Other educational comic books such as the Swiss Jo (1991) also exclude explicit reference to homosexuality (as well as drug-taking and prostitution), in spite of their target audience being older.
Mainstream American comic books
Mainstream comics have historically excluded gay characters, with superheroSuperhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comics in particular and the publishing houses Marvel and DC, the two largest publishers in the genre, criticised for their lack of inclusivity. Transgender characters have likewise been under-represented, although the common storyline of a superhero having their sex changed by magical or technological means has been regarded as an oblique reference to transgender and transsexual issues. British comics author Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
has said that he included transgender characters in his works, such as Sandman, in response to the lack of realistic representation of such people in comics. Queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
analyses have noted that LGBT characters in mainstream comic books are often shown as assimilated into heterosexual society, whereas in alternative comics the diversity and uniqueness of LGBT culture is at the forefront. Mainstream comics have also been labelled as "heteronormative", in comparison to "intergrationist" alternative comics.
Censorship and criticism
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
on comics sold through newsstands in the United States, forbade any suggestion of homosexuality, and LGBT characters were excluded from comics bearing the CCA seal. The CCA itself came into being in response to Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham was a Jewish German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of violent imagery in mass media and comic books on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent , which purported that comic books are...
's Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent is a book by German-American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was a minor bestseller that created alarm in parents and galvanized...
, in which comic book creators were accused of attempting to negatively influence children with images of violence and sexuality, including subliminal homosexuality. Wertham claimed that Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
's strength and independence made her a lesbian, and stated that "The Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies." Storytellers subsequently had to drop subtle hints while not stating directly a character's orientation. Overt gay and lesbian themes were first found later in underground
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
and alternative
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
titles which did not carry the CCA's seal of approval.
In recent years the number of LGBT characters in mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
superhero comics has increased greatly. At first gay characters appeared in supporting roles, but their roles have become increasingly prominent. The trend has prompted both praise from the LGBT community and organizations like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and criticism from conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
groups. Critics make regular accusations that comics are attempting to subvert readers into a "gay lifestyle
LGBT culture
LGBT culture, is the common culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. It is sometimes also referred to as Queer culture. The term gay culture, though not synonymous, is sometimes also used though this may also apply specifically to the culture of homosexual men.LGBT...
", trying to "lure young American boys into the kinky web of homosexuality and AIDS".
DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
publications as early as the Golden Age of Comic Books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
, with readers inferring homosexuality between superheroes and their same-sex sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
s and on the women-only Paradise Island
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
. The introduction to Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre is a comic book series published by Vertigo, the mature-readers imprint of DC Comics. It ran for 70 issues between 1993 and 1999 and retells the adventures of the Sandman, a vigilante whose main weapon is a gun that fires sleeping gas, originally created by DC in the Golden...
: The Tarantula discusses this in the case of the replacement of Dian Belmont with Sandy, the Golden Boy
Sandy Hawkins
Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy, the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #69.-Golden Age:The Character of Sandy the Golden...
in The Sandman
Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Sandman , is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman....
serial in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
. Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's relationship with Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
has famously come under scrutiny, in spite of the majority of creators associated with the character denying that the character is gay. Psychologist Fredric Wertham, who in Seduction of the Innocent asserted that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual," claimed to find a "subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend 'Robin.'" It has also been claimed that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality," and "the 1960s TV series
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
remains a touchstone of camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
." Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
has described the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
as a "homophobic nightmare," and views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting. Burt Ward
Burt Ward
Burt Ward is an American television actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal of Robin in the television series Batman and its theatrical film spin-off.-Early life:...
has also remarked upon this interpretation in his autobiography, noting that the relationship between the two could be interpreted as a sexual one.
Nightmaster
The Nightmaster is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #82 , and was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti.-Publication history:...
, a fat man who seems to be a closet homosexual gay basher repeatedly calls Jim Rook a "cutie pie," compliments his hair, and grabs his girlfriend, saying (to Rook) "And what? You gonna hit me with your purse?" after which his friends start hitting Rook with a chair.
The first obviously gay character was Extraño
Extraño
Extraño is a fictional gay Hispanic magician published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Millennium #2 , and was created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton.-Fictional character biography:...
, an effeminate Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian man whose name means "Strange" in Spanish, who was created by Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
and Joe Staton
Joe Staton
Joe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
and appeared in Millennium
Millennium (comics)
"Millennium" was a comic book crossover story line that ran through an eight-issue, self-titled, limited series and various other titles cover dated January and February 1988 by DC Comics. The limited series was published weekly, which was a departure for an American series...
and New Guardians
New Guardians
New Guardians is a short-lived series published by DC Comics. It was a spin-off from the Millennium event,and ran for twelve issue, from 1988 through 1989, before being canceled. It is also the name of the group of characters who appeared in the series. The characters first appeared in Millennium...
in 1987.First appearance in Millenium #2 (1987) New Guardians was not successful, but during its short run it also featured one team member, Jet
Jet (comics)
Jet is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Millennium #2 , and was created by Steve Engelhart and Joe Staton.-Fictional character biography:...
, contracting AIDS. The series was controversial, as several characters on the team were infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
through the scratch of a character called the Hemo-Goblin. Many angry letters were printed in response to this misinformation about HIV transmission, along with some gay readers complaing that Extraño was too stereotypical. An official aftermath to Millennium, The Spectre (vol. 2) #11, depicted a "mostly male and mostly gay" AIDS rally. Several characters, including the Enchantress
Enchantress (DC Comics)
The Enchantress is a DC Comics character who has been both a superheroine and supervillainess. She first appeared in National Comics flagship science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures #187 , and was created by writer Bob Haney and artist Howard Purcell.More recently she is usually called...
(describing them as "filthy disgusting men") and a police helicopter pilot named Ed (screaming about "fags") are influenced into attempting to crush the rally by a seven-headed spirit. Thanks to the actions of the Spectre, Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
, Deadman
Deadman
Deadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...
, Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
(later herself revealed to be bisexual), and Ben Turner
Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a martial artist who first appeared in Dragon's Fists, a novel by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry, starring Richard Dragon. His first DC Comics appearance was in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter.-Early years:Ben Turner comes...
, the men are saved. In 1988's Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
Annual #1, Kevin Mayer, brother of Diana'a late publicist Myndi Mayer, shows up at her will reading, saying she was the only member of the family who didn't hate him for being gay. Mitch Sekofsky, mechanic for Task Force X, is a gay dad. Simon La Grieve, the organization's head psychiatrist, refers to this as his "choice of sexuality" and wonders how Sekofsky's son is adjusting. Priest Kramer counsels Mitch and tells him that his homosexuality is a natural part of himself that does not conflict with Christian scripture. The early 1990s saw a few more LGBT minor characters portrayed in DC titles. John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
dealt with gay bashers in Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
#6 and 7 and Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
#74 (1988). In the latter issue, Constantine, having jumped from a train at the end of Hellblazer #6, is found by gay bashers in a weakened state and severely beaten until rescued by Swamp Thing. While Constantine is not gay (he is bisexual but is mostly sexually active with women), some of his gay friends were beaten and hospitalized, and he tried to protect them. In this case, the gay bashers were working at the behest of the demon, Nergal
Nergal
The name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
. Both this run and The Sandman story arcs Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
and The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
arc featured elderly gay men. Transsexual themes were explored in the The Sandman: A Game of You
The Sandman: A Game of You
A Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
story (1991) and in a 1992 storyline in Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Notable storylines featuring LGBT themes include the coming out of Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
's assistant and an arc about his "gay bashing
Gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
" in Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
.In Green Lantern #137 (June 2001) and #154 (November 2001) These stories earned the writer title two GLAAD awards and a Gaylactic Spectrum Awards (and a further nomination). Green Lantern also has a lesbian couple, Lee and Li, as supporting characters. An example of a gay character in a starring role is the violent vigilante superhero Midnighter
Midnighter
Midnighter is a fictional comic book superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch #4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series...
, who appears in comic books published by Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
, an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of DC Comics.First appearance Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 (1998) The Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
-like Midnighter was revealed to be in a relationship with the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
-like Apollo
Apollo (comics)
Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mold of the Superman archetype....
during their time as members of the superhero team The Authority.
The comic book Manhunter (which focused on a female lawyer hunting down super villains who dodged trial) was notable for featuring the gay supporting character of Damon Matthews, a well-adjusted gay lawyer who later starts dating superhero Obsidian
Obsidian (comics)
Obsidian is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway. According to an Infinity, Inc...
.
In 2006 DC drew widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman
Batwoman
Batwoman is the name of several fictional characters, female counterparts to the superhero Batman. The original version was created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff. Her alter ego is Kathy Kane. This character appears in publications produced by DC Comics and related media beginning in Detective...
The number of minor DC characters being identified as LGBT continues to increase, and includes the bisexual superheroes Sarah Rainmaker
Sarah Rainmaker
Sarah Rainmaker is a fictional superhero from the comic book series Gen¹³ created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell.-Character biography:...
and Icemaiden
Icemaiden
Icemaiden is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine in the DC Comics universe. She was the first heroine to use the name, and for a time was replaced by Ice. She is also one of the few bisexual superheroines in the DC Universe.-Global Guardians:Sigrid Nansen received her powers as the...
, and the reformed villain Pied Piper
Pied Piper (comics)
Pied Piper is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in the pages of The Flash #106 .-Fictional character biography:...
. Policewoman Renee Montoya
Renee Montoya
Renee Montoya is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. The character was initially created for Batman: The Animated Series, and was preemptively introduced into mainstream comics before the airing of her animated debut in 1992....
, introduced in Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
without any stated sexual preference, was eventually introduced in the comic books as a lesbian and made considerably more butch. She was a main character in Gotham Central
Gotham Central
Gotham Central is a police procedural comic book series that was published by DC Comics. It was written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, with pencils initially by Michael Lark....
and 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
.
Marvel
Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' incorporation of LGBT themes has been unfavorably compared with that of DC; its use of gay characters has been described as "less prolific but more deliberate". Marvel reportedly had a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy during Jim Shooter
Jim Shooter
James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
's 1980s tenure, and Marvel's policy from the 1990s had stated that all series emphasizing solo gay characters must carry an "Adults Only" label, in response to conservative protests. Yet in 2006 publisher Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
claimed that this policy is no longer enforced. Although same-sex couples are depicted occasionally kissing, intimate or sexual scenes have not been shown, even in Marvel's "Adult only" imprint. The use of mutants and the discrimination they face in the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
comics has been seen as a metaphor for the real-world discrimination directed at minority groups including LGBT people.
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
s Northstar
Northstar
Northstar is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the twin brother of Aurora. Through his mutation, Northstar gains superhuman powers, which he uses for the betterment of society...
, a member of the original Alpha Flight superhero team, was the first major gay character created by Marvel Comics. Creator John Byrne said that Northstar was planned to be gay from his inception in 1979, The character was finally revealed to be gay in 1992's Alpha Flight issue 106, the only comic book issue to have been inducted into the Gaylactic Hall of Fame. Storylines involving Northstar in Alpha Flight and his limited series have generally ignored his sexuality: Criticism has been levelled at the fact that in 30 years Northstar has never been shown kissing another man, though he finally kissed his boyfriend Kyle in the first issue of the 2011 relaunch of the series. Northstar eventually became a member of the X-Men. During his time in this team he became a mentor to gay teenage mutant Anole
Anole (comics)
Anole is a fictional mutant superhero in the Marvel Universe. He was created by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis and first appeared in issue #2 of New Mutants vol. 2 . A student at the Xavier Institute and junior member of the X-Men, Anole is one of the few openly gay characters in the Marvel...
, who later became a Young X-Men
Young X-Men
Young X-Men was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It lasted for 12 issues, from April 2008 through March 2009. The series was written by Marc Guggenheim.-Final Genesis :...
member along with another gay teen, Graymalkin.
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
teams are the New Mutant Karma
Karma (comics)
Karma is a fictional superheroine from Marvel Comics created by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.Karma is a mutant endowed with the ability to seize control of another's mind, though she has sometimes been depicted with other more extensive psionic abilities...
, X-Statix
X-Statix
X-Statix was a fictional team of mutant superheroes in Marvel Comics, specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, first appears in X-Force #116 and originally assumed the moniker X-Force, taking the name of the more traditional superhero team,...
s Phat
Phat (comics)
Phat is an openly gay fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe. He was created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred in X-Force vol. 1 #117...
, Vivisector
Vivisector
Vivisector is a fictional character, an openly gay intellectual mutant featured as a member of X-Statix by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in X-Force #116 and was created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred.-Fictional character history:...
, and Bloke
Bloke (comics)
Bloke , also known as Rainbow, is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe. He was created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred in X-Force #117 .-Fictional character biography:...
(until their deaths) and the villains Mystique
Mystique (comics)
Mystique is a fictional character associated with the Marvel Comics' franchise X-Men. Originally created by artist David Cockrum and writer Chris Claremont, she first appeared in Ms...
and Destiny. In the latest incarnation of X-Factor
X-Factor Investigations
X-Factor Investigations is a fictional detective agency created by writer Peter David for the Marvel Comics comic book series X-Factor . The agency first appears under the name XXX Investigations in the first issue of the Marvel Comics limited series Madrox #1...
, written by Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, depowered mutant Rictor
Rictor
Rictor is a fictional comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe, who appears in the X-Men family of books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Walt Simonson and first appeared in X-Factor vol.1 #17...
and his longtime friend Shatterstar
Shatterstar
Shatterstar is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the .-Publication history:Shatterstar first appeared in The New Mutants vol. 1 #99 , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. Since his debut Shatterstar has mainly appeared in the original X-Force title, with some issues...
(with whom he'd had an ambiguous relationship)See, for example: Cable #22, X-Force #56, X-Force #59–60, X-Force #60, X-Force ’99 Annual were shown in an on-panel kiss.X-Factor v.3 #45 After the issue was published, Peter David confirmed Rictor and Shatterstar's bisexuality in his blog and expressed his desire to develop the relationship between them further. Shortly after, one of Shatterstar's creators, Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
, expressed his disapproval of Peter David's decision and has stated that should he get the chance, he will undo Rictor and Shatterstar's bisexuality. Despite his complaints, however, both Peter David and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
have defended the development, and the story will most likely go on as planned. David went on to win the 2011 GLADD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for his work.
In 1997, writer Ivan Velez, Jr.
Ivan Velez, Jr.
Ivan Velez, Jr. is a Xeric Grant-winning American writer of comic books.His work includes Gay Comix for Bob Ross, Blood Syndicate and Static for Milestone Comics, Ghost Rider, Venom and Abominations for Marvel Comics, Extreme Justice for DC Comics, Flinch for Vertigo, Power Puff Girls for DC's...
, who had previously written for the adult underground, Gay Comix
Gay Comix
Gay Comix was an underground comics series published from 1980–1998. Created by Howard Cruse, Gay Comix featured the work of gay, lesbian, and transsexual artists. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions...
, reintroduced Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Jennifer Kale was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, and debuted in Adventure into Fear #11 . She is the cousin of Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, and a founding member of the...
with a closely cropped "butch" haircut in the pages of Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, portrayed her as related to both Johnny Blaze
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
and Daniel Ketch, and said that an issue of Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
had shown Jennifer and Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
as those who initially brought Howard to Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
(no such issue of Howard the Duck exists, and Jennifer and Doctor Strange did not meet until Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
(vol. 2) #4 (May 1980)), after Howard's series had concluded). In issue #92 (January 1998), he depicted Ketch having a vision of life without Ghost Rider in which Jennifer had been in a relationship with a woman, Marie, for three years. Jennifer's first boyfriend, Jaxon, was shown in Fear
Adventure into Fear
Adventure into Fear is an American horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from cover dates November 1970 through December 1975, for 31 issues...
#13 (April 1973) and #18 (November 1973) and Man-Thing (vol. 2) #4 (May 1980), by which point they had broken up over Jennifer's sorcery. She was shown sharing a bed with a chubby boyfriend named Bernard Drabble in The Legion of Night (October 1991), which was written by her creator, Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
(later writer of the GLAAD Award-nominated Hard Time
Hard Time (comics)
Hard Time is a comic book series written by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes and originally published by DC Focus, a short-lived imprint of DC Comics. The aim of the imprint was to feature super-powered characters who did not follow the traditional format of classic superhero adventures...
), who thought making her related to both Ghost Riders was bad writing, saying that Marvel should change its name to DC for "Deliverance
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...
Comics" for being so inbred (he did not read the issues in question, nor was he told of Jennifer's newfound lesbianism). In Witches
Witches (Marvel Comics)
Witches is a supernatural comic book limited series that was published by Marvel Comics in 2004. Plotted by Bronwyn Carlton, with scripts by Brian Walsh, it featured art by Mike Deodato and Will Conrad.-Publication history:...
, Brian Patrick Walsh presents her with the attitude that having slept with women makes her a "bad girl" as a direct character foil to Topaz
Topaz (Marvel Comics)
Topaz is a fictional character, a sorceress in the Marvel Comics universe. She debuted in Werewolf By Night v. 1 #13 .-Fictional character biography:...
as a "good girl" (which does not match earlier portrayals of Topaz), and Satana
Satana (Marvel Comics)
Satana is a fictional character, a comic book half-demon appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the sister of Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan.Satana first appeared in Vampire Tales #2 in October, 1973...
as "the ugly." In Marvel Zombies 4
Marvel Zombies 4
Marvel Zombies 4 is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in April 2009. It is part of the Marvel Zombies series...
, Topaz teasingly calls Jennifer "girlfriend" to be ironic. Her entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
now states that she is bisexual.
In 2002, Marvel revived Rawhide Kid
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
in their Marvel MAX
MAX (comics)
MAX is an imprint of Marvel Comics aimed at a niche 'adults only' audience, launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system...
imprint, introducing the first openly gay comic book character to star in his own magazine. The first edition of the Rawhide Kid’s gay saga was called Slap Leather. The character’s sexuality is conveyed indirectly, through euphemisms and puns, and the comic’s style is campy. Conservative groups protested the gay take on the character, which they claimed would corrupt children, and the covers carried an "Adults only" label.
The Young Avengers
Young Avengers
Young Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
series, which debuted in 2005, featured two gay teenager major characters, Hulkling
Hulkling
Hulkling is a fictional comic book superhero and a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Hulkling's character is patterned on the Hulk...
and Wiccan
Wiccan (comics)
Wiccan is a comic book character, a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. His appearance is patterned on that of Thor and Scarlet Witch....
, from its inception. The characters' sexuality was criticised by some readers and defended by the writers in an extended series of letters on the title's letters page. The Young Avengers earned Marvel its first GLAAD Award Best Comic Book Award in 2005.
Xavin
Xavin
Xavin is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She is a Super-Skrull in training, created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #7...
is transgender and transsexual Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
(a race of shape-shifters) from the award-winning series, Runaways
Runaways (comics)
Runaways is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series features a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are part of an evil crime group called the Pride. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, the series debuted in April of 2003 as part of Marvel Comics'...
. Xavin was created by author Brian K. Vaughan
Brian K. Vaughan
Brian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...
& artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #7. Xavin had first appeared to the Runaways, as a black male, but changed into a black female for the sake of Karolina Dean
Karolina Dean
Karolina Dean , also briefly known as Lucy in the Sky, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways #1 with most of the other main characters...
, a lesbian hero whom she/he was to marry. Regardless, Xavin often switches between being a male and female.
Archie Comics
In the Issue 202 of Veronica published in September 2010 only in the U.S. and Canada, Archie Comics introduces openly gay character, Kevin Keller. In the story, Veronica quickly falls for new-boy-in-town, with a sweet smile and chiseled good looks, Kevin. Kevin beats Jughead in a burger-eating contest, and he tells Jughead that he's not interested in Veronica because he's gay. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Jughead has a score to settle with Veronica. So, when Jughead requests Kevin not tell Veronica about his sexuality, Kevin willingly agrees. The bulk of the story is about Veronica's cluelessness.As widely considered traditional, predictable, and wholesome publishers to the nth degree for generations, Archie Comics' open recognition of homosexuality through the addition of Kevin Keller came as a surprise to many readers. However, as Lyle Masaki of AfterElton.com recognizes, "There is a long-standing misconception that sexuality has to be a part of a gay character, but being gay doesn't have anything to do with sex." With no mention of even a romantic interest, Kevin Keller's introduction presents a character even less sexual than the current Archie characters. Kevin behaves like any of the other Archies characters, except, perhaps, he acts a little more emotionally mature—and gay.
Other publishers: Malibu, Image, Dark Horse
The 1990s saw the creation of a number of independent publishing houses with output that competed with the giants of mainstream comics publishing, Marvel and DC. The companies included Malibu ComicsMalibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
, Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and later, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. These companies gave greater artistic freedom to their writers and artists and chose not to ascribe to the Comics Code, allowing exploration of more mature themes. As a result, comics from these companies included a greater relative number of LGBT characters and storylines than their more traditional competitors. LGBT superhero characters include Spectral and Turbo Charge (from Malibu comics), and Gen13's Sarah Rainmaker (created by Wildstorm for Image Comics before being taken over by DC).
Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer-related comics feature the lesbian characters of Willow, Tara and Kennedy and the closeted character Andrew from the television series. The Buffy Season Eight comics attracted media attention when the title character has a one night stand
One Night Stand
One Night Stand is an HBO stand-up series that first aired on February 15, 1989. The half-hour series aired weekly and featured stand-up comedy specials from some of the top performing comedians. The series originally comprised 55 specials over the course of its four years on HBO...
with another girl who had fallen in love with her.Buffy Season Eight #12 (March 2008) and #15 (June 2008) The encounter was repeated, but both the character and the creators denied that this made Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
gay, with Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
saying: "We're not going to make her gay, nor are we going to take the next 50 issues explaining that she's not. She's young and experimenting, and did I mention open-minded?".
Fandom and Awards
As the visibility of LGBT comic book creators and characters has increased, comic book fandom has taken notice. Panels discussing LGBT topics occur regularly at comic book and LGBT conventions such as Comicon and GaylaxiconGaylaxicon
Gaylaxicon is an annual science fiction, fantasy and horror convention that focuses on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics. It takes place in various locations in the United States and occasionally Canada, often on the east coast....
, and conventions also feature stands dedicated to LGBT comics. Ted Abenheim, event chair of Prism Comics
Prism Comics
Prism Comics is a non-profit organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender creators, stories, characters, and readers in the comics industry....
said in 2008, “We’re in our sixth year of exhibiting at Comic-Con, presenting a larger booth and more panels and events than ever before.” A number of websites dedicated to LGBT comic book fandom and featuring content from staff writers exist, such as Prismcomics.org, Pinkkrytonite.com and Gayleague.com.
The first GLAAD Award for Best Comic Book was awarded in 1992 (to DC's The Flash). Since then, a number of GLAAD awards have been awarded to mainstream titles, including for DC's Green Lantern and The Authority titles, and Marvel's Young Avengers. According to Paul Lopez, LGBT fans and creators have "debated whether the awards for mainstream comics were more about media hype than the actual content of the comic's stories."
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT topics in a positive way. Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic Network, with awards first awarded in 1999. In 2002 the awards were given their own...
are given to works of science fiction, fantasy or horror, and their "Other Works" category allows nomination of comic book series or individual issues. Comic book winners include issues of DC's Green Lantern, The Authority and Gotham Central
Gotham Central
Gotham Central is a police procedural comic book series that was published by DC Comics. It was written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, with pencils initially by Michael Lark....
, and nominations have been given to titles from Marvel (X-Force, X-Statix), Dark Horse (Buffy Season 8) and Image Comics.
European comics
Comics from continental EuropeEuropean comics
European comics is a generalized terms for comics produced in Continental Europe. Though technically European, British comics are for historical and cultural reasons considered separate from European comics due to the existence of a well-established domestic market and traditions which more closely...
have been described as having a greater range of "themes, narratives and forms of visual impact" than English-language comics, but have been superseded in popularity by American comics since the mid-1980s, with only French comics matching the popularity of Japanese and American comics. The lack of a "comics code" equivalent to the US system has made the incorporation of LGBT themes less controversial. This is exemplified by the Kelly Green graphic novels (1982–93), created by Stan Drake
Stan Drake
Stanley Albert Drake was an American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip The Heart of Juliet Jones....
and Leonard Starr
Leonard Starr
Leonard Starr is a Golden Age comic book artist, an advertising artist and award-winning cartoonist, notable for creating the newspaper strip On Stage and reviving Little Orphan Annie.-Early life:...
. Drake and Starr are American cartoonists who chose to publish in France, where they would not be limited by US censorship and "could write and draw anything they wanted"; this included episodes in which the vigilante title character dresses as a boy to lure a gay villain into an ambush, and a stereotypically gay secondary character who ran a strip-club.
At the beginning of the 20th century, French and Belgian comic strips ("Bande Dessinee") had become regarded as an medium for children – this restricted their inclusion of adult and sexual themes, and lasted until at least the 1960s. However, early Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
for children such as The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
, Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
, and The Adventures of Alix have also had sexual and LGBT subtext inferred by readers. Readers of Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
books have speculated about his sexuality, leading to Marcel Wilmet, spokesperson of Studios Hergé
Studios Hergé
The Studios Hergé were, between 1950 and 1986, a SARL grouping comics author Hergé and his collaborators, who assisted him with the creation of The Adventures of Tintin and derived products...
, saying that Tintin is macho and not homosexual; Tintin has many male friends, but they are not boyfriends. The Adventures of Alix comics by Jacques Martin are amongst the most prominent historical comics, and the text concerns the restoration of a moral order, but with a "homosexual subtext that may have been invisible to the original readers", which includes the portrayal of a close relationship between Alix and his companion Enak and the full frontal depiction of teenage male bodies. Martin has disputed any gay readings of the central friendship in the books, but an article in Le Palace still called the "heroes homosexuel de notre enfance"
Strips in the 1960s strove to break taboos, but were still censored by a law passed in 1949 that assumed comics were for children, which prevented the inclusion of explicit sexual themes, as in Barbarella album (1964), which had to be redrawn to remove nudity. The late 1960s saw greater acceptance of comic strips as a mature artform, and their use as social commentary and satire was established in mainstream newspapers by the 1970s, although some anthologies continued to be banned as "pornographic".
The works of French comic book creator Fabrice Neaud
Fabrice Neaud
Fabrice Neaud is a French comics artist. He got his baccalaureate in literature in 1986. He studied philosophy during two years. Then he entered an art school and studied there four years. In 1991 he quit the school...
have been described as the "most ambitious autobiographical comics project yet published". These include his 1994 series Ego Comme X and the ongoing Journal, of which Neaud has self-published one volume every other year since 1996. The works chronicle day to day experiences and place them in a framework that examines representation and self-identity of sexual-minorities and the creative process. Volumes one and three focus on the author's homosexuality and status as a struggling gay artist in French small-town life: One story arc covered Neaud's unrequited love for a male friend. Neaud's works have been have been pointed to as examples that legitimised comics as serious literature, and elevated the regard for autobiographical works within comics. The retrospective and subjective nature of the works leads to significant emotional events being afforded greater coverage, with the result that issues of sexuality and interactions between the author and other men are highlighted, reflecting the importance of sexuality to identity. This has led critic (and character) Dominque Goblet to dismiss the works as trivial; such criticisms have been attributed to bias against autobiography or comics, or inability to identify with a gay character.
Spanish comics have been described as less conventional and more diverse than American comics. Anarcoma, by creator Nazario Luque, is a "bizarre noir thriller" starring a gay transvestite detective. Anarcoma has been "widely celebrated" as one of the foremost subversive and countercultural comics that challenges preconceptions of sexuality and gender. Luque is openly gay and also writes the underground comic El Vibora. However, Gema Pérez-Sánchez says that the subversive impact of underground comics is less than one might expect, in comparison to mainstream and government-subsidised comics, as the readers of underground comics are unlikely to be shocked. The "veiled" queer content that appears in the Socialist government-sanctioned Madriz has a greater impact.
In Germany, the openly gay cartoonist Ralf König
Ralf König
Ralf König is one of the best known and most commercially successful German comic book creators. His books have been translated into many languages...
has created several popular comics taking an ironic but affectionate view on both gay and straight relationships. In 1979 he began creating comic strips that appeared in the Munich underground magazine Zomix and the gay periodical Rosa Flieder. In 1981, his first comics Sarius, Das sensationelle Comic-Book and SchwulComix (GayComix) were published by Verlag Rosa Winkel in Berlin. In 1987 he wrote his first comic with a continuous story (Kondom des Grauens). These comics have a large gay fan base, and despite initial skepticism from broader comics audiences due to the work's consistent "gay culture" setting, have also gained great popularity among heterosexual readers. Several of König's comics have been adapted into films; his work has sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into 14 languages.
British comics were for significant parts of the 20th century regarded as being aimed at children, hence avoiding adult themes. One exception is 2000 AD, a more mature and violent comic book. 2000 AD introduced its first openly gay hero in 1992 in the story Swimming in Blood, in the form of the camp vampire exorcist Devlin Waugh
Devlin Waugh
Devlin Waugh is a fictional character who has appeared regularly in 2000 AD and in the Judge Dredd Megazine. The character was originally created by the writer-artist team John Smith and Sean Phillips....
. Waugh was created by writer John Smith
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
and artist Sean Phillips
Sean Phillips
Sean Phillips is a British comic book artist.He is best known in the American comic book industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Career:...
and his character's homosexuality is frequently referenced in the strip; in his first story he attempts to seduce one of the men he is rescuing. The character was deliberately created in opposition to such characters as Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
and Johnny Alpha, gruff, macho men. Waugh, by contrast, was camp, flippant and flamboyant. In the annual poll of readers' opinions, Waugh became the first and last character ever to knock Judge Dredd off the top spot as Favourite Strip. However, the character was not used for seven years after his initial introduction, due to production problems. In the British small press
British small press comics
British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to...
Martin Eden launched Spandex, which claimed to be "the world's first all-gay superhero team".
Japanese comics
Comics are an established art form in Japan, which has the biggest comic book industry in the world. Comics are respected and aimed at both child and adult audiences. Sex and violence are common, and their presence in fictional manga is regarded as a "safety valve".Yaoi and Yuri
Yaoi and Yuri (also known as Boys' Love and Girls' Love, respectively) are JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese genres incorporating homosexual romance themes across various media. The genres emerged in the 1970s in a branch of manga aimed at girls. Yaoi and yuri have spread beyond Japan: both translated and original yaoi and yuri are now available in many countries and languages. The characters in yaoi and yuri manga do not tend to self-identify as homosexual or bisexual. Famous works include Hiizuredokoro no Tenshi (The Angel that Came from the Sun), an 11-volume series beginning in 1980 that reinterprets the life of the introducer of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
to Japan; and Kaze to Ki no Uta
Kaze to Ki no Uta
is a shōjo manga with yaoi themes by Keiko Takemiya. It was first published by Shougakukan from 1976 to 1984 in the magazine Shōjo Comic. In 1979, it was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen/shōjo manga. The series is widely regarded as a shōnen-ai manga classic, being one of...
(Poem of the Wind and the Trees), a 17-volume series beginning in 1976 that chronicles the relationship between two schoolboys in France.
As with much manga and anime, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy tropes and environments are common: Ai no Kusabi
Ai no Kusabi
is a Japanese novel written by Rieko Yoshihara. Originally serialized in the yaoi magazine Shousetsu June between December 1986 and October 1987, the story was collected into a hardbound novel that was released in Japan in 1990. This futuristic tale is set in a world where men are assigned various...
, a 1980s yaoi light novel series described as a "magnum opus" of the Boys Love genre, involves a science fictional caste system. Simoun
Simoun (anime)
is a Japanese anime television series that was broadcast in Japan in 2006. It ran for 26 weekly episodes from 3 April to 25 September.A manga adaptation was published in three issues of Comic Yuri Hime. The manga shared the same characters and setting as the anime, but presented a different storyline...
has been described as "a wonderful sci fi series" which does not have to rely on its yuri content to appeal to the audience. The various terminologies for both male/male pairings and female/female pairings are sometimes used to denote the level of sexual explicitness or romanticism in a work. Although yuri originated in female-targeted works, today it is featured in male-targeted ones as well.
Yaoi has been criticised for stereotypical and homophobic portrayals of its characters, and for failing to address gay issues. Homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, when it is presented as an issue at all, is often used as a plot device to "heighten the drama", or to show the purity of the leads’ love. Matt Thorn has suggested that as yaoi is a romance narrative, strong political themes may be a "turn off" to the readers. Critics state that the genre challenges heteronormativity via the "queer" bishōnen
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
("beautiful boys"), and Andrew Grossman has written that the Japanese are more comfortable with writing about LGBT themes in a manga setting, in which gender is often blurred, even in "straight" manga.
Bara and "gay comics"
There also exists "gay mangaBara (genre)
, also known as the wasei-eigo construction or ML, is a Japanese jargon term for a genre of art and fictional media that focuses on male same-sex love and desire, usually created by and for gay men. The bara genre began in the 1960s with fetish magazines featuring gay art and content...
" (called Bara (rose)) specifically targeted at gay men, with gay characters. Yaoi writers and fans distinguish these "gay manga" from yaoi, sometimes calling it "bara". Prior to the early 2000s, the primary venue for publication of gay men's manga was gay men's general-interest magazines, which have included manga since the inception of Barazoku
Barazoku
is Japan's first male gay magazine commercially circulated.There had been a member-only magazine called Adonis and its extra issue Apollo in around 1960. It began publication in July 1971 by Daini Shobō's owner's son and editor , who is not gay....
in 1971. The typical manga story in these magazines is an 8–24 page one-shot, although some magazines, notably G-men
G-men (magazine)
is a monthly Japanese magazine for gay men. Gay magazines in Japan, along with much gay culture, are segregated by 'type' ; G-men was founded in 1994 to cater to gay men who preferred "macho fantasy", as opposed to the sleeker, yaoi-inspired styles popular in the 1980s, and focuses on "macho type" ...
, also carry some serialized stories. McLelland, surveying gay men's magazines from the mid to late 1990s, indicates that most manga stories were simply pornographic, with little attention to character or plot, and that even the longer, serialized stories were generally "thinly developed". McLelland characterizes Barazoku as containing "some well-crafted stories which might be better described as erotic rather than pornographic", while the manga in G-men were "more relentlessly sexual", with less attention to characterization and mood.
The 1990s saw increased media focus on LGBT people in Japan, and a large increase in the production of such works written by gay men. Gengoroh Tagame
Gengoroh Tagame
is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in gay BDSM erotic manga, many of which depict graphic violence. The men he depicts are hypermasculine, and tend to be on the bearish side....
has been called the most influential creator of gay manga in Japan to date. Most of his work first appeared in gay magazines and usually feature sexual abuse. Much of Gengoroh Tagame's early work was published in the magazine G-men
G-men (magazine)
is a monthly Japanese magazine for gay men. Gay magazines in Japan, along with much gay culture, are segregated by 'type' ; G-men was founded in 1994 to cater to gay men who preferred "macho fantasy", as opposed to the sleeker, yaoi-inspired styles popular in the 1980s, and focuses on "macho type" ...
, which was founded in 1994 to cater to gay men who preferred "macho fantasy", as opposed to the sleeker, yaoi-inspired styles popular in the 1980s. Like most gay men's general-interest magazines, G-men included manga as well as prose stories and editorial and photographic material. G-men encouraged steady readership by presenting a more well-defined fantasy image, and with serialized, continuing manga stories which encouraged purchase of every issue. Tagame's depiction of men as muscular and hairy has been cited as a catalyst for a shift in fashion amongst gay men in 1995, away from the clean-shaven and slender stereotypes of Yaoi and towards a tendency for masculinity and chubbiness. Tagame's work has been criticised by notable gay manga writer Susumu Hirosegawa for its lack of complex storylines. Susumu Hirosegawa's early works were yaoi, but later Hirosegawa moved into gay manga. Hirosegawa's works sometimes contain no sex at all, with greater focus on plot, but when sex is present it is often in the form of sadomasochism or rape, in which the victim learns to enjoy the experience. Bara manga's popularity has continued to increase, with four major publishers of bara manga anthologies in today's Japan.
Other genres
Pornographic manga and anime for men, frequently called hentaiHentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
in English, often contains depictions of lesbianism for the titillation of male readers, examples being Demon Beast Invasion
Demon Beast Invasion
is a manga series written and illustrated by Toshio Maeda, published by Wani Magazine. The series was adapted into a six-part original video animation of the same name in 1990, followed by in 1995.- Plot :...
(1994) and Twin Angels
Twin Angels
is the English name given to a hentai anime series about twin sisters, and a boy who will determine the fate of the world.The title has been published in English under two names, Twin Dolls by Soft Cel Pictures and Twin Angels by Anime18. The series is also known as Seijyuu Den / Inju Seisen...
(1995). Futanari
Futanari
Futanari is the Japanese word for androgyny or hermaphrodite. Until 1644, the appeal of sexually ambiguous, futanari characters portrayed by onnagata actors was a popular element in Japanese drama, and there is a flourishing futanari anime and manga genre in Japan today.- History in Japanese...
are common character types in hentai; they are hermaphodite or intersex figures usually represented as girls with male genitalia.
Mainstream, non-pornographic manga also frequently contains explorations of gender and sex roles, although usually for purposes of exoticism or comedy rather than in a realistic manner. Some supporting characters cross-dress, such as Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi, and some series are centred around the idea of changing sex, such as Ranma ½
Ranma ½
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts...
, whose protagonist changes sex, but not gender, when splashed with cold water. IS
IS (manga)
, is an ongoing drama manga series by Chiyo Rokuhana, first published in Japan in 2003. The IS of the title stands for intersexual and the story follows the pain and troubles such people go through in their lives, such as gaining acceptance for who they are and their inability to reproduce.IS won...
, a manga about two intersexual characters, won the 2007 Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in the girls' manga division. Class S
Class S (genre)
, or "S kankei", abbreviated either as S or , is an early twentieth century Japanese wasei-eigo term specifically used to refer to strong emotional bonds between schoolgirls, and a genre of which tells stories about the same, particularly a mutual crush between an upperclassman and an underclassman...
is a genre of girl's fiction that tells stories about crush
Limerence
Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
es between a female upperclassman and an underclassman. Maria-sama ga Miteru
Maria-sama ga Miteru
, often shortened to , is a series of Japanese light novels written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki. The series focuses on a group of teenage girls attending Lillian Catholic school for girls in Tokyo, Japan. Its storyline largely revolves around the lives and close relationships of...
, a contemporary series which includes a manga adaptation, has been described as a revival of the Class S genre.
See also
- LGBT characters in comics
- LGBT themes in speculative fiction
- LGBT-related comic strips
- LGBT-related comics
External links
- Homosexuals in Comics, Lonely Gods
- Homosexuality in Comics – Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, July 16–19, 2007 - Gay League
- Pink Kryptonite
- Prism comics