Pride month is almost over, but I can't let it go by without some discussion of what's happened to all the LGBT heroes and villains in mainstream comics this year. Here's some updates on the major gay characters that had their lives changed for better or worse this year. Hold on to your spandex folks!
I'm sure I'm forgetting some (although in one special case I am postponing my discussion a few days), so please let me know if you can think if a character I missed who has been on the page in this last year!
You guys may have noticed our, *ahem*, slower scheduling of posting lately. My apologies. It's something we've been needing to resolve and I'd been unable to devote much attention to it until now. We have some fantastic writers here at PK, but some are moving on and others have to devote their time to more pressing concerns (but will be back). Over time this took it's toll and left us where we are now.
That said, Pink Kryptonite is now looking for a few new writers! If you are interested in the glamorous life of an unpaid blog writer, send me two short writing samples that show your personality and style. Good topics are reviews of recent comics or comic book issues.
Writers will need to maintain a weekly post schedule of reviews and/or regular features, with a focus on gay content. Submissions will be accepted until the end of next week, and can be submitted via e-mail.
It's that time of the week again! Here's the rundown of notable comics for this week!
Executive Assistant Iris #1
Secretary. Bodyguard. Assassin. The Executive Assistant is all of the above rolled into one. She's meticulous, ruthlessly efficient, and completely loyal to her employer. But in the high-stakes web of corporate wealth and power, one young woman, Iris, must decide between her duty-and her own morality.
Ultimatum Spider-Man: Requiem #1
Spider-Man has fallen and the Ultimate Universe will never be the same. Join Brian Bendis, Stuart Immonen and original series artist Mark Bagley as they begin a two-part story celebrating the heroism of your friendly neighborhood webslinger as written by none other than...J. Jonah Jameson?
Batman Streets Of Gotham #1
As a new Batman rises on the streets of Gotham City, the heroes, villains and citizens take notice. How will the police feel about this new Batman, and can he control the crime in Gotham the way the old Batman did? This new series also features a regular ongoing co-feature starring Manhunter written by Marc Andreyko and illustrated by Georges Jeanty.
Mice Templar Volume 1 TP
Before their fall, the Templar preserved the order of the natural world, maintaining the balance of life and death for all creatures. But an ideological dispute pitted the noble brotherhood against itself, where they destroyed themselves in a vicious civil war. Chaos descended in their wake, where predatory and scavenger creatures now reign supreme bringing anarchy to the night world of the Shadow Time.
Howdy folks, here's a quick peek at some of the more noteworthy or interesting books out this week!
Red Robin #1
Following the aftermath of Battle For The Cowl, a new Batman watches over Gotham City. But not everyone is ready to give up on the old one. Someone believes that Bruce Wayne may still be alive...and that someone is Red Robin. But who is wearing the Red Robin costume, and why is he traveling the globe looking for a dead man? Whoever he is, he's not alone in his search!
X-Men Forever #1
Attempting to heal the rift between man and mutant kind, Professor Xavier volunteers his X-Men to go on a mission to capture Magneto's sole remaining Acolyte, Fabien Cortez! But with Nick Fury-and the entire world-watching over their shoulders, the stakes have never been higher for Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Beast, and Professor X.
Toy Story: Mysterious Stranger #1
Woody and Buzz are back! Andy has a new addition to his room-a circuit-laden egg. Is this new gizmo friend or foe? While Woody and Buzz welcome the mysterious stranger, Mr. Potato Head and Rex are terrified of it, plotting to destroy the orb before Andy comes home! Can they do it? Story by Eisner Award-nominated writer Dan Jolley! Features covers by Michael Cavallaro and Mike DeCarlo.
Check us out after the jump for the full list of this weeks releases!
This is seriously one of the best fan trailers I've ever seen. You can definitely pick out a lot of the movies they used, but it still looks insanely cool and makes me want to see it right now!
On a more personal note, I'm clearly not dead. Part of my absence has to do with real life, part of it has to do with Movable Type not working properly for me. It's still not, but a quick embedded file seems to work.
Minor technical issue over the weekend. So let's pretend it's still the end of the week and you're ready for the wrap-up from your friendly gator ally. Let's see what he has for us this week.
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BAM! ... Let's end the week by starting at Cracked.com and one of their more highbrow lists (of course given it's Cracked, that bar isn't exactly all that high). They're counting down the Six Most Insane Moral Panics in American History. Good old comic books start off the list at #6 talking about Frederic Wertham and his book Seduction of the Innocent. Comes with a nifty image of Batman kissing Robin to complete your collection.
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BAM! ... Did you ever wonder what it would be like to read your hero's favorite blog? Would Spider-Man have a Twitter account? Would the White Queen be banned from Blogspot for posting inappropriate photographs? The Bulletproof Vest blog answers some of these questions by giving us a glimpse of the heroes on the internet.
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BAM! ... Chris's Invincible Super Blog points out one of the strangest cover blurbs I've seen to date. It's also one of the most honest ones I've ever seen too.
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When it rains, it pours! Newsarama has a nice preview of this weeks X-men #509, which continues the ongoing Northstar storyline and introduces Prop X, a proposed mutant birth-control ballot initiative that mirrors California's Prop 8, which banned gay marriage last year.
I'll have more to say about this issue later this week, but right now I want to talk about the image I've used above. It's taken from this preview, and I picked it because of Pixie. I've never seen an image that quite captures how I felt on election day, as a California resident, when Prop 8 actually passed. I was shocked, appalled, and felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Before gay marriage was legalized last year, I never considered it a huge priority. When I suddenly had this freedom, however, I found that I now felt like I wasn't a second class citizen anymore, I felt like I actually found someplace I belonged. Losing that was very hard. So I applaud the writers and artists of this issue now for managing to get that across in such a touching way. I can't wait to read the rest!
There is a reason my degree is in writing and not math - numbers confuse the hell out of me. Call me illogical or just plain dumb, but you throw numbers at me and my brain shuts down out of sheer terror. Give me sentence and I'll diagram the hell out of it, though. I don't feel as bad anymore since it seems Marvel is just as bad at math as I am.
April saw the release of Wolverine #71, one of the final chapters to the Mark Millar / Steve McNiven storyline Old Man Logan. Most people would assume that May would see Wolverine #72 on the shelves (or given the creators, no issue at all). But no, they're here to trick you! It would seem that May 13th will actually see the shipping of #73 and the following week (May 20th) will see the release of #72. Then May 27th will see the release of #74. Then we get back on schedule with June's #75.
Now here's the rub.
#72 is the penultimate issue of Old Man Logan before it ends in the Giant Size Old Man Logan one-shot. So maybe #73 is a spin-off of some sort that can be told at any point within the story, right? Not bloody likely. #73 is the first halves of two two-part stories by Jason Aaron / Adam Kubert and Daniel Way / Tommy Lee Edwards. So not only does Old Man Logan get interrupted, but the two stories surrounding it get chopped in half and separated by the first story's lead-in to its own conclusion. Then a week after that it's a moot point as the title changes to Dark Wolverine and Logan's son Daken takes over as the protagonist.
I understand the WolverineMarvel? Is the book's 73rd issue really expected to draw in the crowds to a point that you have to mangle the shipping schedule into borderline incoherence? I don't claim to be an expert on shipping operations or anything of the sort, but surely there must be a better way to achieve higher sales and/or prominence of the Wolverine book in regards to the film.
Is this week biting it hard for anyone else or is it just me?
Maybe some new comics will cheer me up. Here are some random choices and there are a whole lot more after the jump.
Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Arkham #1 Okay, we all know that neither Two-Face nor the Riddler will be the new Batman, but when is an Arkham mini-series not fun?
Amazing Spider-Man #592 NYC has a new mayor and the march to the landmark 600th issue begins here as Mark Waid brings us "Spider-Man 24/7." Let's see how that stick in JJ's craw.
Skrull KIll Krew #1 (of 5) There's a cow variant cover. I usually dislike variants. But it's a cow variant. How is this book not going to be golden? It's also written by Adam Felber who's a writer on Real Time with Bill Maher and has been fantastic on "Wait Wait - Don't Tell Me" the last two weeks.
Battlestar Galactica: Final Five #1 About frakkin' time.
Hey Look Who Showed Up!
It's Northstar! Finally! I'm now convinced that I have the mutant power to start talking about something right before it happens, as I was talking about Northstar just last week. I'll call it my 'Foot in Mouth' powers. Anyway, for those who haven't grabbed books this week, I highly recommend you pick up Uncanny X-men #508, as it brings Northstar back to the team. We discover he's been living it up as a famous snowboarder in Canada, with a boyfriend apparently. Wolverine recruits him and his sister for the team. There is some fantastic dialogue that I won't spoil at this point since it just came out, but it's very well written, so thanks should go out to Mr. Matt Fraction. Based on what happens I have a sneaking suspicion that it was written to clear up some of the angst surrounding Northstar's treatment in the last few years. So now we've seen Northstar with a love interest, can a kiss be far behind? Will it make it in time for Pride month? We'll see. Go read it!...
