LGBT Character of the Week: Devlin Waugh

If I'm not careful you're going to think I have a thing for muscle-bound tight-shirt wearing heros. But alas, such is the world of comics--where all the men have 60-inch chests, and 26-inch waists (let's not even discuss the body dismorphia associated with the portrayl of women).

Devlin Waugh comes to us from across the pond, a part of the Judge Dredd universe, and was created to be an antithesis to the grimm, duty-driven, oft grunt-producing heroes of that universe. Now Devlin is a bit campy--he holds medals in flower-arranging, after all. He is presented as articulate, and has been known to hit on men that he is rescuing, as well as showing myriad other gay sterotypes.

I could also argue that he serves to lampoon gay characters. That being said, there is something endearing about a character who was designed to be " a cross between Charles Bronson and Noel Coward," according to one of his creators. Comics is a world replete with arch and stereo types, so this doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. Yes, complex characters and plots do exist. But sometimes, you just want a trashy novel, you know?

Oh yeah, did I mention he is a former exorcist for the Vatican, and is now a vampire. Kinky...