I've never seen someone malign Greg Rucka's work, but a news piece that broke today makes him look damn-near prophetic. Pinknews.co.uk reports on the story of Katherine Miller:
A lesbian cadet offered her resignation this week to top US military academy West Point over the "don't ask, don't tell" policy...
Which is perfectly reflexive of a plot point in Rucka's Detective Comics #859, a book you should've read a half-dozen times by now. It's a credit to the author that he can create characters so true that their stories exist in reality (though undoubtedly there have already been other gay cadets in the same position), but Rucka exhibits a real mastery for their motivations and moral stances. If you'll remember, Katherine Kane bowed out in reverence to the West Point cadet honor code, "A Cadet Will Not Lie, Cheat, Steal, Or Tolerate Those Who Do." Katherine Miller had this to say about her own resignation,
"In short, I have lied to my classmates and compromised my integrity and identity by adhering to existing military policy."
She may be no Batwoman, but Ms. Miller is certainly an object of admiration for me. And Rucka, well, I'm sure this won't be my last chance to gush at the women he "invents".
I remember one of the first Archie comics I read as kid was an old issue that opened up with Archie installing power windows on his car, bragging to his neighbor about this new innovation. Archie comics have continually adapted to the times, as required by the sheer length of the run. And it seems the all-ages title is taking another step into modernity by adding a gay character into the Riverdale cast- one Kevin Keller.
As gay-centric podcast Feast for Fun first reported, the original character will appear in September's Veronica spinoff. His orientation is integral to the story, as it centers around Veronica's failed efforts to woo him. Archie is by no means a deep or insightful series, but this addition promises to be a fair and well-handled treatment of modern teenage culture. Dan Parent, writer and artist for the Archie series claims
There's not going to be a reaction, there's just going to be acceptance... It's reflective of the times.
Though real world issues aren't treated as cheerily in real life as they are in Riverdale, the character's presence in the series is a landmark of acceptance in one of the oldest running comics stories. The opportunity to feature Kevin prominently shouldn't be missed, because if he can become a regular character featured in Archie proper, it would mark the first high-profile series with a broad, family friendly appeal to give an outed person such large exposure. This expansion is what sits at the core of Archie comics, embracing culture as it is, from (kvetch) Jersey Shore parodies to earnest characters.
Awww, ain't he adorable? Sorry, where was I? Right, this week's character comes to us straight from the pages of Sgt. Frog. Private Second Class Tamama is part of the Keroro Platoon, a bumbling group of aliens sent from the planet Keron to invade the Earth. When we first meet Tamama, he seems like a cute, easygoing little alien who loves candy, but he quickly reverts into a hateful little firecracker that destroys anything that pisses him off with his "Tamama Impact." He especially goes into a rage whenever someone else show's interest in Sgt. Keroro(the book's main character). One of the running gags of the series is Tamama plotting to take out Angol Moa, a human-looking bringer of Armageddon, who is always doting on the Sergeant. Tamama has not been outed as gay, but there has been one instance of some of the other platoon members joking about it with him, and you can clearly see he's trying to hide it. Hang in there Tamama, you'll win the Sergeant over one day! ....but probably not.
As you may have guessed from the title, I'll be taking over the reigns of the "LGBT character of the week" article for a while. Why, you ask? Well, it seems our overworked Sergeant is flat out of characters. So, until the states finally creates/outs new comic characters, it's up to me to show you guys the best of what Japan has to offer.
Our first spotlight falls on the title character from Ranma 1/2. Ranma Saotome isn't gay, or even bisexual. But he is VERY transgendered. While training with his father over a couple of cursed springs, Ranma and his father fall in, causing Genma(Ranma's dad) to turn into a panda. Ranma gets the unfortunate(?) fate of turning into a girl.
We quickly learn that when exposed to cold water, Ranma transforms into a female version of himself, but hot water will change him back. This creates several hilarious situations that make poor Ranma emotionally unstable (you'd be constantly pissed too if you were always having to worry about wearing a bra or not).
It could be argued that Ranma is a lesbian in his girl form...if he ever actually kissed a girl. For various reasons, Ranma is betrothed to three different girls (not counting the other ones that he meets along the course of the series), but he doesn't seem to have any remote interest in pursuing any of them. And lets not forget Tatewaki Kuno, who hates boy-type Ranma with a passion, but has an undying love for girl-type Ranma.
Sadly, Ranma never finds a real relationship or anything (which is for the best, since that's not really the point of the series), but towards the end it seems like he may lean toward his fiance Akane.
This weeks character hails from the Star Trek Universe! Yoshi Mishima was a character in the Starfleet Acadamy comic that ran from 1996 - 1998. As we recently got a new Star Trek movie trailer, I felt it topical.
Yoshi went on several adventures with his teammates in the academy, but the topic of his sexuality came up when they met an alien named Halakith. Apparently her species is dying, so non-reproductive sex was considered taboo to their culture as it didn't help the species survive. They eventually grudgingly work through this argument, but it's the last we ever see of Yoshi as the comic was cancelled two issues later.
Star Trek has an unfortunate history with gay plotlines. It's known that the creator Gene Roddenberry was supportive of their inclusion in the show, but the shows producers in later years were less than sympathetic. Yoshi, in this comic, was actually the very first openly gay human in the Star Trek universe because of this.
Maybe if the movie does well, we'll get another shot.
Well this one was a surprise to me, as I hadn't caught up on Manifest Destiny yet, but the blog Heroes'n'Hunks got me up to speed. In issue #3 of Manifest Destiny, his origin is told.
Graymalkin, also known as Jonas Greymalkin, was actually born over 200 years ago. His father, catching him with another boy in the barn, beat him mercilessly until he went unconcious, then buried him alive because he believed him to be an 'abomination'.
At this point Greymalkin's mutant abilities activated, as they are strengthened when he is in darkness. Beast theorizes that the absolute darkness of being buried alive kept him invulnerable and in a state of suspended animation. The exact extent of his powers is not yet known, but that they are stronger in darkness (IE at night). He has night vision, enhanced agility and toughness, and super strength. He eventually wakes up after the events of Messiah Complex, as he was buried on the grounds of Xavier's mansion. (and is in fact revealed to be distantly related to the Professor)
In Manifest Destiny #3 he tells his origin to Anole, another gay Young X-Man, after a pleasant evening out.
Mr. Seduct is the online codename for Dr. Curtis Moss, a psychotherapist from Alias, and the focus of one of Jessica Jones' investigations. His wife discovers that his online infidelities are not with women as she suspected, but men. She hires Jessica to confirm this and she spends time online posing as another gay man and eventually arranged a face to face meeting with him. Jessica confronts him and he leaves, in shock, without saying a word. It's assumed that he admits he is gay to his wife. He later helps Jessica with a case.
From the pages of Strangers in Paradise, Katchoo and Francine are "more than friends but less than lovers" who met in high school. Francine considers Katchoo her best friend; Katchoo is in love with Francine. David is in love with Katchoo; and Casey is in love with David.
Complicated much?
Katchoo is an artist and former prostitute, and has ties to a mysterious organization that tries to influence politics. Francince is troubled by her own weight and has a low self-image. The comic won a GLAAD award in 2001, and is collected in nineteen trade paperbacks.
Grace has super-strength, enhanced durability and regenerative powers.
Thunder can control her density, (increasing her mass without increasing her size), becoming nearly invulnerable, and is the daughter of Black Lighting.
Together they are... a couple?
Yes, right at the end of Judd Winnick's run on The Outsiders they started kissing, basically out of nowhere, and are apparently still together in the new storyline, although Thunder has been kicked from the team. There has been some controversy over this situation, with some accusing Judd of just adding in gay characters whenever he gets bored. I say we need more personally, and Grace has been fairly open about her sexuality/promiscuity throughout the whole book.
"Oh Lois, you SO don't want to know!"
Comic of the Week
Review: Wonder Woman #1 - #5
OK, so a couple of unkind reviews from me of late. Does that mean I hate the whole New 52? No, not at all. Does it mean that I only enjoy the new characters? Definitely not. Case in point: Wonder Woman is one of my favorite books of the relaunch. I think it's very good, with strong writing, an excellent ambience and fantastic art. Read on for why this reboot is the first time I've ever subscribed to Wonder Woman!...
