Out of the closet and into the comics
Comic characters often reinforce negative traits
and stereotypes
V
Banner exclaims, outside, ‘[I] think I'm going
to throw up. God . . . what they were going
to do to me — ! Oh my god . . . How can any
mazing Heroes , a national comic trade
publication, in its June 15 edition,
one . . . ? ’ ”
published a lengthy article, “ Out of the Closet On a slowly changing attitude in comics.
and Into the Comics,” by Portland writer Andy
M angels writes:
M angels.
“ W riter Mike Baron has included scenes in
M angels, a comic book author, gives exam
several o f his comic series, and has been the
ples o f traditional comic-book homophobia as
well as some o f the limited examples o f positive
imagery now being presented in American
com ic literature.
“ Com ics, especially mainstream Marvel or
Proudly and
DC series, have traditionally had a lack of gay
openly gay,
characters When they are used, however, these
Howard
characters often reinforce the negative traits and
Cruse is
stereotypes,” says Mangels,
blunt with
“ The first depiction in any mainstream comic
controversial
o f gays was in The Hulk Magazine # 2 3 ,
topics about
O ctober 19X0, in a story by Jim Sh(X)ter. In the
gays .from
story, Bruce Banner checks into the YMCA.
his D ancin’
While in the shower he is accosted and
Nekkid with
threatened with rape by two young men. When
the Angels.
Banner escapes, the lilting, earringed examples
o f manhood exclaim ‘Oh pith’ (sic), and then,
one would assume, rush off to do their nails.
B Y
H A R O L D
M O O R E
A
center o f a heterosexual AIDS controversy in
the pages o f The Flash letters column since he
began work on that series last year. In ‘Nexus,’
Sundra Peale had a lesbian affair with Jil, while
in another issue. Nexus, disguised as ‘Lance,’
admits to being homosexual to get away from a
woman’s sexual advances. In ‘Sonic Disrupters,’
Baron has tossed out several gay references,
topping them o ff with a gay sex scene between a
tele-evangelist and one o f his young male
followers, a la Jim Bakker.
“ I asked Baron, since he seemed so at ease
with the subject o f homosexuality, was he
sympathetic to the cause, or possibly gay him-
self? He responded, ‘No, I’m not. As a matter
o f fact, I’m somewhat homophobic.’ Baron
went on to explain that although he couldn't
identify with, or completely understand the
reasons behind the same-sex preference, he
realized that gays were a legitimate part of
humanity.”
Mangels encourages fans of comic fiction to
monitor the material and take exception to
examples o f unfair depiction of homosexuality.
“ The publishers are sensitive to criticism, and
in the end we only have to purchase what we see
as non-exploitive and fair.”
•
D n MY FANTASIES, I HEROICALLY DEMOLISH
THE SICK A RG UM EN TS OF T H E GUH.T-
MONGERS WITH MY CLEAR-HEADED WIT. ..
I T »
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f / / ' '
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