lgbtq

Between the new television cartoon, last year's remarkable CGI movie, the new comics put out by Kaboom and the themed strip collections put out by Fantagraphics to supplement the The Complete Peanuts series, it's been a good time to be a fan of the work of Charles M. Schulz. But in absorbing a lot of this stuff, something leaped out at me that I can't push aside: Peppermint Patty --- formally known as Patricia Reichardt --- should be bisexual.

There was a time not so long ago when one could count off all the LGBTQ superheroes at Marvel and DC on the fingers of one hand. We’ve seen an increasing number of queer heroes make their debuts in recent years, and a few established heroes have come out as LGBTQ, but the number of queer superheroes at the Big Two in any given month is still sometimes small enough to count on one hand. To celebrate Pride, and the many LGBTQ heroes that have appeared at Marvel and DC over the years, we’ve assembled a panel of ComicsAlliance contributors to hold a fantasy draft. Our writers will take turns building up seven-member dream teams of LGBTQ superheroes from the ranks of both publishers.

Written, illustrated and self-published by Kylie Wu since 2013, the autobiographical webcomic TransGirlNextDoor deals with the fun and frustrations that come with being a young California surfer girl during her transition --- the process of changing which gender she lives as.

When you go to the movies this year, there’s one thing you’re guaranteed to see a lot of: superheroes. Captain America: Civil War will feature at least 15 superheroes and supervillains, and throughout 2016 roughly 60 comic book characters will grace the screen across six Marvel and DC franchises...

Prism Comics has released a 25-page free preview of its upcoming Alphabet anthology, which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. Alphabet commemorates 10 years of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant, and features full-color comics from nearly 50 creators, some of whom have received the grant in the past. It's going to be an impressive collection of LGBTQ-oriented comics from a wide variety of talents. The Alphabet Kickstarter ends on Thursday Dec. 24, at 12:50 PM EST. As of this writing, funding is more than two-thirds of the way towards an $18,000 goal, so its chances look pretty good, but there's only a week left, and queer art can always use whatever help it can get.

The first trailer for Marvel's Captain America: Civil War dropped late last night, and it riled up all the feels that Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are used to; the thrill of seeing a new character in action (hey, it's Black Panther, finally!); the wonder at the awe-inspiring action and athelticism (Steve doing helicopter stretches!); the worry about how Black Widow's wig will look this time (pretty good). But this trailer --- and this movie --- brings extra feels, because it's the third and possibly final chapter in the MCU's greatest romance; the ballad of Bucky and Steve. If you came to this trailer hoping for some lingering glances and barely concealed intimations of love, you weren't going to leave disappointed. Let's review the gayest Stucky moments (that's Steve/Bucky) in the Civil War trailer.

At a time when most of comics was tiptoeing around the notion of gay, bi and lesbian people existing – much less being portrayed well – The Legion of Super-Heroes was making text out of subtext with characters such as Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass, and doing it during one of the series' most creatively daring periods. Yet as the fate of the character Shvaughn Erin illustrates, a step forward for some can often leave others behind.

Imagine, if you will, being a goddess of ancient Rome. You've got power, supplicants, luxurious raiment, a devout young priestess you've fallen in love with. Suddenly it's 2,000 years later, and while you're still doing your thing --- with the horns and the robes and the lack of understanding of electricity --- the rest of the world is all gas station minimarts and doric columns on the sides of 'We Are Happy To Serve You' coffee mugs. You do, at least, find your priestess, resplendent as ever in the denim shorts and crop top she's traded in her toga for. But...she doesn't know who you are. She doesn't understand why you're dressed they way you are. She's lost her memory of what you meant to each other entirely. Such is the tale of the goddess Axiothea and her priestess Caelia, the subject of Payton Francis and Megan C.'s recently-launched webcomic, Honey And Venom. Eager to get the details on this charming new read, ComicsAlliance sat down with them to talk collaboration, Euripedes, and Dionysian cults.

Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, became comics' biggest gay superhero last week — again, but also for the first time, because nothing is ever simple in superhero comics. In a scene by Brian Michael Bendis and Mahmud Asrar in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #600, the older of two Bobby Drakes (from two different points in time) acknowledged his gayness to the other, younger Bobby. The younger Bobby had previously come out in a very similar scene in All-New X-Men #40 back in April, also by Bendis and Asrar. (Both scenes involved an unsolicited confrontation, an intrusive Jean Grey, and an acknowledgement of teammate Angel's good looks.) While I have a few problems with how all of this was executed, from Jean's willingness to violate people's privacy to Marvel's willingness to taunt readers with an inexplicable six month delay between the two coming out scenes, I think that how Bobby came out matters much less than the fact that he came out at all. It's an especially welcome step forward coming less than a week after Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso fumbled the coming out of another Marvel character.

Let me put my cards on the table: Sophie Campbell is my favorite comic book artist. She has been at least since the Glory series she did with Joe Keatinge, although I was a fan of her work even before that. I was thrilled when her Jem and Holograms series with Kelly Thompson was announced, and it’s one of my very favorite things on the stands right now. But my favorite comics work she’s done is Wet Moon, a series of graphic novels from Oni Press, which has been ongoing for over a decade. In Wet Moon, Campbell weaves realism with subtle fantasy and horror elements, and follows a large cast of distinct characters. There are six books currently out, and Campbell has said there are at least two more to come.