lgbtq

The last few years have really nailed home how important it is to see representation in comics --- for readers to get the chance to see characters who represent them, or the heroes they spire to be. One of those comics is the Duck series by Tana Ford. A gay woman, the eponymous Duck is far from perfect; she faces problems, exhibits her own prejudice, and lives in a fully-realized, three-dimensional world where friends and society clash in ways that feel honest and realistic. The series has been hugely acclaimed, with the first volume winning the PRISM Comics Queer Press Grant, and volume two nominated for a LAMBDA literary award. And the good news is that third volume of the series, Duck! Third Time is the Charm, is now running on Kickstarter. ComicsAlliance spoke to Ford about the series, the character, and the overall importance of getting honest, interesting representation in comics.

This week saw the release of the second issue of Negative Space, the sci-fi horror comic from Dark Horse, which features art by Owen Gieni (Manifest Destiny, Shutter) and story by Ryan K. Lindsay (Headspace, CMYK). The book centers on Guy Harris, a suicidally depressed man who discovers that his own dark emotions are being harvested by a secret corporation. ComicsAlliance spoke with Lindsay about what inspired the book, how he layers on the horror, and why he chose to step outside of his own experiences to write Guy.

Superheroes meant a great deal to my sense of queer identity when I was growing up. The men were rarely drawn as sex symbols, but their athleticism and close male friendships were as close to homoeroticism as the culture allowed me. The presence of strange outsider heroes like Cloak and Dagger, the X-Men, and even DP7, combined with the fantasy of superhuman champions fighting on behalf of the weak and oppressed, made superheroes integral to my sense of self-worth when everything else conspired to tell me I was worthless. With this new series of columns, 'Super', I'm going to look at some of the questions arising at the intersection of LGBTQ identity and superhero fiction, starting with a really vital one. Why isn't there a gay Ms Marvel?

A few weeks ago, ComicsAlliance had a nice long chat with writer Steve Orlando about Virgil, the queersploitation graphic novel set in Kingston, Jamaica that he's been working on with artist J.D. Faith, colorist Chris Beckett, and letterer Tom Mauer. In honor of the book's release, we sat down with Faith, Beckett, and Mauer to hear about their experiences working on the book, and how they operated together as a team.

Nine Worlds Geekfest is a London convention that is --- and let’s just get this out of the way now --- unconventional. The event was born out of a Kickstarter in 2013 which sought to put on a “weekend-long, multi-genre convention” with a note that they are “founded on the radical belief that geekdom should not be restricted by class, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, or the ability to cite Wookieepedia in arguments.” This is the kind of lip service you see at most conventions, despite actual attendants finding the truth to be slightly different. But Nine Worlds puts its money where its mouth is.

Marvel, you and I are taking a break. It’s not me; it’s you — and you made the decision really easy. In the past two to three weeks, I have watched you disrespect and disregard marginalized voices and I’ve had enough.

The mythological demigod Hercules is bisexual. How you feel about that fact doesn't change the fact; the myths of antiquity have told us that Hercules loved women and men alike. Lustfulness is at the core of his character, and Hercules' appetites aren't limited by gender. Like many ancient myths, and like much of history, Hercules' stories have been bowdlerized by those who think same-sex relationships are sinful. Audiences introduced to the character through the Disney cartoon, the Kevin Sorbo TV show, the Dwayne Johnson movie, or the Marvel comics have good reason to think the character is heterosexual, because that's all they've ever seen. But that doesn't make it true. Hercules is bisexual. To deny that fact is to participate in the erasure of same-sex relationships on the grounds of a narrow and prescriptive morality.

San Diego Comic-Con is underway, bringing over 130,000 people to enjoy the pop culture extravaganza taking place inside and outside the convention center. There is a lot to see and do every day during SDCC. More likely than not, if you don't go in with a plan for experiencing the things that you most want to check out, you'll miss them!

San Diego Comic-Con is underway, bringing over 130,000 people to enjoy the pop culture extravaganza taking place inside and outside the convention center. There is a lot to see and do every day during SDCC. More likely than not, if you don't go in with a plan for experiencing the things that you most want to check out, you'll miss them!