Mailbag: NOT the first gay male comic book couple
In response to Queer Comic Book Characters Come Out an anonymous, and obviously well informed reader responds: Sigh... this reminds me of when they were calling Green Lantern #154 "the first instance of gay-bashing in mainstream comics" when they must have not realized that that very same series had an earlier instance of a hate crime against gay people (lesbians in #93, released in 1997) and there have been gay bashings before in DC comics as well as other mainstream comic book companies (most notably early in the 1988 Green Arrow series as well as in Alpha Flight #105, the issue before Northstar came out).It also reminds me of when they called the first Rawhide Kid "the first gay male character to get his own series." That wasn't true, either. Northstar had his own series back in '94, and like in RK, they were coy about mentioning the "g" word.
Once again both the gay and mainstream press has gotten it wrong when trying to tackle what is going on in comic books. Hulkling and Asgardian are NOT "the first gay male relationship in mainstream comics." There have been other gay male relationships, such as Josiah Power and his lover in the DC series The Power Company, the ill-fated Bloke and his lover in X-Force #117 and 118 and others, and who could forget the legendary Apollo and Midnighter (from The Authority #8).
If people feel like this is the most attractive or well-written relationship they can say "the first gay male relationship in mainstream comics with a happy ending," but please... be a little bit more honest, shall we?
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