DC Comics has decided that following President Obama’s “evolution,” they should have a major character come out of the closet in a future edition.
Who?
Senior VP Sales Bob Wayne said DiDio’s view ‘had evolved’, comparing the shift to Barack Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex marriage.
DiDio did not specify which character would ‘come out’ or in which issue it would be featured.
But Courtney Simmons, DC Entertainment’s senior vice president of publicity, told ABC News that it would be soon.
‘One of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June,’ Simmons told the network.
Meanwhile, Marvel just sent out a “Save the Date” for Northstar’s same sex marriage to his boyfriend:
Today, fans worldwide learned on ABC’s “The View” that Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar, proposes to his boyfriend Kyle Jinadu in ASTONISHING X-MEN #50, on-sale May 23 in comic stores, on the Marvel Comics app and at the Marvel Digital Comics Shop. The creative team of New York Times best-sellers Marjorie Liu and Mike Perkins have put Northstar and Kyle’s relationship to the test—and now they’re about to take their biggest step yet. But will their path to wedded matrimony in New York City be smooth or are there hidden dangers around the corner?
I hate to get all grumpy old fanboy on you, but back in my day, the comics didn’t really focus on the sexuality of the superhero. They focused on his battle against the super-villain.
I know, Northstar has been out as gay for decades, but they didn’t really make it a big deal. It was always about the battle between good and evil.
Crazy, I know.
That being said, I wonder how much of the comic book industry is actually targeting kids today. Comics are not cheap anymore. And most of the collectors, like me, are probably adults:
“Despite notable efforts from many in the industry, comics and graphic novels continue to be repeatedly mislabeled as just another children’s book category,” said Warren Pawlowski, online publishing manager for Simba Information and an analyst within the company’s Trade Books Group. “With nearly a quarter of the comic reading audience beyond the age of retirement, there is a misconception that needs to be corrected.”
The full report is $1,200, money I don’t intend to spend to find out more regarding the demographics of the average comic book reader. But I’ll bet Marvel and DC have, which lead them to the decision to make the books more mature.
What do you think? Is this move, to have one of the main DC characters come out of the closet, a sign that DC understands its demographics or a sign that sales are getting weak and they felt controversy increases the number of books out the door? Or both.
And, who do you think is coming out of the closet? I would guess Wonder Woman, but they already have Batwoman out as a lesbian, so it’s more likely it’s a guy.
I’m betting it’s the Flash.
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