Oh, Green Lantern is Gay Now? *Yawn*
Even my Mom has heard about this. Someone in marketing is getting a raise. Image via weeklyworldnews.com
Mainstream comics have made some progress creating quality minority characters, but this feels like pure marketing to me. Still, I’m having a hard time getting worked up about this.
It’s true that mainstream comics have a rotten history with LGBT characters, and that the big two are not generally known for their fair and accurate portrayals of minorities. To come out with a new gay character when it is politically advantageous seems rather cheap.
There was a switch at some point when supporting LGBT rights would no longer hurt business. It used to be brave to stand up for marriage equality, but between the Starbucks boycott backfiring, Ellen at JC Penny, and Archie Comics’ gay wedding, the tables have turned. Having a gay spokesperson or character is no longer subversive, but it isn’t “normal” either; it’s a unique advantage. Companies appear to be taking a risk, but they aren’t.
I could point out that this isn’t even the main Green Lantern, but the one on Earth 2, where Batman and Superman are dead and no one outside of hardcore comics nerds knows what’s going on (I sure don’t). I might mention that this is months after Archie proved it could be done without hurting a publisher’s image or sales; proved that it would help sales. Polls consistently indicate that the majority of Americans support LGBT rights. And uh, didn’t the president come out in favor of marriage equality like three weeks ago?
Sorry DC, you’ve been eclipsed by the president.
My point is, there are lots of reasons I would usually make a fuss about this, but in the big scheme of things it’s fantastic. If we’ve reached a point where gay characters are a surefire way to get positive media attention and increase sales, it’s a win-win – more diversity means writers will have to get better at writing minorities, and mainstream comics might gain some new readership in the process. Although speaking for myself, I won’t be running out to start reading The Green Lantern, Earth-2.
Wait, isn’t his nickname The Emerald Guardian? Maybe he really has been in the closet this whole time…
You win some, you lose some, I guess. via greencrook.tumblr.com
Try harder, DC. I’ll be impressed by your shiny new gay characters when you can design some decent female or racial minority characters, and stop ruining the good ones.
This.
A win-win, as you say Ashley, but I’m confident in saying that DC are the ones winning more than anyone else here. Baby steps though?
This would have had more impact, but probably less marketing success, if Green Lantern’s (or any other character’s) sexuality was simply shown naturally over the course of a story, as opposed to being another ‘shocking reveal’. Here’s hoping.
I feel like the fact that they have an announcement, teasing a character coming out (but who?), and all this coverage leading up to it kind of shows why this is an issue. It shows that they’re doing it for sales instead of just telling the story about this character. At one hand it’s also like they’re saying they’re altering this character to now be gay because it’s completely normal and they’re okay with that, but the simple fact that they feel the need to announce it to the world and stir up all this buzz about it is kind of also saying the opposite. Are they stirring up buzz about Bruce Wayne still digging the ladies?
If they wanted to tell a story about a character who happens to be gay, just do that.
And having it be a Green Lantern that is an alternate universe from their “main” universe that is in itself a brand new universe with it’s characters and story lines being rejiggered doesn’t exactly say that they’re completely backing this character.
I feel that it’s a positive move to have characters with diversity, gay heroes is a step in the right direction, but when it’s made into a circus like this it’s clearly to drum up sales for a book that normally only hardcore readers would buy. Maybe once they get readers to take a look they can do positive things and tell good stories.
You guys said it, alright. I started writing this before I learned that it was Earth-2 GL, and when I found that out I got a little annoyed. With all the fuss they made you would think it was Superman coming out or something. (I was hoping for Wonder Woman.)
And really, it doesn’t impress me at all that they have a gay character when so many women characters have been turned into sex dolls. They should run a marketing campaign about every comic Gail Simone writes, since she’s one of the only writers doing good stories about women. “Upcoming comic with female characters who AREN’T defined by their sexuality!”
I can’t speak to knowledge of all the characters in DCU.
I am enjoying Gail Simone’s take on Batgirl, I like that it’s about a young woman trying her best and sometimes failing, dealing with her fears, family issues, etc. I am not sure with DC pushing the line that they want to diversify their characters, the point of taking the one character that seemed to have a huge role and also was handicapped, Oracle, and just turning her back into a Batgirl again. I feel like she meant more to that world as Oracle, where they could, and have, introduced girls in that role already.
Catwoman is a horrible book, every issue seems to have a goal for the number of times they can show off her breast and ass. But the character herself in this book seems to be written as a horrible, self-centered person. I find nothing enjoyable about the book, not even all the breast and ass, not sure if that’s due to my age, it just being way overboard or what here.
Another book that seemed to get a lot of grief about being really sexual was Redhood, which I only read the Night of the Owls book, and these characters seemed to be written as horrible people as well.
And there is Amanda Waller, which I don’t get at all. Did they feel like her character would mean more to readers if they gave her the body of a supermodel?
This all seems like a publicity stunt, no less then “Death of Superman”. Maybe they have an interesting story to tell revolving around this new Alan Scott, but what are the chances Earth 2 will still be published in 3 years, and therefore the existence of this version of Alan Scott?
I’m just glad there weren’t any AIDs babies in dumpsters this time around.
Also, Midnighter and Apollo have been openly gay since their release in the new 52.
Hasn’t gotten an ounce of coverage, which is strange.
Especially considering their history as such an awesome power couple.