Posted on 08/13/2002 8:02:52 AM PDT by MEGoody
A Comic Book Gets Serious on Gay Issues By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES
n the world of DC Comics, Kyle Rayner is Green Lantern, possessor of an emerald ring, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. He uses it to right wrongs and keep the residents of New York City safe.
His ring, however, is powerless to cope with the deadlines he faces in his civilian job as a freelance cartoonist. That's when Terry Berg, a teenage intern assigned to keep Kyle on track, entered the picture
In April last year, eight months after his introduction to the supporting cast, Terry did something few characters in comic books do: he revealed he was gay. In "Green Lantern" No. 154, which will go on sale in September, Terry is spotlighted in the first half of a two-part story about a downside of being proudly out. He will be the victim of a gay bashing. While the comic book industry over the years has introduced gay and lesbian characters, this is the first major story line involving a gay central character of a mainstream comic book.
Bob Schreck, an editor at DC Comics who is responsible for the "Batman" titles, "Green Arrow" and "Green Lantern," said the plans for the character of Terry began more than three years ago.
Mr. Schreck and Ron Marz, the book's previous writer, had planned two personal stories. In one, Kyle would face the loss of his mother, echoing the death of Mr. Marz's father. The other would focus on Terry as he coped with his confused feelings about his sexuality, much as Mr. Schreck, who says he is bisexual, did growing up. Their plans were curtailed when Mr. Marz accepted an offer to write exclusively for CrossGen Comics.
Then enter Judd Winick, a cartoonist who broke into the comic-book industry in 1998. Mr. Winick is perhaps better known as one of the 1994 roommates in "The Real World" in San Francisco on MTV. The experience led him to a strong friendship with Pedro Zamora, a well-known AIDS educator and fellow cast member. Mr. Winick chronicled their friendship and the death of Mr. Zamora in his graphic novel, "Pedro and Me," in 2000.
"Bob and I were friends for about a year even before I got into comics," Mr. Winick said. Once Mr. Schreck joined DC, Mr. Winick said, "everyone who Bob had ever met was asking him for work except me." Over lunch one day, Mr. Winick was offered the freelance writing chores on "Green Lantern."
Mr. Schreck says it was an easy decision. "He's Kyle Rayner in some ways. He's the same age. He's a cartoonist. So it's, like, write what you know."
And so the stage was set.
"My first issue introduced Terry. Fifteen pages in and there's Terry," Mr. Winick said. "We didn't want him to be a movie-of-the-week character. I wanted an established character that we grow to know and love and that Kyle cares about."
Eight months later, Terry came out of the closet. The issue won an award for best comic book of the year from Glaad, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The fan response, as measured in letters to the editor, was mixed. One reader wrote, "As a young gay guy, it's nice to see a character in comics . . . who is gay, and people around him who support him." Others were less than thrilled, with reactions ranging from calling the issue "a real waste of my time and money" to "liberal soapboxing."
"I think it's a really nice soapbox," Mr. Schreck said. "I just feel sorry for people who can't get outside of themselves and understand that the world is not their myopic view of it. We've tried to reasonably, intelligently educate people that we're not all one note."
Mr. Winick said: "The reaction of the negative side is everything that I expected. You always have the same 15 arguments come up. I could've read the letters before we got them." One of Mr. Winick's other freelance assignments is for Marvel Comics, where he writes "Exiles," a book about dimension-hopping superhero mutants. It features Sunfire, a young lesbian. The reaction, Mr. Winick said, has not been the same. "It's been heaven. It feeds into the fact that she's a lesbian. People don't have a problem with it. I think there's a double standard."
There is certainly a titillation factor: many of the female characters are impossibly endowed and wear the skimpiest costumes. It's no surprise to discover that the comics audience is dominated by men, who account for about 95 percent of the readership, said Maggie Thompson, editor of Comics Buyer's Guide, a weekly newspaper about the industry.
Skewed audience and proportions aside, comic books have not shied away from exploring social issues. In the 1970's Green Lantern and Green Arrow tackled poverty, drugs and corporate greed. More recently a teenager in a Wonder Woman story committed suicide, and Batman has taken a strong stand for gun control. At Marvel, Iron Man and Warbird are recovering alcoholics and the X-Men, outcasts because of their extraordinary powers, are more than familiar with prejudice.
Last year many of the comic companies - major and minor, separately and together - produced special issues that reflected on Sept. 11.
These stories have an impact on the creators and the readers. In the case of Terry, Mr. Schreck recalled a letter from the head of a corporation in California: "It was very short and very sweet. It talked about the first conversation that Kyle and Terry had. He was so effusive in how wonderful it was that comics were doing this. `I only wish I had someone in my life at Terry's age that would've said those things to me.' I just sat there bawling."
With good will being generated toward Terry, why then are things taking such a dark turn with the gay bashing? "It's a story that needs to be told," Mr. Schreck said. Some real-life tragedies have also played a role. "Where we're bringing Terry is very similar to the Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard moments," Mr. Schreck said, referring to the cross-dressing woman in Nebraska who was murdered in 1993 and the gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten, tied to a post and left to die in 1998.
Though the story concept had been ready for over a year, "there was nothing pleasant about writing the first couple of pages that describe what happened to Terry," Mr. Winick said. "I know people who have been beaten up. Anyone who thinks that this part is exaggerated is wrong."
Even after the assault, while Green Lantern searches the city for Terry's assailants, another conflict will be brewing in the hospital waiting room.
"While he's lying there in a coma, we thought another body-blow moment to his soul would be to have Dad be really mad," Mr. Schreck said. "Here's his son lying there, almost dying, and he's still worried about the fact that he's gay. And that's unfortunately a story that's been repeated a million times."
If there is any reaction that Mr. Winick wants to the story, it is discussion.
"It would be nice if some teachers recognized that this is a story that could spin off conversation," he said. "And not just on the issue of sexuality and brutality, but in how people react. Was Kyle right in hunting these guys down and beating them? Did one of these guys deserve to die? I think there's a lot to be said there."
For all the violence, the story will not end on a low note. "Our first inclination was that he die," Mr. Winick said. "Then within 24 hours Bob and I both came back and said: I don't think we can kill him off. That's the cliché in all mediums. Who dies in movies? Gay people, people of color. Killing him seemed like too much. We wanted a little bit of hope."
I wish someone would publish statistics as to the number of 'gays' who actually are physically 'bashed' because they are gay. Of that number, I'd also like to know how many were being obnoxious about pronouncing their 'sexual orientation' to everyone and demanding 'acceptance'.
Next: Thor discovers Asgardian love... in the arms of Loki.
Thank God I got OUT of the comics industry.
B-chan
PLUG - There are alternatives, however. Whoy not give our comics a try?
That is true...most comic book readers today are males, college age and up. I used to collect comics, and quit 'cold turkey' when social issues like homosexuality were introduced; along with enviromentalism in the form of 'gaia worship'. Another innocent childhood pursuit destroyed by liberals. Shame...I used to enjoy reading "Green Lantern".
My question is how fast will circulation drop and how long before it's cancelled. I give it a year, tops.
"It would be nice if some teachers recognized that this is a story that could spin off conversation," he said. "And not just on the issue of sexuality and brutality, but in how people react. Was Kyle right in hunting these guys down and beating them? Did one of these guys deserve to die? I think there's a lot to be said there."
I am still waiting for the comic book that tells the story of Jesse Dirkhising, who was brutally murdered and raped by two homosexuals; of the story of the pink Mafia that runs a large portion of the Catholic Church; etc etc.
Or Alan Scott, if you *really* want to go "old school"
I guess Superbunger can only be a step away.
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