Marvel Comics to unveil gay gunslinger

CNN ^ | Monday, December 9, 2002

[Michael2001]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Marvel Comics plans to break new ground in the comic book industry by introducing the first openly gay title character in a comic book.

The character will appear in a revival of the 1950s title, "The Rawhide Kid." Marvel expects a February debut.

[Michael2001]

Apparently plans are to turn Jimmy Olsen gay in Superman 5. Go figure

[freebilly]

Can Captain Gaymerica be far behind...?

[Sabertooth]

Marvel is an its own Disney Death Spiral with its comic book line. There is nothing for kids, they're eating the seed corn.

[KneelBeforeZod]

does he carry a lady smith?

[exit82]

"Is that a Colt .45 in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

In my day, this would have been a funny idea in Mad Magazine.

That this is really going to happen is a cultural nightmare.

[ex-Texan]

I can visualize it now: The Rawhide Kid is presented to children everywhere as a child who 'loves men.' Well, 'loves' is incorrect, and a perversion of the term. He is presented as a male child who give pleasure to as many sexual perverts as possible. The ultimate in 'Gay anti-Hero Comics.' In short, the ultimate sex slave fantasy for the twisted, deluded, and vile pederast crowd.

Rawhide Kid ought to sell rawhide dildoes for the @ssraping pederasts to use on their underage sex slaves. Probably we can anticipate nasty ads selling the devices on the backs of comics.

If a single 'gay Rawhide Kid comic' appears on the market, respectfuly predict a bonfire of the vanities will take place. Demise of Marvel Comic is correct. 'Nuff said.

[Mo1]

with Ron Zimmerman, a writer for the "Howard Stern Show."

A writer for the Howard Stern show???

Something tells me not even the gays will be happy about this

[Destro]

This is to be published under Marvel's (failing) MAX imprint. MAX stories are set in an alternate Marvel reality from the core universe. It is a publicity stunt using a hero not well known outside of comic book fandom.

MAX was started as an experiment to see if they can boost sales by getting down and dirty for adults. Comics are no loner read by kids the way they used to be. The average comic book reader/collector is in his 20s and getting older as time goes by. Efforts to sell comic books to younger kids has not been possible this last decade probably because of video games and card collectable fads.

I know there will be a lot of outraged parents on this thread but I doubt any of their kids read comic books or would know where to buy them since comics are no longer sold in newsstands but in specialty stores.

..and now you know and knowing is half the battle.

[weegee]

Also in this thread: Marvel Comics to release Pro-Homosexual Comic Book.

[weegee]

Nothing says gay westerm comics like this cover:

[Demosthenes]

In other news, DC announced plans to release it's newest title "Fagman and Bobbin" this January, to be followed up by quarterly releases of all-new gay superheros. March will bring DC fans the new adventures of Wonder Dyke and her invisible motorcycle, while the new horror title "Count Humpula" is slated for a june release.

Pending the success of these titles, Marvel will follow closely with plans to perform a double penetration of the gay comic market with "Twinkie, the barebacking wonder queer," and also "Freddie Fernandez, the Fabulous Fairyman."

[weegee]

The bigger problem for marketing comics to kids is the cover price of monthly titles. The buying market is shrinking (down from artifically inflated "speculators" in modern issues as a "collectible").

Marvel will go bankrupt at some point but they don't even need to publish comics to be commerically successful. The movie rights and commercial licensing for toys, shirts, advertising, etc. are much more profitable (name a comic title that brought in anywhere near the dollars earned from the movie and product tie-ins for Spider-Man The Movie). I realize that the theatrical investment is much greater (over a $100million poured into the film) but bottom line it dwarfs anything Marvel Comics generates itself.

Disney tried to publish their own comics (after Gladstone had successfully launched their licensed Disney comics with good talent). Disney didn't know how to handle the industry and shutdown the comics division.

The creativity in the comics realm gives these corporations many characters and developed stories (Disney adapted the Carl Barks' Dell Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge stories into Ducktales and made money). The characters are written under license but outside of the company.

There was some speculation when Marvel's stock was below a dollar that DC/WB would buy out Marvel. Someone will buy the company for licensing purposes to be sure, but I could almost envision Marvel Corp. licensing the comic characters to the highest bidder possibly even breaking up the "Marval world" in to blocks of properties, just like the movies.

[HiTech RedNeck]

In a bubble in the first edition of the series, Rawhide Kid comments about the Lone Ranger: "I think that mask and the powder blue outfit are fantastic. I can certainly see why the Indian follows him around."

Back when America still had sense, a "remark" like this would cast RK as the villain.

[Destro]

First, your right the market guy should get a pat on his back. The Raw Hide Kid is not even well known among collectors. I'm not sure if I know what's cool anymore, but I can tell you what isn't cool... this new comic hero. Kids won't want to read it. Kids no longer read comic books. The average age of the reader is in their 20s and getting older. Gay men wont read it as well since there is no sex act that will be show (if it was gay porn gay men would buy it in droves!). This is a publicity stunt on the reputation of an expendable character. I can tell you the Marvel fan base is not happy with this, not because they love the character but they hate "continuity" being messed with.

[weegee]

A story like this falls under advertising and marketing (the controversy it generates may generate sales as well). Even if this title doesn't sell well, Marvel got their name in the news and got people to think about different comic books again.

Someone at CNN had to decide to give this story "legs". Perhaps he or she had a social agenda.

I agree that there are more pressing matters that the news could be covering in depth. This type of news story disappeared for awhile after 9.11.01. Postmodern irony and simpleminded BS disappeared from the airwaves. People started to reappraise just what they were doing. America has forgotten all of that and fallen into its old habits again.

[Destro]

Marvel already went bankrupt. Marvel sold the rights to Spiderman movies for a song compared to the results. It was a flat one time fee. Comics are expensive for kids, almost 3 bucks a pop for 22 pages. Which means you need to read at least a half dozen books to get a good reading buzz going. Marvel is still teh biggest comic book publisher there is and I doubt the FTC will allow Marvel to be bought out by DC. Maybe Sony will buy Marvel for use of characters in their playstation games and their movie products. The Japanese know comic books which are read by all kinds in large numbers in Japan.

[weegee]

Can Captain Gaymerica be far behind...?

No but Captain America may be more appropriately titled Captian AntiAmerica:

Marvel Plans Black 'Captain America'

In the new prequel, called ``Truth: Red, White & Black'' . which Marvel Comics feted at a launch event in Philadelphia on Friday . the Army first tests the serum on three black recruits, one of whom gains superpowers.

``(The concept) is that basically these guys were sacrificed to create and shore up the whole 'Captain America' myth,'' said writer Robert Morales, who is crafting the series with illustrator Kyle Baker.

The story echoes the infamous Tuskegee Experiment, in which the U.S. government from 1932 to 1972 left poor blacks in Alabama untreated for syphilis in order to watch the disease's effect.

It replaces the notion of our government developing a superpatriot hero with a racist government that experimented on minorities before going ahead with using the "safe" serum on the white guy.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It might not be read as blatant paedo amusement, but it will be read by those who like the comic going camp. I wish this would receive a firestorm of protest, but sadly it probably won't. As for content I bet it is tamer than (retch, barf) Tommy Has Two Daddies.

[arielb]

hmmmm