In honor of Marvel's Astonishing X-Men #51, in which Northstar will wed his boyfriend Kyle Jinadu, Midtown Comics is offering the chance for a pair of comic book fans to tie the knot in their New York City store.
Northstar (a.k.a Jean Paul Beaubier), one of the first openly gay comic book superheroes, came out in a 1992 issue of Alpha Flight. He's appeared in a number of different story arcs since then, but it was only when author Marjorie M. Liu took the reigns of the Astonishing X-Men series that Northstar could wed his longtime boyfriend, Kyle.
The engagement--which has been long-hyped and hinted at--occurred at the end of issue No. 50. Though No. 50 has just hits stands, it's doing very well, according to sources at Midtown Comics. Marvel broke the news that the wedding will take place in the upcoming issue by announcing it on yesterday's episode of the view. This has been a momentous year for gay comic book weddings; the Northstar/Jiadu wedding comes on the heals of Kevin Keller and Clay Walker's marriage in this year's Life With Archie #16.
In celebration of Northstar and Jinadu's nuptials, Midtown Comics is searching for a comic-loving gay couple to wed on the morning of June 20, the same day that Astonishing X-Men #51 hits newsstands.
"We wanted do something to celebrate the idea of the book" says Midtown's Events Director, Thor Parker, "to give back to our fans as best we could."
Midtown Comics chose its location in Downtown Manhattan (on 64 Fulton St.) for the location, since it can hold up to a 50-person wedding party. The store is also on board with the reception, which associates say will be held offsite. They've also gotten hold of an officiant and a band, but say that they want to work with the couple to make sure that the wedding is "perfect."
Though Midtown Comics just made the announcement this week, they've already gotten a few emails from interested couples. Parker says there's no special criteria for choosing a couple, and that they may do more than one wedding if the demand is great enough.
