Although LGBT characters are still relatively rare in mainstream comic books, representation has reached a high water mark in recent years. These ten heroes were selected by Bill Schelly, who, as a gay kid, grew up reading comics long before any heroes were “out” – as he describes in his new book Sense of Wonder: My Life in Comic Fandom—The Whole Story (North Atlantic Books).
ASTONISHING X-MEN #51: Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) was one of the first gay superheroes in American comic books, and the first openly gay character to come out in a Marvel comic book. He married his husband Kyle Jinadu in this issue in June 2012, the first same-sex marriage shown in mainstream comics. Plus, he’s a real bad-ass!
Artwork courtesy of Marvel Comics.
AMERICA #1: Miss America Chavez is the queer Latina hero we needed and, last year, she got her own comic book, simply called America. She flies, creates interdimensional portals, and kicks ass wherever she goes.
Artwork courtesy of Marvel Comics.
BATWOMAN #8: Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, is the second hero in Gotham City to use that name. She was announced as a lesbian from the get-go (in 2006), in an attempt to add diversity to DC Comics’ lineup of superheroes. She was romantically involved with Renee Montoya, a police detective who took up the mantle of The Question, another DC hero.
Artwork courtesy of DC Comics.
ICEMAN #1: Bobby Drake gets props for being one of the original X-Men, first appearing in the very first issue back in 1963. This very hot guy has mutant powers that allow him to manipulate ice and cold in various ways. Drake came out as gay in Extaordinary X-Men #6, and received a solo series in August 2017.
Artwork courtesy of Marvel Comics.
HARLEY QUINN #1: Quinn is a supervillain, although her persona has been softened in her new comic book series after almost stealing The Suicide Squad movie. She was invented as part of the Joker’s retinue in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, and unexpectedly went on to become one of DC’s most popular new characters. In 2015, she was revealed to be pansexual, and in a relationship with her longtime partner in crime, Poison Ivy.
Artwork courtesy of DC Comics.
HELLBLAZER: John Constantine, the British occult detective known as Hellblazer, may not wear spandex, but certainly qualifies as a superhero. Revealed to be bisexual in 2002, his orientation has never been a big part of his comic book adventures, although it was featured in the 2015 series Constantine: Hellblazer.
Artwork courtesy of DC Comics.
YOUNG AVENGERS #5: The shape-shifting Hulkling (Teddy Altman) and the magic-wielding Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) are boyfriends in this team of young heroes. Wiccan is the son of the Vision and Scarlet Witch, thus his name, which is intended to be taken as the male equivalent of “witch.” Teddy’s alien origin adds another interesting dimension to their pairing.
Artwork courtesy of Marvel Comics.
KEVIN KELLER #10: Although not really a superhero, it’s worth stretching a point to include Archie’s gay friend Kevin in a discussion of important gay characters in comics. Created by writer-artist Dan Parent, he seems to be flirting with a future in spandex in this issue, when he becomes a masked crime fighter named The Equalizer. It didn’t last, but Kevin’s continuing status as one of Archie’s close friends seems assured.
Artwork courtesy of Archie Comics.
RAWHIDE KID #1: Slap leather! Here’s another example of point-stretching, but at least the Rawhide Kid wears the same outfit, or costume, from issue to issue. The revelation of Johnny Bart’s homosexuality occurred in Marvel’s mature-audience Max imprint in a five-issue mini-series in 2003, just a couple of years before the gay movie breakthrough film Brokeback Mountain. Who knew the West was this wild?
Artwork courtesy of Atlas Comics.
WONDER WOMAN #4: Having grown up on the women-only island Themyscrira (also known as Paradise Island), Diana is generally considered bisexual or pansexual, in that same-sex relationships were normal on an island without men. Wonder Woman is an LGBT icon, a view with which DC Comics and actress Gal Gadot are comfortable. The character was created by a man who was in a polyamorous relationship with two women in the pre-World War II era.
Artwork courtesy of DC Comics.
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