Homosexuality in the comic book world has been been a pressing topic in the industry as of late. With the growing push for LGBTQ reprenstation in mainstream media, it has become an even bigger discussion. With all the other major media, comics have been very involved in the push for inclusiveness. There have been two same-sex marriages on the covers of the Astonishing X-men and Archie, and the first transgender comic book character, the roommate of Batgirl, Alysia Yeoh, was introduced. It seems like gay characters are new to comic books, but they actually appeared as early as the ‘60s and ‘70s in European, Asian, and indie comic-books. Just not so much in the huge American Marvel comics.
Marvel’s first real depiction of homosexuals was in …show more content…
At the same time Batman’s main villain, The Joker began to change. Taking on more feminine and homosexual tones, mirroring the rise of homosexuality in America. In the 1970s the Joker was clearly straight. Even having a crush on Black Canary. Theses feminine are clear in the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns. This version of the Joker also appeared in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison. Even with all this, the Joker never comes out as a gay character. These feminine characteristics, are used to make him seem more …show more content…
For example, Terry Berg in Green Lantern, who first appeared in October 2000 as an assistant to the current Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, had crush on Kyle. This caused him to question his identity and sexuality. After accepting his sexuality, he began dating another character, David. In issue 154, they even kissed. After this kiss, however, Terry was the victim of a hate crime that left him in a coma for two issues. DC also introduced lesbian characters, like Renee Montoya, a character in the Batman comics, introduced in 1992 in issue 475. For ten years she only appeared in a small number of scenes, but in 2003 with the beginning of a new series, Gotham Central this changed. The new comic took a deeper look at the daily lives of the police officers of Gotham City. This opened the window for Renee's struggle with her
Marvel’s first real depiction of homosexuals was in …show more content…
At the same time Batman’s main villain, The Joker began to change. Taking on more feminine and homosexual tones, mirroring the rise of homosexuality in America. In the 1970s the Joker was clearly straight. Even having a crush on Black Canary. Theses feminine are clear in the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns. This version of the Joker also appeared in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison. Even with all this, the Joker never comes out as a gay character. These feminine characteristics, are used to make him seem more …show more content…
For example, Terry Berg in Green Lantern, who first appeared in October 2000 as an assistant to the current Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, had crush on Kyle. This caused him to question his identity and sexuality. After accepting his sexuality, he began dating another character, David. In issue 154, they even kissed. After this kiss, however, Terry was the victim of a hate crime that left him in a coma for two issues. DC also introduced lesbian characters, like Renee Montoya, a character in the Batman comics, introduced in 1992 in issue 475. For ten years she only appeared in a small number of scenes, but in 2003 with the beginning of a new series, Gotham Central this changed. The new comic took a deeper look at the daily lives of the police officers of Gotham City. This opened the window for Renee's struggle with her