DC Comics reveled that the New 52 version of Alan Scott is gay in Earth 2 #2 this week. As the original Green Lantern it is quite a change from the character created in 1940 by Martin Nodell with story development from Bill Finger. Both men if still alive would be startled by the new direction of their superhero. He was one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America the early superhero group before World War II. He also had a daughter in time called Jade and therefore was heterosexual as were all the heroes of that time. The heroes of that day reflected what people thought was normal in society. The word gay had a very different meaning back then and had nothing to do with sexuality. Times do change I give you that but why should the original intent of the creator change to this extent. It is very progressive of the DC writers to do this and helps sell comics which is what they are trying to do and they get a lot of communications from gay activist to represent their sexual view point and that’s OK they buy comics too. But they could take a lesson from Marvel which was the first to reveal a gay superhero (Northstar), they created heroes with gay sexual orientation and did not mess with established heroes and their sexuality was not their main reason people read the comic book.
Why do you read superhero comics? As a child it was to see Superman fly or Spider-Man swing from building to building and see how a super being would react in the world to challenges of villains and catastrophes and fight evil. It really was not to see who they went to bed with. Their sexual orientation was not why I read comics. If you have young ones please prepare them for what they might read in the comic media explain to them that there are different world views and it is reflected in the visual and printed media today. You can’t escape it so parents need to prepare their children to make choices in entertainment that are correct for their age and understanding how the world works. Many adults read comics now and writers are writing adult themes more in the regular hard hitting main titles. While I do not want censoring of story’s by the society police comic book publishers should make it easier for parents to identify safer comics with less explicit sexual situation. The comic store owner can help in this area there are comics that are OK for young readers, do your home work.
There are plenty sexually explicit comics for the adult taste but superhero comics are not created for that reason. Good art and good story are the reason people read comics and alien themselves with a superhero or superhero group because they enjoy reading and looking at the art work. When this is done right it clicks with readers and people buy comics which make comic publishers make good comics. Ultimately the reader and buyer of comic publications control what is produced and in time will make writers and artist produce what sells. Tell us why you buy comics and what you like and dislike about them. How do you like the direction they are going in the 21st century. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. 🙂 Walt