In 1993, Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo slowly unraveled the tale of the Enigma. In a highly acclaimed comic book from Vertigo, a four color mystery wrapped in a riddle, the creators tackled a several taboos in this landmark series, including homosexuality. The premise is complicated (considering the title is Enigma, it should be expected). When a serial killer strikes Pacific City, Michael Smith, a mild-mannered phone company installer becomes embroiled in the drama. The serial killer is patterned after a fictional character in a comic book, reviving the ancient theatrical ploy of “a play within a play” in the four color medium as a “comic book within a comic book” (Apparently you can’t build a better mousetrap, but you can revitalize said chestnut in a different medium). Michael believes he is entangled in the mystery. The phone man proposes that a childhood fascination with his favorite hero, Enigma, is at the source of the strange crisis that has gripped  [Continue reading...]

Given the fact that the summer’s two biggest films were derived from comic books—The Dark Knight and Iron Man—does this make me a visionary because I caught onto comics 35 years earlier than the general public? While I’d love to claim that it’s because I alone knew from an early age what was cool before everyone else, it’s most likely the accumulation of 70 years of comic book fandom, the increased quality of the movies, and the fact that lots of people now running Hollywood started as comic book geeks like me. Of course, part of me resents that everyone has seemingly jumped onto the superhero wagon. You’ve got non comic book people making movies, TV, and commercials with superhero themes (Hancock, Heroes, etc.) and even writing comic books (John Woo? Guy Ritchie?). Even top designers recently contributed to an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of superhero costumes (Echhh!). It all seems like another trend like Lindsay Lohan’s lesbianism  [Continue reading...]

Okay, 'fess up: how many people have you told about the first time you had sex or, by your own definition, lost your virginity? If you're a non-heterosexual person, how do you even define this concept? Would you describe your experiences to someone who was going to turn it into a comic book story? Fortunately for us, 86 courageous individuals chose to bare all, and the result is an immensely enjoyable, thought-provoking and entertaining collection of stories called The Virgin Project. The stories cover virgin territory all over the map, from humorous recollections of adolescent fumbling to horrifying recounts of rape and abuse, reflecting our human family as a whole, in all its pleasures and pains. By my unofficial count, 17 of the stories are purely gay or lesbian, (perhaps 30 out of the total 130 drawn pages) and several more describe initiations involving both males and females, and for some of the contributors, it is never clear to the reader as to how they view  [Continue reading...]

I recently saw just the funniest thing on the interweb... it was a video on The You-Tube the kids are all crazy about these days. The short film "Twenty Gay Stereotypes Confirmed" features boys and men of various flavors introducing some of the many stereotypes about gay men, followed by videotaped proof culled from the filmmaker Jason Bolicki's own parents' collection of home movies of himself as a boy. It's wonderful and self-deprecating... and so hilarious in that "it's funny because it's true" way that the kids are, not coincidentally, also so crazy about these days. This got me to thinking... if we're finally coming to the place where we gay men can truly laugh at ourselves as we are, this conversely means that we might notice that we hardly corner the market on, say, being obsessed with fashion (#6), lacking strong male role models (#12), or being whiny bitches (#20). It is in this spirit that I decided to put this idea into practice by deciding just how "gay" two  [Continue reading...]

House of the Muses is the graphic novel version of the writings of Sappho and Alkaios, which follows a Spartan woman named Dika and her life and loves in one of the earliest lesbian soap operas. Pam Harrison, the writer and illustrator has taken the ancient writings and given them new life. The story is told from a standpoint of an older Dika looking back on her life. As such, the story is told in vivid detail, capturing the full essence of her experiences. Even if there were not pictures to go along, the reader could imagine it well enough. However, the writing can become a little dry from time to time. As I read it, I found myself glossing over certain areas that really did not seem to lead anywhere. The first several pages are like that, in fact, making it a little difficult to get into the story. From time to time, there is a jump in when the story is taking place that can leave the reader a bit confused. Usually it’s done as a flashback, but occasionally, there  [Continue reading...]

Well everyone, this has been an eventful month for yours truly. Having had a change in jobs (read my position was eliminated), I decided to make a move to a new location. I now have a new apartment, new surroundings, and less friends for having forced them to help move me. With my new world in place, I thought this would be time to visit one of the all-time greatest headquarters in the future of mankind...The upside-down rocket headquarters of the Legion of Super-Heroes, or as he is better known, Fortress Lad. For those of you not in the know, Fortress Lad's first (and only) appearance was in Secret Origins v2 #46 back in 1989, where they proved that they were running out of ideas by spending the entire issue showcasing the headquarters of various super-teams. (There was a rumor that the cancellation of the comic stopped an issue showing the origins of Batman's boxers, Superman's jockstrap and Wonder Woman's bra, but that's unconfirmed at this time.) The story took place  [Continue reading...]

The huggable Ambrose Bierce tells us that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography, but he made that point before the establishment of that realest of reality shows, one that planetwide popular culture is currently slogging through: the Olympic Games. Network producers will cast competitors, teams, and whole countries into the rôles of hero or heavy, weaving tragedy and comedy out of the spool of stylized human toil, and letting Americans have a look at the outside world, despite themselves. For the sweat-drenched fortnight that the Olympic torch crackles over Beijing, athletes will rule the world...via the crown of global competition and the cape of global friendship. Ruling the world is the goal of many a super-villain, and when animated super-villains got a little too big for their spandex britches, they were invariably opposed on an Olympian (if not Olympic) scale by...the Super Friends. Through the just efforts of the Super Friends, the world would never have to  [Continue reading...]

When I first heard about Raul Faria’s The Mark of Gabriel, I was terrified it was going to be another cookie-cutter supernatural thriller/detective story. I’m delighted to say that Raul Faria proved me wrong! The Mark of Gabriel reads more like a television pilot than a comic book. The story felt more like watching an episode of Buffy or Angel than reading a comic book. Faria opens the story with a very Whedon-esque teaser that seems superfluous at first, but quickly sets the main storyline in motion. The backstory of the series is set in the same foundation as great television dramas. Detective Joseph Souza and his boyfriend Kyle were killed in a robbery attempt five years ago. The Archangel Gabriel resurrects Souza and makes him the bearer of his mark so that he can fight for justice on Gabriel’s behalf. But, Souza himself still has a pretty big axe to grind with humanity over his lover’s death. The recipe doesn’t make for a very happy  [Continue reading...]