Loud, Proud, Tights and a Cape

When anti-gay protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the storied comic book convention Comic-Con in 2010, comic book fans poured out of the San Diego Convention Center to counter their homophobic message. Gay and straight convention-goers, many still dressed as superheroes, carried signs with facetious slogans like “God Hates Jedi,” and drowned out the Westboro demonstrators with a chant of “What do we want? Gay sex! When do we want it? Now!”

There was a time when the queer comics scene was isolated from the world of mainstream comic book fans and creators, but in recent years LGBT comics have seen increasing critical and financial success in the mainstream press. At the same time, a rekindled interest in underground comics and the growth of online distribution platforms has led to a resurgence of alternative queer comics on their own merits—but this time, with both a straight and LGBT fan community.

Queer and feminist comics during the 1970s and 1980s were distributed through alternative, non-syndicated channels that comic book artist and queer comic historian Justin Hall, known for the ribald comic “Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny,” calls a “queer media ghetto.”

Now, there are fewer stigmas toward straight comic book readers who consume material that traditionally fit into the queer mold.

“It’s an interesting moment right now,” Hall says. “As queer artists, we need to break into the mainstream, while still reaching a market niche that’s really hungry for our material. We're kind of throwing out models, coming into venues like Comic-Con.”

For one thing, he says, the mainstream comic book industry’s foundation in buff men who wear colorful, form-fitting costumes has long been destabilized from within by canonical hints—intentional and otherwise—that mainstream superheroes might be closeted. There is wide speculation that the original Batwoman was introduced as a “beard” for Batman, whose relationship with Robin has been questioned on similar grounds. But with mainstream publishers like DC Comics warming to LGBT narratives, the Batwoman character was reintroduced as a lesbian in a modern reboot.

Bat-closet or not, the mainstream press is suffering even while the Internet has created a more democratic market for alternative artists.

“The publishing world in general is also falling apart. Everybody is scrambling for the new paradigm,” Hall said. “Increasingly, as bookstores and comic book stores are falling apart, conventions are actually growing.”

A growing presence by gay comics advocacy organizations has also made inroads in the heterosexual comic book fan and creator communities. Hall, who serves as talent relations chair for LGBT advocacy organization Prism Comics, moderated a panel this year titled “Publishing Queer: Producing LGBT Comics and Graphic Novels,” which grappled with the changing publishing industry. And Comic-Con has hosted Prism Comics’ board member Andy Mangel’s “Gays in Comics” panel since 1988, long before queer comics were visible at mainstream conventions.

This year’s Comic-Con, which wrapped up in late July, saw an unprecedented queer presence which was picked up by the Huffington Post and saw gay author Jim McCann win a prestigious Eisner Award for his “Return of the Dapper Men.”

It was in part this growing sense of energy behind queer comics that encouraged comic book artist and writer Sean Holman to organize a convention specifically tailored to the interests of queer comics creators and fans. Bent-Con, he explained, grew out of a monthly “support group” for gay comic book creators in California. Last year’s inaugural Bent-Con convention attracted more than 500 attendees, and Holman said he hopes they will see thousands more this December, when they plan to open the convention up to film and other media.

“It feels like there are more and more queer creators coming out, wanting to do comics that are mainstream and not mainstream,” Holman said. “It's very refreshing.”

Holman stressed that the idea behind Bent-Con isn’t for fans and creators of queer comic books to retreat from other spaces like Comic-Con. Rather, he sees it as an unprecedented venue to celebrate the unique tradition of queer comic books and culture.

“Bent-Con is just meant to be a showcase and spotlight of this medium, of people telling stories,” he says. “I really want Bent Con to have something for everyone. When people come to this event, they will find something they are interested in.”

Paige Braddock, who has written the syndicated comic strip Jane’s World since 1998, has struggled to find her lesbian voice in the male-dominated world of queer comics. Part of the trouble, she concedes, is that most comic book fans are male to start with. The demographics of the queer comics scene are an extension of that dynamic.

“In my ten years of working with Prism, I would have to say that the boys get serious props for leading the charge for queer comics,” Braddock wrote in an email message. “All of this has raised visibility and awareness for LGBT comics at conventions across the country.”

All artists represented at last year’s Bent-Con were men, Braddock said, but she’s planning on coming out to this year’s event to represent her work. And she has nothing but praise for the men in the queer comics community, though she wishes more women took advantage of that network.

“Now that I’m in the comics community and attending conventions, I’ve found a lot of gay brothers who are incredibly supportive of female creators,” Braddock wrote. “There is a support system for women at conventions now. I wish more women knew that.”

Will there come a day when a queer comics scene is no longer necessary? Hall, who now teaches a course on the history of queer comics at the California College of the Arts, isn’t convinced that’s the case.

“A queer comic is a comic that will dive into queer issues in a complex way that just isn’t possible in the mainstream,” he said.

In any case, queer comic book artists know that Comic-Con is a safe and supportive space, and they have no plans to leave it behind.

“I've never gotten a sense of feeling left out or discriminated against. If you want to share your work, you can share your work,” Holman said. "Comic-Con is a place where you’re welcome."

Jon Christian is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.

Related Stories

• Handful of Colorado Lawmakers Stonewall Civil Unions Bill
• VIDEO: President Obama’s Announcement and What’s Next for Marriage Equality
• GRAPHIC: What Obama Said on Gay Marriage
• As North Carolina Amends Constitution to Ban Gay Marriage, Obama Speaks Out
• BREAKING: President Obama Announces Support For Gay Marriage