GLAAD Announced Five Outstanding Comic Books that Showcase the LGBT Community

The 25th Annual GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book will be awarded in New York on May 3rd. According to the website “The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.”  Nominated this year are: Batwoman (DC) , Live with Archie(Archie), Husbands(Dark Horse Comics), Fearless Defenders(Marvel) and Young Avengers(Marvel). LGBT characters in comic books have a long and complex history (Seduction of the Innocent, anyone?)…but have recently been more accepted in the comic book community.

Collected in Batwoman: Elegy by DC Comics

Batwoman already won the award for Outstanding Comic Book twice. Once in 2010 at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards when she was featuring in Detective Comics and written by her creator, Greg Rucka. Rucka’s stint as writer, collected in the Batwoman:Elegy graphic novel, showed a griping tale of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and how the military brat joined and got kicked out of the military she grew up with. Her journey was illustrated by J.H. Williams who went on to write and co-illustrate with W. Haden Blackman the character in the new52 universe, keeping many of the themes, characters and brilliant artwork of the predecessor. Williams and Blackman won another GLAAD Outstanding Comic Book Award in 2011. The team just recently left the book because of DC Mandate: Superheroes, even gay superheroes, cannot be married in this day and age.

Speaking of marriage: Husbands is Brad Bell and Jane Espenson’s online sitcom about, well, husbands. Dark Horse and the creators published a digital first 6 issue miniseries in 2012, released last year in collected hardcover form. The series was nominated for two Geekie Awards for Best Writing and Most Original Concept. Comic Book adaptations are all the rage following DC’s Smallville Season 11,The Vampire Diaries and Marvel’s Once Upon A Time graphic novels. 

Archie's Life With Archie

Archie Comic's "grown up" series Life With Archie is called: The Married Life, written by Paul Kupperberg,really is two series in one, each story is a serial about life after Archie Andrews married Betty(or Veronica). Both alternate futures feature the same cast but sometimes in drastically different situations. Cheryl Blossom lost her signature red hear and is battling cancer. Kevin Keller, introduced to the world in 2010 by creator Dan Parent, is still around in Archie's future. He goes overseas with the military then marries his boyfriend and runs for office. This series, along with Afterlife with Archie, really make these timeless characters fit into any situation and target very different audiences. The Kevin Keller solo series won last year's award.

Astonishing X-Men 51(Marvel)

Never far from the trend comes Marvel's newest newlywed. Jean- Paul Beubier, is the Canadian superhero and part time X-Man Northstar, who publicly came out in the historic Alpha Flight #106 (1992) –the first Marvel character to do so. The X-Men themselves a metaphor for society’s treatment on minorities, more apparent when the fictional Legacy virus rivaled the AIDS epidemic, Jean Paul married his long term boyfriend slash manager , Kyle Jinadu in 2012’s Astonishing X-Men 51, written by Marjorie Liu. The couple, under Liu’s pen, encountered present day issues that LGBT couples face, mainly immigration status under federal equality (Northstar is Canadian, living in New York) and more universal problems like struggling with your partner’s success…or what to do when your partner is a superhero-a bit deeper than the Lois Lane syndrome. 

Young Avengers 13(Marvel)

Also by Marvel: Young Avengers premiered in 2005 with a whole new team loosely related to the Avengers.  In 2006, it won a Harvey Award and a the GLAAD Outstanding Comic Award. The team, originally written by Allen Heinberg, has a gay couple at its heart-Hulking(a green half-breed of warring alien races) and Wiccan(The Avenger's Scarlet Witch's secret son). Heinberg's Volume 1 lasted 12 issues and a special. Volume two(not counting various mini series) just ended with issue 15.The recent series geared towards a whole new generation with tumblr stylized recaps and lots of relationship drama- all written by series scribe Kieron Gillen.


Marvel’s recently cancelled after 13 issues, Fearless Defenders can be seen as the Marvel version of DC’s Birds of Prey-an all woman superhero team kicking butt and taking names. Cancelled for low sales, it does have a strong on-line following and good critical reviews…Marvel NOW is all about titles reincarnating like the Phoenix. Here is a write up on what could be the series break out new LBGT star: Ren Kimura.

The five nominated books come from many demographics- female and teen readers, those who like "married adventures", and the classic superheroes with a new twist. Unfortunately, three of the five comics have already ended at the time of writing-with Batwoman missing its creators that instilled so much heart in the issue. But in any event, 2013 was a monumental year with big steps to inclusion.

Past winners of the GLAAD award include Marvel’s X-Factor(2011), DC’s Green Lantern(2003) and Catwoman(2004), Fantagraphic Books’ Luba(2005),Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise published by Abstract Studio(2008), Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer(2009) as well as Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical Fun Home(2007). The winners and nominees come from all different publishers and genres with a variety of protagonists, truly showcasing the budding diversity in comics.