LGBT Characters In Comics

In comics, LGBT themes are a relatively new concept, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) themes and characters were historically omitted from the content of comic books and their comic strip predecessors due to anti-gay censorship. LGBT existence was included only via innuendo, subtext and inference. However the practice of hiding LGBT characters in the early part of the twentieth century evolved into open inclusion in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and comics explored the challenges of coming-out, societal discrimination, and personal and romantic relationships between gay characters.

With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) between 1954 and 1989, mainstream comics contained only subtle hints or subtext regarding an LGBT character's sexual orientation or gender identity. Starting in the early 1970s, however, LGBT themes were tackled in underground comix, independently published one-off comic books and series produced by gay creators that featured autobiographical storylines tackling political issues of interest to LGBT readers. The first openly gay characters in American comic strips appeared in prominent strips in the late 1970s and gained popularity through the 1980s. Since the 1990s, equal and open LGBT themes have become more common in mainstream US comics, including in a number of titles in which a gay character is the star. Today comic strips educating readers about LGBT-related issues are syndicated in LGBT-targeted print media and online in web comics.

The popularity of comic books in Europe and Japan have seen distinct approaches to LGBT themes. A lack of censorship and greater acceptance of comics as a medium for adult entertainment in Europe has led European comics to be more inclusive from an earlier date, leading to less controversy about the representation of LGBT characters in their pages. Notable comics creators have produced work from France, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Britain. Japanese manga tradition has included genres of girls' comics that feature homosexual relationships since the 1970s, in the form of ''yaoi'' and ''yuri''. These works are often extremely romantic and idealized, and include archetypal characters that often do not identify as gay or lesbian. Since the Japanese "gay boom" of the 1990s, a body of manga by queer creators aimed at LGBT customers has been established, including both '' bara'' manga for gay men and ''yuri'' aimed at lesbians, which often have more realistic and autobiographical themes. Pornographic manga also often includes sexualised depictions of lesbians and intersex people.

Portrayal of LGBT themes in comics is recognized by several notable awards, including the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards and GLAAD Media Awards for outstanding comic book and comic strip. The Lambda Literary Foundation, recognizing notable literature for LGBT themes with their "Lammys" awards since 1988, created a new category in 2014 for graphic works. Prism Comics, an organization formed in 2003 for promoting LGBTQ themes in comic books, has provided the "Queer Press Grant" for comic book creators since 2005.

Comic strips

Early comic strips also avoided overt treatment of gay issues, though examples of homosexual subtext have been identified. The 1938–1939 edition of Milton Caniff's ''Terry and the Pirates'' features a primary villain, Sanjak, who has been interpreted by some as a lesbian with designs on the hero's girlfriend.

The first widely distributed comic strip to tackle LGBT themes and include a gay character was Garry Trudeau's ''Doonesbury''. The strip introduced the character Andy Lippincott in 1976, and his diagnosis with HIV in 1989 and AIDS related death in 1990 was the first representation of this issue in comic strips. This storyline led to a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Trudeau, but three newspapers of the 900 carrying the strip refused to publish it as being in bad taste. Two years later, the long-standing character Mark Slackmeyer was revealed to be gay, continuing a reputation for controversial content. Slackmeyer, a liberal, continues to feature in the strip, with focus on his relationship with his politically conservative partner, Chase, including their marriage in 1999 and separation in 2007.

The 11 July 1984 installment of ''Bloom County'' had the strip's main characters staying at Bob & Ernie's Castro Street Hotel, run by a gay S&M couple.

When Lynn Johnston's '' For Better or For Worse'' explored the coming out of a teenaged character in 1993, it provoked a vigorous reaction from conservative groups. Readers opposed to homosexuality threatened to cancel newspaper subscriptions, and Johnston received hate mail and death threats towards herself and her family. Over 100 newspapers ran replacement strips or canceled the comic. One result of the storyline was that Johnston was made a jury-selected "nominated finalist" for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1994. The Pulitzer board said the strip "sensitively depicted a youth's disclosure of his homosexuality and its effect on his family and friends." Subsequent appearances of the character have not focused on his sexuality, and the creator has said that this will continue.

In most widely circulated strips, LGBT characters remained as supporting figures into the 21st century, with some, including ''Candorville'' and ''The Boondocks'', featuring occasional appearances by gay characters. The conservative strip ''Mallard Fillmore'' occasionally approached gay issues from a critical perspective; these storylines have been described as "insulting" to LGBT people. Many openly gay and lesbian comic creators self-publish their work online as webcomics, giving them greater editorial freedom, and some of the strips are printed in collections. One example is Greg Fox's '' Kyle's Bed & Breakfast'', a series focusing on a group of gay friends who live together and face realistic problems associated with their sexualities, including relationship troubles and being closeted.

Since the late 1980s specifically gay publications have also included comic strips, in which LGBT themes are ubiquitous.Haggerty, p.326 Local LGBT newspapers sometimes carry their own strips, like Ron Williams's ''Quarter Scenes'' in the New Orleans paper ''Impact''. Strips including ''Wendel'' by Howard Cruse, ''It's a Gay Life'' by Gerard Donelan, and ''Leonard and Larry'' by Tim Barela, have been syndicated in national gay magazines like the ''Advocate''.

One of the best known and longest-running LGBT comic strips, ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', was written by Alison Bechdel – dubbed the "elder stateswomen of LGBT comics" – from 1983 to 2008. ''Dykes to Watch Out For'' is known for its social and political commentary and depictions of characters from all walks of life. Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir '' Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' was lauded by many media outlets as among the best books of the year.

Other noted LGBT-themed comic strips have included ''Doc and Raider'', ''The Chosen Family'', ''Chelsea Boys'' and ''The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green''. ''Ethan Green'' has also been adapted into a live-action feature film.

Early homoerotic magazines

Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, has been described as "the first gay cartoonist". He began producing erotic comics in the 1940s, distributing them via a clandestine mail-order business. Laaksonen's drawings were published in the beefcake magazine ''Physique Pictorial'' starting in the 1950s. Due to obscenity laws, Laaksonen's full, sexually explicit comics could not be published at the time, and were instead distributed privately. Other artists who regularly contributed to early homoerotic periodicals during this time include George Quaintance (under the pen name ''Etienne'').

Underground and alternative comics

LGBT themes were found first in underground or alternative comics, often published by small independent presses or self-published. Such comics frequently advocated political positions and included depictions of sex, usually not intended solely to cause arousal but included as part of the exploration of themes including gender and sexuality.Slade, p.941

“Captain Pissgums and His Pervert Pirates” by S. Clay Wilson in ''Zap Comix'' #3 (1968) featured explicit sexual homosexual acts and was instrumental in making other underground cartoonists approach taboo subjects. However, gay characters rarely featured in underground comics from 1968 to 1975, and when they did they were usually lisping caricatures and comic transvestites. An installment of "Harold Hedd" by Rand Holmes in 1971 stands out for attacking the homophobia of David Reuben's sex manual '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'', featuring explicit mutual gay sex acts, and promoting gay liberation.

Eventually comics appeared aimed at a gay audience: the first documented example of a widely circulated underground gay comic was ''Gay Heart Throbs'', which produced several issues in the mid-1970s, but struggled to find an audience.

Notable publications included ''Gay Comix'', which was created in 1980 by Howard Cruse, featured the work of LGBT artists, and had close ties with the gay liberation movement. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions. Autobiographical themes included falling in love, coming out, repression, and sex.Rothschild, p. 64 ''Gay Comix'' also served as a source for information about non-mainstream LGBT-themed comics and events. Artists producing work for ''Gay Comix'' included Mary Wings, creator of the first one-off lesbian book ''Come Out Comix'' (1972) and ''Dyke Shorts'' (1976), and Roberta Gregory

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