February 14, 1992
About six years ago, when the Canadian team called “Alpha Flight” first debuted in its own title (and quite a hot property it was at the time), there was a character named Northstar. And there were little, between-the-lines hints dropped by writer/artist John Byrne that Northstar was gay.
But in those days, overt portrayals of sexuality were considered a no-no. It wasn’t just limited to homosexuality, either. Over at DC, “Titans” unwed lovers Ðìçk Grayson and Koriand’r were shown in bed together, but at Marvel a similar scene between the married Bruce and Betty Banner was nixed.
As for homosexuality…forget it. The only overt portrayal of gay men in Marvel’s history had been the homosexual near-rape of Bruce Banner in a shower at a YMCA, lovingly depicted in the pages of the “Hulk” magazine. Since Marvel’s first portrayal of gay men came across as homophobic in nature, it was not a sequence that did much for Marvel, gays, Bruce Banner, or, for that matter, your local “Y.”
As for Northstar, well…for a while there, he was actually dying of AIDs, and that the fact that he was gay was going to be dealt with. It was dealt with, all right: The storyline was altered midway by a decree from upstairs. The declaration was subsequently made that Northstar was, in fact, a magical being, and was dying because he was away from his magical homeland for too long. Yes, that’s right…he wasn’t gay. He was just a fairy. That’s muuuuch better. And the protectors of superheroic masculinity breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close one.
But times, as they say, have changed.
The news wires have been burning up the past week as, in the pages of “Alpha Flight” #106, writer Scott Lobdell (with the full support of editor Bobbie Chase and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco) did away with the sly winks and nudges, and had Northstar hold a press conference in which he came out as being gay. (Or, as one news reporter rather cattily put it, and here you thought comic books were something that were kept exclusively in closets.)
It was, of course, a terrific news story. Over at DC, where sexuality had been an open topic for quite some time, they must have been gnashing their teeth. The Pied Piper casually informed Wally West that he, the Piper, was gay, and then there’s the supporting cast over in “Sandman.” But none of this caused the sort of stir that Northstar’s revelation did.
Why? Because Northstar’s a hero, of course. Not only that, but an eminently macho superhero, although I must admit I have trouble relating the beefed-up steroid case rendered by artists Mark Pacella and Dan Panosian to the sleek, limber character first drawn by John Byrne. The Piper doesn’t seem remotely macho. Hëll, you could even make jokes about how he goes around blowing on long, narrow instruments, and that should’ve been the tip off right there.
It’s the same sort of reaction generated when Rock Hudson or Magic Johnson went public about AIDs. When AIDs was just a dark, loathsome disease that only “homos” got, society felt it easier to deal with. It barely warranted funds to try and cure it. But when the “good guys” got it, well, that was something else altogether.
(Although, on a side-note, I’ve wondered what the reaction would have been if, in fact, it had been Magic Johnson’s wife who had turned up HIV positive, sleeping around while her husband was out on the road. Would she have had books written about her called “The Heroism of Mrs. Magic?” Or would she have been pilloried as being a šlûŧ? But that’s a whole ‘nother discussion in itself.)
So there was Northstar, making startling personal revelations in the middle of a slugfest (which is the customary way that heroes make such disclosures.) For those of you who haven’t read it, the story actually doesn’t center around Northstar’s sexuality, but rather around an abandoned newborn whom Northstar finds in a garbage can. He brings the scrawny infant to a hospital, drawn at times to look like a gymnasium, or perhaps a vacant parking garage…anything but a hospital. (The single stick of furniture in the place is the incubator that the baby’s kept in, standing alone, like the Cheese, in an otherwise empty room large enough to field a basketball game.)
Tests reveal the child has AIDs, and the terminal infant’s plight becomes a cause celebre…except to one retired Canadian hero who’s in-jokingly named Major Mapleleaf (after the sarcastic nickname Banshee gave Vindicator upon his first appearance). Apparently the Major’s son died of AIDs, but “because he was gay, he didn’t rate.” Society’s cavalier attitude that gays brought AIDs upon themselves and, therefore, did not deserve sympathy, has stuck in the Major’s craw for years.
Rather than seek therapy, the Major misplaces his aggression on Northstar, the fight ranging through a supermarket and winding up smashing into a moving van apparently owned by editor Chase. In the course of the battle, Northstar reveals that he himself is gay, gets lectured about being a hypocrite (while being strangled; a sure way to drive home a point) and, once the dust clears, goes public.
Oh, and as if to assure us that all is “right,” the final image in the comic is a pin-up featuring Logan, Puck and Northstar (I think it’s Northstar. The way he’s drawn, it might also be Ðìçk Tracy) cutting up and being macho guys in a bar, each of them chugalugging what appear to be entire pitchers of beer.) To be fair…it could be a gay bar. Who knows?
It was, as noted earlier, the ideal news story, in our world as much as the Marvel universe. Reporters love stories that can be boiled down to ten words or less. “A Super-Hero announces he’s gay! Film at 11!” For some reason I imagined people turning to each other and saying, “I knew it! I knew there was some reason Batman kept hanging out with that kid!” How disappointed the vast majority of Americans must have been to learn it was a super-hero they’d never even heard of.
Not only that, but since “Alpha Flight” is direct-only (a fact that none of the news stories I happened upon ever pointed out) the chances are that Joe Average wouldn’t be able to find it. Anyone who’s interest is piqued enough to try and seek out a copy would go down to his local 7-11, be told by the guy behind the counter that they’d never heard of “Alpha Flight,” and perhaps presume the whole thing was a hoax.
But the question now becomes: What happens next?
Well, frankly, what’s happened up until now hasn’t been tremendously heartening.
Initial news reports stated that Marvel was offering “No Comment” on their groundbreaking publication. One reporter described Marvel reps as “skittish.” No one could, or would, talk for attribution.
The message being delivered to the American public was clear. Someone high up, probably very high up (certainly higher than DeFalco) was extremely embarrassed by the story. Here various news agencies were ready to heap praise upon Marvel for daring storytelling, and the silence of Marvel’s response was positively ringing. Not only did Marvel Corporate not seem proud of their achievement, but instead they came across as hoping that it would all die down very quickly.
Eventually a wire service story ran that quoted Marvel reps, but by then it was too late. Rather than seizing the bull by the horns, Marvel had instead let itself get a bit gored by puzzled reporters who couldn’t get a quote.
Ah, but what of Scott Lobdell, the gutsy storyteller?
Oh him. He’s off the book.
Now I would love to be able to break the story here of how, in retaliation for writing an embarrassing story, Scott was fired. That, however, is not the case. (Indeed, if it were the case, I’d have put it a lot further up in this column…like, in the lead sentence. “Marvel writer fired for having Northstar come out of closet. Film at 11.”)
No, Scott’s departure occurred a week or so before the brouhaha hit. With Bobbie Chase taking on new editorial assignments (but still holding onto the “Hulk,” God bless her) “Alpha Flight” was switched to another editor, and that editor took Scott off the title and reassigned it, for reasons (according to Scott) having nothing to do with the Northstar story. It is certainly not the first time that a new editor has come on and put new creative personnel on a title. However, this particular instance has got to go down in the record books as being one of the most ill-timed such maneuvers in the history of comics.
(For what it’s worth, I think a truly professional comic editor is one who is assigned a title and has no other agenda than to make sure good stories are told. Sitting down with a writer and saying, “This story doesn’t work for this and this a reason, relating to dramatic structure…” is absolutely proper. To sit down with a writer and say, “You’re doing Story Type X, but I don’t want to see that, I want to see Story Type Y, so adios…” shows a lack of being able to delegate creative authority. It boils down to “I want to see this book done the way I would do it if I were writing it.” That does no service to anyone except an editor who wants to feel totally in charge.)
The question of Northstar’s coming out ultimately, then, boils down to this: What next?
It could easily be argued that this was a simple step in Northstar’s development, and that the enlightened approach would be not to dwell on it any more than finding out that a casual acquaintance is gay.
However, we do not live in an enlightened society when it comes to homosexuality (witness Marvel’s own reaction). Besides, casual acquaintances don’t call press conferences announcing their sexuality, offering it up as a way of countering homophobia. No, now that Northstar’s made the declaration with a stated agenda, it would be unrealistic not to examine the fallout. (And no, I’m not pitching to write “Alpha Flight.” I’m more than busy enough, thank you very much.)
Northstar is a media figure, and sure to become even more so. Will lovers of his who may not want to risk being high profile now shun him? For that matter, let’s say you’re a friend of his who’s straight. How will you feel if your picture is snapped with him in a restaurant and run in a newspaper with the caption, “Northstar and his latest paramour?” Will you take it in stride, laugh it off? Or will you resent the intrusion…perhaps even resent Northstar?
For that matter, can you imagine Northstar fighting a villain who tauntingly shouts, “Look out! Here comes Canada’s fighting fág!” Or even better…a villain who automatically assumes that, since Northstar is gay, he probably has AIDs…and surrenders on the spot rather than risk getting into a fistfight? How would such a “victory” make Northstar feel?
Then there’s the guy who gets the snot kicked out of him by a group of gay bashers…and goes to Northstar, asking him to go out and beat up the gay bashers because homosexuals shouldn’t have to suffer like this. Would Northstar consider it inappropriate to use his powers against mere mortals for the purpose of vengeance? Or would he consider it only fair since the gay bashers have no qualms about ganging up on one gay man?
Possibilities, all sorts of possibilities, which it would almost criminal to ignore. A far cry from the generic “Villain shows up, fights hero, hero ultimately wins, the end.” But will Marvel and the new writer and editor pursue those directions? Will there be pressure never to mention Northstar’s sexual identity again?
“Alpha Flight” could be pretty darn interesting, depending how things go, and if the seeds that Scott Lobdell has sown are brought to…you should pardon the expression…fruit. A pity that the vagaries of editorial life have dictated he won’t be there to do the gardening. Shed no tears for him; he’s got other assignments coming up that should also be quite high-profile. Although I doubt that CNN will be calling him to find out about them.
If nothing else, he’ll have some impressive clippings for his scrapbook. And Northstar will have…well…who knows?
(By way of the promised update, Peter David, writer of stuff, can now play all the way through “Dragons Lair II: Time Warp,” making this the third Don Bluth animated game he’s gotten the hang of. The ending sequences are really touching, by the way.)
• 
“Possibilities, all sorts of possibilities, which it would almost criminal to ignore. A far cry from the generic “Villain shows up, fights hero, hero ultimately wins, the end.” But will Marvel and the new writer and editor pursue those directions? Will there be pressure never to mention Northstar’s sexual identity again?”
And we all know how that turned out. If it was ever mentioned again, it was in the context of “are you hitting on me?” jokes (with the exception of Jean-Paul buddying it up with the gay member of the Pantheon whose name I can’t recall at Rick Jones’s wedding). AF was cancelled not long after, and Northstar vanished without a trace…
Until Uncanny X-Writer Chuck Austen brought him back two years ago, did an excellent story where Northstar fals to save a young mutant whose powers are out of control…
And then promptly relegated him to the background, with the only character development being a bit in one issue where he has a crush on Iceman.
*sigh* At least he’s still there for Milligan to use if he feels like it…
Oh, hey, almost forgot the four issue mini-series where the issue of his being gay never came up. Good call there, Marvel.
Interesting stuff. So that’s basically how Lobdell got his start…. capriciously booted off a low profile assignment by Rob Tokar, only to be handed the X-Men goldmine by a sympathetic Bob Harras.
Whatever!
He was a decent character with enough issues with his sister, then they made a big deal with the Northstar is gay story. A stupid pointless story, but now that I know that it was the only guy that has written more queer cause stories than Winnick that wrote such a stupid story, it makes sense.
Homosexuals can not be heroes.
Northstar is a failure.
Homosexuals can not be heroes.
Senator Santorum? Is that you? Welcome! And here I didn’t even know you were a comics fan…
TWL
Sadly, it’s easier for Marvel to continue to hide behind mutants and non-existant (in the Real World) castoffs than deal with actual issues.
Sadly, much of the world thinks like this.
Homosexuals can not be heroes.
Well, they can certainly ‘portray’ heroes pretty well — as we saw with such actors as James ‘I won’t go through life with one hand tied behind my back’ Dean.
It was an embarrassing story. Not because it was about a gay character coming out, but because it was horribly written.
First, Lobdell introduces a character with a horrible name and sets him up as the Canadian equivalent of Captain America. Then, what’s the first thing we see this great character doing? Attempting to smash the incubator of a sick infant. Real heroic.
I remember all the buzz in the comics press about how courageous that story was, but few commented on how awful the story actually was.
Those whom post anonymously and deliberately are inflammatory should be shrouded.
Travis
Homosexuals can not be heroes.
Right. Because, of course, all heroes must be entirely perfect.
I assume you believe homosexuals can’t be heroes because you think the lifestyle is sinful. I happen to agree. I also think that it’s sinful to have premarital sex, lie, be overly lazy, and/or any number of other things that I (and every other human who’s ever lived, save one) are guilty of. To judge homosexuals because of their sin and overlook the sins of every other human being is just silly.
If it is your intent to say that no one who is imperfect can ever be a hero, well, I think you’re wrong, but that’s at least a consistent opinion. If your intent is to say that THIS sin is somehow worse than others, I have to ask why you’ve got the double standard.
I’m with Travis:
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
If it is your intent to say that no one who is imperfect can ever be a hero, well, I think you’re wrong, but that’s at least a consistent opinion.
Or maybe his intent was to say that anyone who is not actively trying to be the best that the can be is not heroic. If one is actively involved in a sinful or less than perfect lifestyle, regardless of what the sin is, and is boastful about, there is no heroism involved.
If that was his intent, there is no inconsistent stance there.
Homosexuals cannot be heroes.
That is my excuse why I am not a hero.
be the best that the can be be the best that the can be
Should be:
be the best that they can be
Why do I get the feeling “whatever” will never be a hero. sad sad people
Lobdell is writing the travesty that’s the new Alpha Flight series. I’d heard the original series was quite good. It’s hard to imagine Lobdell writing Alpha Flight in any decent way having read only the new series.
Question: why do we have to have these “possibilities” explored?
OK, it’d be interesting to see the “Canada’s fighting fág” thing. But, do we really have to have stories about every “strange” guy around?
I think i must be a little naive, I read Peter’s article on Northstar, and didn’t expect to find the reactions to a ‘gay superhero’ among the comments that I found.
How on earth does being gay prevent someone from being a hero?
Also how does being gay make anyone less than perfect – being gay is not an imperfection.
DIdn’t you know that George W., the President of the United States of Jesus, declared war on homosexuals because they’re sinners? (In his sad fûçkìņg pathetic eyes at least)
Bryn, because the world is full of small minded bigots who for somereason think Jesus is proud that they embrace hatred.
Did anybody like the previous Alpha Flight series, written by Steven T. Seagle? I enjoyed it, but it was cancelled after 20 issues or so without wrapping up the “conspiracy” storyline they had going to my satisfaction.
Unfulfilled potential, I think.
What they should do is find a nice, Canadian writer to take the helm, so the team could have adventures in a culturally distinct setting.
“But, do we really have to have stories about every “strange” guy around?”
Well, I suppose not. Then again, we don’t really *have* to have any stories at all around. But we do, because there are these people who are really good at making them, and the rest of the world enjoys reading them. So as long as we’re indulging everyone, why not have as many different types of stories about as many differnt types of people as we can?
While I agree that it was a bold move on the part of the AF creative team to have Northstar come out of the closet, among all the heroes to choose from, Northstar isn’t exactly a completely threatening choice is he? He’s a snobbish, arrogant member of one of the least popular superhero teams in Marvel’s line-up (no offense to AF fans, but it has been cancelled twice and somehow I doubt the current series will fare any better). And on top of that, he isn’t even American (which wouldn’t be important if it weren’t for the fact that Marvel’s titles are dominated by American superheroes, and in fact it seems to me that part of the continuing failure on the part of the marketing team behind AF is that they seem to punctuate “HEY! THEY’RE CANADIAN!” and little else). In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but he’s French-Canadian, the “French” part of that phrase being the most important. Americans have long stereotyped the French as being effeminate, snobbish (and both of these characteristics are seen in our stereotypes of homosexuals), as well as sexually “deviant.”
I’m not saying Northstar’s coming-out wasn’t important. It was. But I see it as an important first step, and I’m hoping we see bigger steps in the days to come.
“Homosexuals can not be heroes”
Hey Whatever forgot to bash, jews, blacks, women, orientals, arabs, …. I’d say Canadians, but I suppose Northstar counts. Kind of a 2 birds with one slur. Did I forget anyone? We dont’ want to leave anyone out of being offended!
PS If I did forget, remember White males don’t count. Apperently they can be anything they want.
“Question: why do we have to have these “possibilities” explored?
OK, it’d be interesting to see the “Canada’s fighting fág” thing. But, do we really have to have stories about every “strange” guy around?”
Strange?
Define “strange” for me, please.
See, I’m guessing your definition of “strange” must not include people who change into green monsters because the check-out line at the grocery store was too long, or orphans who dress like bats and beat up poor people.
If not, cool, but whatever world you live in that the ranks of comicdom characters existing before and after Northstar’s coming-out party don’t rate as “strange guys,” just stay there and don’t let it spill into my backyard.
I remember first reading this column in the BID collection, and I remember thinking how tame Peter was (understandably so, mind you) in his assessment of how poorly this issue was both written and drawn.
Writingwise, the first thing that jumps out is the way the reader is supposed to understand, from Northstar
Veering over to DC for a moment, I vaguely recall an issue of Wonder Woman where it was strongly suggested that a significant portion of the Amazons on Themyscira were lesbian. (This was back when Perez was writing.) Was there as negative a reaction to that as there was to Northstar’s coming out? What other superheroes are gay, anyway? I’m curious as to how other coming-out stories in the comics medium have been handled/received by the public.
Wouldn’t it be great to see a really, really flamboyantly gay superhero someday? Like a total Carson Kressley? 🙂
I remember that Paul O’Brien made some good comments about Northstar a while back. “Poor old Northstar. There was a time when he was a character, you know, not just The Gay One.”
I might just pick this issue up, cuz I’ve read several reviews of it. HOWEVER, I must say this below is one of my favourite reviews of “Alpha Flight 106”, or possibly one of my favourite comic book reviews I’ve ever read. (note: its a negative one, but I think its pretty funny read if you’re in a savage mood.)
http://www.icomics.com/rev_051600_alpha.shtml
ALPHA FLIGHT #106
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Mark Pacella and Dan Panosian
32 pages, color
Published by Marvel Comics
There are a lot of bad comics out there. There’s a very special group of comics which stand out above the rest. These aren’t vanity projects that had to be self-published because every company in creation turned it down
One of my friends used to enjoy mocking that issue. “not that it’s anyone’s business, but … I AM GAY!”
It was well-intentioned, and far better than the Mantlo-era “fairy” stuff. But still cheesy. (Even before they changed Northstar into being a half-elf, I thought it wasn’t nearly as maturely written as the Bryne hints about Northstar.)
As I recall, there was a big gay and lesbian celebration in Toronto shortly after that issue. (Can’t remember if it was Gay Pride or another such event.) They wanted someone to dress up as Northstar and fly in on wires. I thought that would have been cool – justifying the cheesy issue. If memory serves, Marvel wasn’t that thrilled with the idea.
Hopefully if it did happen, they used Northstar’s cool black costume instead of the maple leaf-inspired look of time. (An artistic decision akin to having all the Avengers dress like Captain America.)
Bryne’s Alpha Flight is the only one that felt properly Canadian. Go figure. (g) Well, okay… the special drawn by Ken Stacey had a cool Silver Snail cameo appearance.
Allen
Bladestar said DIdn’t you know that George W., the President of the United States of Jesus, declared war on homosexuals because they’re sinners? (In his sad f%$#^$ pathetic eyes at least)
You know what Bladestar, you’re starting to sound a lot like Craig. Either you are one and the same person, or you’re on the other side of his wall.
At least I’m a better human being that you Nova, I let others live their lives without forcing my religion into their lives….
You are a worthless piece of šhìŧ. Go drink the Kool Aid
Bladestar said At least I’m a better human being that you Nova, I let others live their lives without forcing my religion into their lives….You are a worthless piece of šhìŧ. Go drink the Kool Aid
At what point did I say you had to follow my religion?
I’m continually nice to you when I respond to your posts and you still hurl insults my way. How intriguing.
Personally I welcome any story that’s well-written about a character or situation that offers escapism or insight.
If every story featuring Northstar made comment to him being gay it would be as insulting as NO story about him being gay. It would be the same as every Luke Cage story being about him being black or every Nightcrawler story about Kurt being angst-ridden over his faith. I’m not black, but Cage is a good character. I’m not overtly religious, but Kurt’s a good character. I’m not gay, but Northstar has as much potential as any other character.
Introducing a controversial back-story is a great opportunity to explore new plots and stories but it shouldn’t be shorthand for controversy or stereotypes either.
Kinda like the whole Ellen Dengeneres situation… where being gay suddenly became the ONLY issue for her to talk about and the only thing advertiser didn’t – and the audeince was left in the middle going ‘Are we the ONLY people who don’t care either way?’
John
I’ve always loved the whole religious angle of homosexuality being a sin. It shows that a lot of people just take bits and pieces of the Bible and use it for their agenda.
Here’s a site for you. http://www.fallwell.com/
It’s not the end all of the conversation, but I have noticed it helps to quiet down a few ignorant people.(Well actually, some of them it just makes them louder becasue nobody likes to be proven wrong and most of them don’t like to think for themselves and make an informed opinion. At least, that’s from my experiences.)
Well, I just read the issue. I totally recommend it to anyone and everybody. Not because its good, heavens no, because it doesn’t make a lick of sense. Therein lies the humour. Its like the “Spock’s Brain” of Marvel comics. An entertaining train wreck. Maybe well intentioned but it comes off as insanely over the top and melodramatic to the point where it just becomes funny. One of the best moments was where for a single panel it was raining a torrential fury from the heavens and then it stopped raining for no apparent reason the rest of the issue.
The pin up poster at the end does look really gay though, I think that’s my favourite part.
thumbs up!
I think i must be a little naive, I read Peter’s article on Northstar, and didn’t expect to find the reactions to a ‘gay superhero’ among the comments that I found.
How can you not think that an article about the first coming out of a fág superhero would not get reactions like this has?
And leave us not forget Marvel’s recent Western travesty along these lines…
The only good part of that was the art.
Over at DC, meanwhile, it appears to be Just Fine for women to be gay — Catwoman’s former grrlfriend Holly and her live-in Karon, for instance.
Here’s a site for you. “>http://www.fallwell.com/
Wow, I would have to say that site did not do much except convince me that the guy that put it together is an emotional nitwit!
OK. I thought this comment would be about the fact that a perfectly good, fun character like Jean-Paul Beaubier had been taken out of Limbo only to be thrown back there so that the wonderfully over-used Wolverine can be in more comics!
Anyhow, I personally got BACK into X-Men comics because I saw that Northstar had joined the X-Men. I was like “Cool! First openly gay X-man”. Unfortunately after some very few issues that were actually interesting, Northstar was reverted to a token gay character. He had to remind us EVERY issue he was in that he was gay and that was his claim to fame. Which just, to me, showed how much Marvel was changing, except.. they really haven’t have they? They shoved him into a closet somewhere in the X-Mansion, only to appear when needed.
To add to this, the few other gay characters Marvel has are all mutants, most of them are dead, and were never depicted in a relationship. The lesbian characters, however, have been. There is a wonderful Exiles issue about a relationship between an alternate reality Spider-Girl and Sunfire. The closest the gay men get to that is Phat and Vivisector sleeping together or Vivisector’s short lived romance that started in the very last issue of X-Statix, right before he was killed.
That’s not really where I wanted to go, sorry yet again. I’m getting off track. So basically I want Northstar back on the X-Men. He belongs there and I think, if Marvel would de-thaw Iceman from his “second mutation” that seems more like he’s de-evolving, that they would make a good couple. Jean-Paul is a complete and utter jerk. I’ll admit it, but that’s part of his charm. He has obviously been hurt before and he uses his personality to keep people from getting too close to him. The only person who ever got really close to him was his sister Jeanne-Marie/Aurora and well that didn’t turn out very well.
Iceman, on the other hand, used to be a jovial, trickster. He’d get Jean-Paul to lighten up and stop being such a jerk all the time while Jean-Paul would help ground Bobby and maybe help Bobby act a little more.. mature at times. That’s my personal opinion, but anyhow..
Northstar has loads of potential as a character, not just because he’s gay. He’s also a French-Canadian business man. He’s a former member of the now defunct Alpha Flight and he’s learning to be a teacher at Xavier’s. I think they can do a lot when Jean-Paul counciling and helping students who are having trouble with their identity, not just their sexuality. He teaches flight class, as we know, and I think business as well.
Finally, a little comment about Alpha Flight and issue 106. Alpha Flight started out and was believed to be just another X-Men spin-off title, but it became so much more. The original series lasted longer than some of the other X-Men spin-offs. Of course the later issues were handled badly, some of them were split into two issues and there were too many Flights running around. That is probably why the series eventually died. I don’t know about the 2nd one, but this current ALpha Flight series stinks. It’s too goofy. As for 106 of Alpha Flight vol. 1, it’s an embarassing story. The huge majority of the issue of the issue is about Jean-Paul’s adopted daughter. Then the random Major Mapleleaf fight and finally the “coming out” scene which is thrown in the back as a kind of after thought. It’s like, “Oh yeah.. that’s what i was going to do.” The story could have been expanded quite a bit more than it was. It was so wasted. I would personally be embarassed if I wrote something like that and actually tried to pass it off as quality work.
By your continual support for an áššhølë president that seeks to legislate his ignorant religion into law.
You are less than human by your total lack of respect for others.
“Wow, I would have to say that site did not do much except convince me that the guy that put it together is an emotional nitwit!”
Yeah,I figure you should fight emotional zealotry with the same. Hence, me posting.
You know what Bladestar, you’re starting to sound a lot like Craig. Either you are one and the same person, or you’re on the other side of his wall.
Well, see, unlike some, I post with my real name, for starters, which just goes to show that I have no need to hide behind anything (to wit, I give both you, Novafan, and Bladstar the finger in that regard).
As for the wall. Well, wait for the Revolution.
Reverend Snow,
I especially liked the quote by Thomas Jefferson at the bottom of the page.
Bite me Craigee.
Go through Identify Theft sometime and get back to me.
Not that I believe Craigy is your name anyway…
Craig said to wit, I give both you, Novafan, and Bladstar the finger in that regard
Is that the finger I think it is? If so, I’m number 1 in Craig’s book instead of Bush. WooHoo!!!
It never ceases to amaze how nothing polarizes and provokes a response out of people like religion,race ,and peoples sexuality.One of which you choose,one you have no control over ,and the other may be beyond your control.
I was never a big Northstar fan,mostly cause i felt he was an arrogant jerk.The gay angle didnt bother me as much as the reference to him being half fairy.I mean come on, doesnt take a rocket science to read between the lines there!!!
His recent run in XMEN was disappointing ,it started out okay then he just disappeared,and vanished with the crush on iceman storyline.
So far the only openly gay male couple i can think of are Midnighter and Apollo in the Authority.
I recall vaguely in the Jim Wilson(think that was his name)AIDS story in the Hulk people assumed that meant Jim was Gay ,I dont think it was ever stated what the exact cause of his infection with the virus was.Please feel free to clarify.
It was also assumed that Jericho in the TEEN TITANS was gay due to his “sensitive,artistic” na
ture,and some assume that Connor (GREEN ARROW’s son) is gay due to his percieved uneasiness around women.
Bottomline I dont have a problem with gay characters in fiction but fans and readers really need to get over their preconceptions of what gay people are and writers need to do more research
to portray a homsexual character as a real person and not just a GAY character.An example being the
Willow /Tara relationship on BVS.
I remember when this comic broke a co-worker who was also a comics fan brought a publication up to me showing me an editorial in it ranting on about how terrible it was to have a gay super-hero and that gays were now going to be cruising comic book stores to pick up boys.
I pointed out to him that the publication was WEEKLY WORLD NEWS and he shouldn’t get too upset over anyone who might take anything in that rag seriously.
Bite me Craigee.
Go through Identify Theft sometime and get back to me.
Not that I believe Craigy is your name anyway…
Now, I am not sure if you’re making a pathetic attempt to insult me because I typoed Bladestar, or if you’re just that bloody ignorant?
I’ll vote the latter, since this isn’t the first time you’ve done this. Sometimes, I think you have a point (if an odd way of expressing it). At other times, I think you’re a complete twit who needs to get his priorities in order.
If you’re that afraid of identity theft, do some real research or get off the internet.
You know, it’s funny. When the recent “Rawhide Kid” came out, I did a package for the Philadelphia Daily News about it, about the history of gay characters (for which I got to interview PAD) and a story stating that – once and for all – ROBIN IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN GAY:) (My one editor loved that last one)>
Anyway, in the coursr of my research into the story, I went to Atomic City Comics – the best comic store in Philadelphia – and talked to the two co-owners about the history of gay characters in comics and how they’ve been portrayed.
they were impressed, they said, with the Pied Piper stories concerning the issue (which I had never read), and said his portrayal was better than the Northstar “fiasco” (their words) in “Alpha Flight” #106 (which I also had never read).
Having liked the character and Byrne and Mantlo’s early runs o the book, I was surprised to hear this.
They gave me a reprint so I could read it and judge for myself. I felt there was no way it could be as bad as they had said.
I was right.
It was even worse.
Now understand, at one time I was reading over 200 comics a month. It takes a lot for me not to find something to enjoy about a comic.
This book had a lot. In spades.
The story was incredibly weak, cheesy and illogical. The characters were such in name only. The art was terrible.
And the “big, dramatic” announcement, with Northstar in an incredible battle pose, choosing that moment – and not a quiet or even heated moment with his teammates or sister – to announce “I AM GAY!”
It was laughable at best.
In the present day, Austen’s Northstar story with the dying boy he could not say was excellent, and from what understand he had greater plans for the character until Bill Jemas -ahem- “decided” to leave.
marvel has been much more averse to “controversial” material since Buckley took over.
At any rate, PAD has introduced the most homosexual characters in his book, and he definitely combines quantity with quality.