An interesting panel I went to on Saturday featured gay writers and the projects on which they’re currently working. It was titled Gays in Comics: Year 22! and celebrated diversity in comics.
The panel consisted of eight members and a moderator, Andy Mangels. The eight were Perry Moore, Gail Simone, Phil Jimenez, Peter David, Ed Luce, Sina Grace, Greg Rucka, and a quick segment with Bill Willingham. Each panelist has contributed positively to perpetuating gay characters or supporting characters in their stories.
The range of comics was really impressive to me. Several had a few lower key projects that they were trying to get out in the public. Others, like Greg Rucka, were responsible for outing well-known characters. Rucka’s contribution was the lesbianizing of the current incarnation of Batwoman, something that the crowd got pretty excited about. Peter David was the X-Factor writer who caused ambiguous characters Rictor and Shatterstar to finally demonstrate their relationship on panel with a kiss.
It was a very simple panel, with simple questions and subtle demonstrations of furthering the visibility of LGBT characters. As a gay man, though, I found it exciting. These panelists are working to mainstream an otherwise hidden community. Gail Simone really summed up the purpose of the panel by saying, “Ignorance is the main problem. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of people tip-toeing around it.” In this stage of equality, it’s really is all about being seen and giving someone else the inspiration to be great.
