Earth 2 #3 Cover
Earlier this month at Kapow in London, DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio mentioned that DC Comics would be introducing a gay character into their universe, and it wouldn’t be a new character, rather a well known character not yet introduced to The New 52. This bit of news came just before the announcement by Marvel Comics of the impending nuptials of Northstar in the pages of Astonishing X-Men and since then the story of May 2012 in comics has been that of gay superheroes.
Ever since DiDio made that comment there has been massive speculation as to the identity of the character, with theories flying around the internet. Today DC Comics announced that the character is Alan Scott, Green Lantern of Earth 2, and is being introduced by writer James Robinson and artist Nicola Scott in the pages of Earth 2 #2.
As part of this announcement we had the opportunity to talk with James Robinson about the timing around this character introduction and the motivations behind it.
iFanboy: With all the attention and speculation leading up to today’s announcement revealing that Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of Earth 2, is gay, we were hoping you could walk us through how long you’ve been working on this story and developing the character?
James Robinson: It’s been about 8 months that I’ve been working on it. One of the things about the reboot and having Alan Scott be younger was that we lost Obsidian, his gay son. From there in the way that one idea can springboard into another, I thought very quickly “Well, let’s make Alan Scott gay.” To DC and Dan DiDio’s credit, there wasn’t a moments hesitation. He said it was a great idea. I can’t speak for Dan, but I have a feeling that he’s as surprised that I am that an offhand comment that he made at a convention in England [about an iconic DC character being gay] has become this big thing. Obviously attention is a good thing and the reaction has been, from what I can glean on the internet, mainly positive, so that’s a good thing.
iF: As DC Comics has rebooted with the New 52, we’ve seen slight changes in established characters like this. How does Alan Scott’s sexuality help you develop that character and does it play a role in the story you’re telling?
JR: It definitely adds a realistic aspect to the team. If you look at a cross section of society, you’ll find gay people in every group. One of the things that’s interesting is that people are focusing on his sexuality, but that’s just one aspect of him. In every other way, with him, with Jay Garrick, with Ted Grant–who you’ll be seeing a little Easter egg of him in issue #2 and then his becoming Wildcat is one of the main purposes of our second arc–I really just go back to the archetypes of who they were when they were younger. Like Jay is this idealistic, slightly naive young man just out of college, which is what Jay Garrick was. He got his powers in his final year of college. Alan Scott, at first was an engineer, but very quickly they shifted him over to become a radio personality and then he owned the radio station. As society and technology evolved, we had television, so Gotham City Broadcasting became a TV station as well. Yes, I’m updating the kind of media that Alan Scott is involved with, but he’s just a media mogul. He’s a young, dynamic type-A personality and to me, I’m just writing a perfect Alan Scott based on how he used to be, that’s how I’m approaching it. The only change, aside from being young, is that he’s gay. In every other aspect, he’s the Alan Scott that we know and love. Remember, Alan Scott is my favorite DC Golden Age character, by far. So I’m always going to be protective and reverent to who he is and who he was. I’m not trying to upset anyone and change him. I’m trying to be kind of purist in terms of who he is and his personality and what kind of man he is.
iF: Many people might see this as a response to Marvel and the wedding of Northstar, or a stunt to attract readers, but it sounds as if his sexuality isn’t the story that you’re telling, but just an aspect of the character. Is that accurate?
JR: Absolutely. As I’ve said, I can’t speak for Dan, but I’m sure he’s as surprised as I am. I’m certainly surprised by the degree of attention it’s getting. In terms of a reaction to Northstar, I didn’t know about this wedding, and Northstar has been [openly gay] for 25 years. The fact that they’re happening so close together is literally another example like the X-Men and Doom Patrol [being created at the same time] and these other examples of when Marvel and DC have done the same thing at the same time. It was just synchronicity.
iF: With issue #2 of Earth 2 and the introduction of Alan Scott, you’re continuing this introduction of Earth 2 in the new continuity and the new characters within it. What can we expect from Earth 2 moving forward?
JR: One of the things with with it being called Earth 2 and not the Justice Society is that, obviously there will be a Justice Society team and you’ll see that truly come together and there will be a true team by the end of the first year, but it allows me to take my time to bring this team together, so that we can focus on the characters and to really get to know who they are. Not just in terms of their powers, but in their personalities and quirks and traits. I do believe that when you start a team book, there’s kind of a rush to get the players on the stage quickly. I’m lucky enough that I don’t have to do it as quickly as everyone else. So what you’re going to see is the team, in the first arc, which is them taking on their first threat. A villain who is a classic Justice Society villain that’s been updated and changed slightly, but is true to the original and is also a classic Alan Scott villain. I’ll leave it at that for now and I’ll be a little secretive about it.
And one of the things about Earth 2 is that it isn’t a magical world, but it’s slightly more mystical. That was something that we decided early on. Everyone gets their powers and abilities in a slightly mystical way. I’ve always loved Jay Garrick, but I’ve always thought his origin was a bit goofy. Hard water…it just doesn’t exist and it’s just a silly, made up science. Even someone like The Atom, if people look carefully in issue #1, there’s an atomic symbol behind Al Pratt’s head, it’s the last time you see him in the first issue, and literally the next moment is him becoming The Atom and I’ll reveal that in a backstory later. But that, which feels very much like a classic science origin, you’ll find that even that has a slightly mystical aspect to it. So the second arc will introduce Ted Grant/Wildcat and will focus on magic and mysticism versus science and how the government and the World Army–which is the amalgamation of the all the countries’ armies which banded together in the course of the Apokolips War–how they react to the Justice Society and that leads to another major Earth 2 villain who Mr. Terrific, who also appears in issue #2, is the the first one to encounter, and so you’ll get a little glimpse of the beginnings of the second arc in issue #2.
iF: Earlier you mentioned the inspiration for Alan Scott being gay was the lack of Obsidian in the New 52. Are there any plans to re-introduce Obsidian, or Alan Scott’s other child, Jade, in Earth 2?
JR: Obviously, I’ve got a lot of characters to introduce in Earth 2, so I’ll be honest, it isn’t at the forefront. With Alan Scott being about 27 years old, it’s hard for him to have had children, but I’ve actually come up with a potential idea of a way to get those two characters into Earth 2 and I’ll see if I can work on that in the second year maybe.
iF: With all the surprise attention to this topic of gay superheroes, with the reintroduction of Alan Scott and him being gay along with the Northstar wedding at Marvel, there have been some people who haven’t been supportive of the idea. How do you feel about the reactions of those groups of people and their opinions?
JR: Well, they can’t live with the times. I can’t worry about those kind of people. I just don’t care about those people. The reality is the world is filled with fantastic gay people that contribute to society in every aspect you can imagine from medicine to arts to serving in the military. It’s nice to put one in a super team and acknowledge that there’s a gay character there too. But I want to reiterate, it’s just one aspect. He’s a gallant, heroic, green knight that would die for the Earth and its people and fight to his dying breath. There are so many other fantastic attributes to Alan Scott and I want people to see that he’s gay and he’s also everything you’d want in a hero. So anybody that has a problem with that, I just think you’ve got to grow up and stop worrying about other people and try to live a good, honorable life yourself.
While we didn’t get a chance to speak with Earth 2 artist Nicola Scott, DC Comics provided the following statement from Scott:
“Before starting work on #1, the first document I had to work from was the character breakdowns for our primary players. With Alan the brief was very clear. He needed to be a big, strapping, handsome man that everyone would instinctively follow and love. No short order but right up my ally. Alan strikes me as an incredibly open, honest and warm man, a natural leader and absolutely the right choice to be Guardian of the Earth. His sexuality is incidental. Every time I draw him I love him even more.”
Below is two pages from Earth 2 #2 featuring Alan Scott and his boyfriend Sam:
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Personally I was hoping it was Superboy, but Alan Scott is a great guy to come out of the comic book closet.
but why did they have to have him in flames on the cover? unintentional cliche i hope.
And here I was hoping for Guy Gardner.
makeguygay.com
So… a DC gay male character is revealed/outed and is news worthy… DC is being so ‘progressive’… blah blah…
Tell me why gay DC female characters was completely overlooked… Batwoman, The Question, Huntress?… why did they not get the headlines?
I was reading a grand total of two comic books when Batwoman was announced as being a lesbian, neither of which was a Bat title and I still heard about her constantly. So no, there wasn’t a lack of announcement for her.
@Fanraeth: Yeah, it was all over the news. I remember distinctly a dumb story on CNN where they got a bunch of dumb man on the street reactions to the news.
Guy Gardner would’ve been perfect, hilarious and obviously over compensating masculinity by acting tough all the time, would’ve been fun to run with that but I love Alan scott either way and like James said, he’s still the same man at heart, I just love the clash of colors on his original costume, I mean purple,yellow,green and red! I loved it and it looks like he’s all green now, good art but love the vintage feel of JSA All-Star Comics #3 team, then the James Robinson,Goyer and Geoff Johns runs bringing in the multi-generational family aspect. I really hope they rebuild that somehow and bring in Dr.Fate,Dr MIdnite, Hourman,Sandman,Starman,Spectre and ten others, I love the obscure corners of the JSA DCU, its what drew me into the DCU a few years ago having never really being into it outside of Batman, Lobo and a few others. Vertigo is another story.
Over the last few years, I’ve realized that I love the Justice Society more than I do the Justice League or the Teen Titans. The Society are the ones who started it all. Who set the standard for heroes. There’s a great line in The Return of Hawkman that either Jay or Hawkman says that goes along the line of “The people down there in the streets — the people that really matter — they look up to teams like the Titans and the League. But the Titans and the League, they look up to us.” I love that line.
I love all of the characters. I love Jay. I love Alan. I love Ted. The Society and their characters are amazing.
Now, I’ve read Robinson’s Starman, and even from this interview you can tell Robinson loves the characters just as much as we do. He has no plans to do them wrong.
Does Alan being gay change anything about him being a hero? No. Is he still willing to fight the good fight for what he believes in, stand up to the threat that attacks his world, and still be the person we love to read about? Yes. He’s Alan Scott. The Green Lantern. A hero. That’s all I can ask for. If he finds love, that makes me happy. I like when the characters I like are happy, and him and his boyfriend in these pages look happy to me.
Earth 2 had a really great first issue. The Society is in good hands with Robinson and I personally can’t wait for more.
Main take away from this article = Ted Grant coming soon. Gotta love Wildcat.
Love Wildcat. Personally, I can’t wait for Hourman to show up. They already mentioned Tyler corps in issue 1 and Robinson stated Hourman was coming in one of his tweets. Excited for that!
That hourman series from a while back was soooo good.
God yes. More Hourman, all the time!
I enjoy Robinson’s work, but this is just pandering. Why retcon/reboot someone into being gay, when there are already gay characters whose sexuality isn’t getting near the coverage this is. Apollo? Midnighter? Instead of addressing the topic with existing gay characters, they go for the shock value by rebooting someone and making them gay. Marvel is just as bullshit with this Quicksilver wedding. The outed him back in Alpha Flight #106 and haven’t done much to explore that, until now, marriage out of left field. More pandering….
Quicksilver is gay and a member of Alpha Flight now?
I’m sure a few of the golden age hero’s were gay. It’s not like they’d be able to come out back then so maybe some of the comics code authority’s rigidly gentlemanly behavior of the 40’s and 50’s can be reinterpreted.
@Fanraeth, I believe k5blazer meant “Northstar”, and “Quicksilver” was a typo.
@DredWisely, you’re correct according to John Byrne’s web site, as well as Wikipedia regarding to the the code at the time, in this case for the character of Northstar.
Was NorthStar always intended to be a gay character?
http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=2&T1=Questions+about+Comic+Book+Projects#106
Wikipedia – Northstar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar#1979_-_1994
“…Northstar’s sexual orientation was subtly introduced into the start of the new Alpha Flight series. Although Byrne had intended the character to be gay, he was restricted to implied hints of this fact, due to Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter’s policy against openly homosexual characters, and by the Comics Code Authority.”
Someone else said it downthread: all DC did was answer a question at a convention. The fanboy media engine spun up and articles on CBR, Newsarama, Comics Alliance and iFanboy started speculating. Interviews were scheduled and e-mails to insider sources were sent. If you want to blame anyone for making a big deal out of nothing, blame those sites, not DC.
DC is making a comic, and a damn good one. Blame them for that.
I do wish it had been Dr. Mid-night, though, since he was the only member of the JSA who never got married. He would have required the least ret-conning (no forgetting about kids or wives, after all).
@Quinn: Whoa, whoa, whoa — please point me to the iFanboy article that speculated on who the gay character would be.
How progressive of DC to make a non-mainstream alternate earth character gay.
Earth 2 is a huge book. Your sarcasm is dumb.
I never claimed it was or wasn’t a huge book. Your reading comprehension is dumb.
You want to call each other names, go away and do it somewhere else.
I see Skeets’s point, but keep in mind, Alan Scott was the original Green Lantern and is a character that’s been around since the 1940’s and, before the reboot, was an integral part of the DC Universe. Also, since he’ll be appearing in “Earth 2,” it’s less likely his reboot will be completely botched.
This is what I thought too. They put him in an alternate universe, far far away, from Earth 1. I never enjoyed the alt universe stuff, it turned me off on DC the first time around. Only to see Marvel attempt to follow suit.
I’d love to see a super tremendously gay character. Like overly flamboyant and flaming homosexual type stuff here. Not this masculine structured jaw line serious gay character.
Bunker of the Teen Titans loves his purple costume and has great hair. He’s probably the most flamboyant in DC, as far as I know.
I’m talking ‘The Boys’ type stuff here. hahaha
Skeets is right, it’s not a DCU book so it doesn’t mean diddly-squat. That’s the way it’s been for 70 years. That’s why we all post theories and nonsense comments about comic stories each week because we “supposedly” know the world. It might as well be an Elseworlds books. Don’t try to qualify it, It means nothing but a way to have your cake and eat it too
A bullshit nothing marketing idea on DC’s part. Shame on them for chasing the buck; wait, i mean, faction of a buck
Because who really gives a toss?
Earth 1 isn’t the only earth that matters in the DCU and it’s been that way for a while. Or at least it’s that way when DC decides there’s more than one of them.
I was expecting it’d be Tim Drake though.
I enjoyed the first issue of Earth 2 more than I’ve enjoyed the entire run of the DCnU Justice League. Definitely looking forward to what Robinson has planned for us. As for Alan Scott being gay, I was really hoping for a more prominent character, but it seems like Robinson chose to make him gay in a more organic manner than the initial news reports and Dan Didio made it seem. Props to him.
I haven’t read Earth 2 yet, but i like the decision. It shouldn’t bother anyone if its well written and is not done mainly for pr reason. in a perfect world this wouldn’t even be worth a headline, but until then we need well written (meaning normal) gay characters to educate people. it reflects our world, so why complain.
My complaint isn’t with the change itself, it’s the marketing of that change that offends me.
DC announced that they were going to change the sexuality of one of their big characters in order to get the mainstream audience to notice them. Then it turns out this “big” character is basically an elseworlds character. There’s no risk in making a non-mainstream character gay and there’s even less risk when it’s a character that’s not even in the main DC universe. It’s a safe change that DC is using to show how progressive they are. It’s a cheap tactic to try and combat Marvel’s gay marriage announcement. And by making Alan gay (not to mention younger) they most likely got rid of his son Obsidian who was already a gay character. But now DC gets to make the headlines claiming “Green Lantern is gay” and pat themselves on the back without having to piss off the fanboys by making the actual main Green Lantern gay.
I would agree. Like i said above “if its not done for pr reason”. but on the other hand, it first was a comment on a con, not a major press release and it was before the northstar announcement.
What marketing?
They were asked a question at a convention about gay characters and gave an answer. The media decided to make an event out of it while DC treats this as a nonissue. Unlike the fitfty different variantcovers for the gay wedding over at Marvel.
Why didn’t he just say Alan Scott is gay at the convention then? Clearly he wasn’t waiting for the issue to drop since the news is out now. Instead he said “one of the major iconic DC characters” will be revealed as gay so it would become a story.
I have no problem with them making Alan Scott gay but I agree with Skeets. The way this was pumped up I thought we were going to have a major character come out as gay, like Superboy, one of the Robins, or maybe even Wonder Woman.
@skeets–those reasons you gave were actually the prefect storm. With all the iconic characters, fanboys get pissy when you change the color of their shoelaces or hair color, so taking a major “brand” like Green Lantern and experimenting with character in this way is inherently risky and destined to be short term at best. So now you get all the benefits of using a pop culture brand recognition, without having to sacrifice too much messing around with the main Green Lanterns that are popular. I see it as a win/win.
so they are taking a chance reinventing a character that has fallen into a bit of obscurity and nostalgia and resurrecting him for the 21st century. I think it has potential for success and more importantly, some real staying power.
So, judging by the cover of #3, does this mean that this iteration of Scott’s GL is going to be straight connected to the Corps? The new costume looks more in line with modern Lantern suits, and not the red, yellow and green. And what will be the mystical nature behind it? We saw that Jay doesn’t get his power from the Speed Force, but from the Greek god Mercury.
Actually Mercury is a Roman god. Hermes is his Greek form.
My bad, you’re correct. I meant Hermes, but as you see the timestamp, I wasn’t in an accurate frame of mind.
As a gay person myself, I have to say, I understand that they’re trying their damnedest to do something good and nice and they’re trying to throw us a bone, but I don’t really want a nearly 70 year old firmly established bone. I, more than anything, would like a new bone, maybe something shiny that squeaks, but something that’s mine to have that someone won’t want to take back from me because it wasn’t really mind to begin with.
Introducing something entirely new isn’t exactly a strength of the Big Two. Sorry.
Also with a more established character at least you know he isn’t going to just disappear one day i.e. Obsidian.
You have Bunker.
Okay so he is gay, can we just get back to the story now? I can’t wait until this sort of thing isn’t a topic of discussion.
True dat. A whole interview of someone justifying why they changed a character. There are only 2 fragments of news in this interview 1) Wildcat’s coming back. 2) A classic villain will be reimagined in first arc.
BOOSH! McMike nails it.
We ain’t there yet, but we’re getting there.
I think this is a step in that process. It sucks that we have to shove it in people’s faces and make all the hoopla, but if it helps change things, then I’m down.
I’m not reading the Marvel or DC things, not because of gay characters, but because they’re by writers I haven’t really enjoyed a ton. I’m proud of them for getting out there and pushing both these stories though.
One day we won’t need the hoopla, because no one will care. That will rule.
Let’s stop and think about this for a second though. The big two, who aren’t really just in comics anymore (Avengers movie anyone?) are PUSHING these stories. They stand behind them. That don’t make all y’all “PR PR PR!!” screamers smile just a little? It sure makes me smile. A big one.
And I really look forward to reading this book! I like everything Robinson had to say about the structure, plot, characters, etc. And if Scott can stay on the art it will be a lot of fun.
The whole thing stinks of a constant PR battle with Marvel over the ‘gay wedding’ build-up & DC have done exactly the same thing with ‘who’s the new gay character’, it’s so childish about how each company has gone about it, why not just let the characters be themselves & surprise the reader, so they can decide for themselves on their own reaction, instead of creating tension & possible divides, which no-one wants to see especially in this day & age!
I would just like it if the big-two could for once act maturely over something adult-related for a change.
I agree. Does anyone know if DC was planning this before? Not that it matters, but it seems like this is a ‘one-up’ on the whole Northstar wedding thing.
Considering this happens in issue #2 which is coming out very soon I assume it was planned before unless poor Nicola Scott is frantically scribbling 3 months worth of comics as we speak.
True
Did you read the interview? There’s actually a reason we ask questions, and then write the answers for people to read.
Oh please as if this isn’t a pr spin to create hype & sales!
You said this was about battling with Marvel and their wedding, and it isn’t. Is it about trying to sell books to a broader base of people? Yes. That’s what they do.
@Josh I’m not sure if that was aimed at me, but yes, I did read the article before commenting.
Your question is answered in the interview. The spark was the loss of Alan’s son Obsidian, part and parcel with the choice to present Alan as a younger man. They were frustrated to lose a gay character and Robinson suggested the new Alan might be gay. That was eight months ago, according to Robinson. So it’s not a direct response to Marvel’s announcement, at least on the conceptual level.
I should’ve clarified with my original comment. This isn’t the first time the word ‘synchronicity’ has been used between DC and Marvel. In fact, I’ve heard it used often over the last few years. I’m not trying to weave a massive conspiracy theory here, but more often than not, the parallels seem too convenient on timing. Regardless, it was a simple question. I honestly don’t give a shit what they do/plan. I’ll buy it if I think I’ll like it.
@vadamowens – Not really, but sometimes, it’s just a coincidence. And if it isn’t, counterprogramming is not new, nor is it vile.
I’m afraid all marketing is a battle regardless of who your opponent is, the timing just seems rather a little appropriate, since both companies are leaking a lot of hype over the ‘gay’ theme!
My attack & criticism is on both parties involved, don’t get me wrong but it just seems a little desperate, I thought when DC launched Vertigo they were creating a more adult based mainstream tact that was helping to broaden the outlook on every aspect of life.
It just seems this has been in a childish way, which as I stated before why can’t we be surprised as readers & make up our own minds?!
I’m sorry if I sound like an over skeptical cynic, but it’s just way I am, I respect views & everyone else’s so I apologise if this seems like a tirade.
No offense to Mr. Robinson this isn’t aimed at him either.
@Josh I wasn’t implying anything nefarious.
This announcement isn’t for regular readers though. It’s for people who aren’t reading comics (yet). They can’t wait for them to discover it in the book, because they’re not reading the book yet. If they wait for existing readers to discover it and then break the story after the fact, the comic might not be readily available for people just coming in off the street.
I’m not saying the tactic will work, just that that’s their intended audience for this news. It’s sort of a Hail Mary pass in a game they can’t possibly win, given the nature of the preorder system.
when dealing with social issues in pop culture one has to give a bit of credit to the Zeitgeist factor. Its not so much one company copy-cat-ing the other, its the spirit of the times making people feel compelled to tackle certain issues at similar times. Society moves in waves like that.
I agree with Josh, the big two have been “looking across the street” for ideas from each other for a very long time. This practice has given us some of the best stories and characters. It’s all about bringing readers in. Stan Lee talked about this sort of thing on a previous iFanboy video podcast.
The most ridiculous part of ths thread is Paul suggesting this is for “new readers”
What non-comic fan could give flying fudge about Alan Scott? Who the hell knows who he is or cares?
And what world do you live in if you are sitting a home thinking this gay character reveal means anything to anyone outside of comics? Honestly answer that question
You’re meant to do this as a job, iFanboys, make some sense of what is actually happening
green lantern is now a recognizable brand. announcing one of them is gay is a big deal to none readers.
@captamerica101: no. Sorry, they are not. And a delta level character who isn’t really part of the green lanterns proper doesn’t rate as high as those toss away joke characters even
This is a real world issue we are talking about here so I’m going to take a real world tone. No one cares outside our inbreed community.
If it was Hal Jordan, Green lantern A1 then that’s different
@edward I didn’t say it was a viable plan. However misguided in their attempts, they want to reach a wider audience. Not solely in this instance, but in their choice to put exclusive previews on the Huffington Post and websites for magazines like Complex and Maxim and wherever else. Those aren’t comic websites. So obviously their intent is to reach new readers. Their intent, mind you.
So we agree the “intent” was misguided and offensive and iFanboy shouldn’t be publishing an interview with the publisher which supports such an exploitive marketing trick. Especially considering the actual real world issue this is offending and cause it’s demeaning
So take it down
Well, no, none of those things. All they did was decide to present a gay character in their book and then comment on it when people started asking about it. And our interview is with the writer, not the publisher. We’re interested in the story being told here. Nothing remotely unethical about it.
@edward, why should a comics news site take down an article on the biggest comics news of today? Come on. I COME HERE to read about what is going on, not to have a filtered version of current events. And if there is debate on current events, all the better.
There’s 100 + comments on this article. Obviously there’s interest in the topic. And you want them to take it down? /boggle.
I think the conspiracy theorists need to take a look at current events. Same-sex marriage is the biggest civil rights issue going on in America right now. The big 2 addressing the issue is exactly what we should expect from them. When Marvel created the X-Men as an analogue for racism in America, they were addressing current events. When you see characters like Stefanie Brown or Buffy struggle with the issue of abortion, its editors addressing current events. And when you see Northstar getting married, its a commentary on current events. Honestly, what do you expect?
I’m very interested in the idea that people outside of the comics community won’t care about this because it’s the “wrong” Green Lantern. People outside of the comics community don’t give a shit about Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner or John Stewart or Tomar Re or whatever. Green Lantern is Green Lantern.
Evidence: “SPIDER MAN IS BLACK!” Doesn’t matter if it’s Ultimate Spidey or not, because no one who doesn’t follow comics has a clue what the fuck that means.
I hope the villain will be the Gentleman Ghost! Can’t wait for some new JSA.
Gentleman Ghost has been in New 52 Hawkman!
Huh. I thought it was going to be Booster Gold, especially after reading the first volume of JLI. Oh well. This is fine, too.
My first response was: its 2012, how is this a big deal? The more I think about it though, I think its a good idea and a good character choice. I’ve been accused of drinking the DC Kool-Aid but in this case I think it is relevant and not just a ploy for media attention. While comic books are the farthest thing from reality, hero’s private lives are supposed to be rooted in some type of identifiable reality – how realistic is it that we have this many dudes and not a single one is gay? It had to happen. Good move DC.
Basically it comes down to this: I trust James Robinson both to write golden age characters well and gay characters well. He has proven he is an expert at both. So I am happy.
Man, every time I read or listen to an interview with James Robinson, I like him more. Good job, Ron.
i’ll give DC credit for taking a character like green lantern that has pretty wide pop culture recognition and having him come out.(yes we all know its different green lanterns, but the public doesn’t split hairs that way) I really like that they are making him just a regular guy who happens to be gay (realistic) instead of creating some crazy caricature in a rainbow costume or something really fake and demeaning like that.
I like this move a lot more than what Marvel did, taking a C-list character that only a very small group of people within comics have ever heard of and turning him into a bit of a PR stunt. This move by DC seems a bit more sincere and seems to have more longevity to it, and the fact that the creator has a lot invested in the character is a good sign.
Comics have always dealt with socially progressive issues, so i’m glad to see they’re not afraid “to go there” with this kinda stuff.
People being gay may have been a socially progressive issue back in the 70s maybe, but not so much in 2012. I think comics are pretty late to the party on this to be honest. Its more of a “who cares?” issue now than a “progressive” issue. but that may just be me.
i do agree that they are late to the party on this. Whereas in the past you saw groundbreaking story lines in comics touching on very divisive social issues such as race, and drug problems..totally lead the pop culture discussion on the issue. Comics have been very safe and late to the party on a lot of this stuff in past years.
Without getting political, there are A LOT of “retro” debates happening right now in current events and the political world about stuff that the entire world thought was settled decades ago. We’re in some weird times.
Amen to that Wally
Folks, a well-written gay character developed by a writer with noble intent and a gay character capitalized upon by marketing to stir wider media attention are not mutually exclusive.
Yes, they’re being provocative in their announcement. They want to sell books. No, it doesn’t mean the character and story will be cheap.
Yes, I look forward to the day when this kind of decision is no longer news. Right now though, it’s important to assert to the world what intelligent populations already know. That there’s nothing wrong with it. That you can be gay or straight or really anybody and look to a gay character as a hero of the caliber of Superman or Batman or Wonder Woman. It should be a given, but sadly it’s not. So a little fanfare is necessary today.
I just can’t wait to see how many people now claim Alan Scott as their “favorite” character and how he is ruined, haha.
Also this is going to confuse a whole lot of mainstream people, what with the torrent of “Green Lantern Gay” head lines.
Earth 2 Green Lantern: Gay or English? Now I know the definitive answer.
I can’t decide if this Alan Scott change is a cop-out or a brilliant move by DC. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for the change but I have non comic reading friends saying to me that they made THE green lantern gay and they really didn’t. They made the alternate earth GL gay. So DC gets the mainstream coverage of what people think of as being a major character with his own movie when in fact it’s really a c-lister that no one outside of comics really knows. It’s not a major move but, to the uninformed, it seems like a HUGE deal. Kind of a brilliant move on their part I guess. There’s very little backlash risk with Alan Scott (outside of the bigoted uber fans) as there would be with Hal Jordan, but the mainstream media won’t make any sort of distinction. So DC gets its cake and eats it too!
Alan Scott is one of my favorite golden age characters. I believe I can trust Robinson in writing him well since he’s his favorite too. Only thing that now bothers me is no Obsidian and Jade. Those were two of my faves also and I hope Robinson can come up with some way to work them in properly. Oh, also a note, I’m a DC man, with 40 years of comics reading under my belt, I also say proudly I’m a Christian, and I have no problem with gays being shown in one of my comics.
Sorry for sounding like an idiot but whats Tyler corps
The company owned and operated by Rex Tyler, the Golden Age Hero known as Hourman. Hopefully it means that he’ll be showing up soon!
Cool. I’m glad that this is being handled by Robinson, who’s normally a classy writer who won’t treat Alan Scott being gay like some cheap gimmick. I love seeing more diversity in comics, but not when the characters aren’t treated like caricatures. Very happy that this doesn’t seem to be the case here.
^not when characters ARE treated like caricatures, is what I meant to write.
I wasn’t going to post a comment. But I think I might have something to add after all. I initially viewed the whole thing very cynically. It upsets me that this is a topic of conversation at all. I believe making it into an issue only plays into the hands of the antigay crowd, and that bothers me to no end. There is no argument against homosexuality that merits a response as far I’m concerned. I was under the impression that DC purposefully hyped this. Turns out I was wrong about that. Did they handle it the way I would have liked? Not completely. But they did the best they could to get back on track with what they intended, which is to just have this be one aspect of the character and not an issue at all. At the end of the day, whether the marketing was actually marketing or not, whether it was DC that hyped it up or the media or some of the people in our community that turned it into an issue, it doesn’t matter. All that will matter is the story that Robinson will tell us in the pages of the book. And based on this interview, his intentions are clean. So, I guess you can say my view on this “evolved.”
We need more people reading comics. There will always be fans disagreeing on how that’s done. As Paul pointed out announcements like these are really not meant for us. They’re trying to get the attention of non-comic readers & lapsed comic readers into comic shops. Remember, “it’s not always about me.”
I’m wondering how long it will be before someone at the beach or pool asks if I’m gay since I have a GL logo tattoo on my shoulder. If someone does ask me that down here in farm town small town in NC I will be amazed. It would be a sure sure that marketing and PR works if the word gets around here.
Well, truth be told, I find all of this a little personally troubling and this is coming from a totally sarcastic internet arsehole. My two best friends are my best friend from childhood and his BOYFRIEND! They have been together for 8 years now and i could be happier for them.
It’s a little surprising James Robinson said “One of the things that’s interesting is that people are focusing on his sexuality” considering the latest round of PR nonsense from DC. Like i said earlier, it’s earth-2, it doesn’t mean the same thing. In fact it means nothing, a cop-out, bullshit. The dime-store, cheap marketing people at DC (who i assume just graduated from university) really turned this pointless molehill into an offensive mountain. It’s not equality if we all make a special case out of just how equal “they” are.
And this interview reads like a press release. Not journalism. Very disappointing.
There was no PR nonsense from DC.
i don’t quite understand how this is a cop-out. they said offhand that a pre-existing character would be gay. and one is. the fact that it is in earth 2 does not matter. it’s not like they said that the earth 34 green lantern who we’d never heard of before was gay, this is alan scott, a big character with a bunch of fans who has existed since the 40’s.
I don’t quite get the negative response to the fact that DC marketed this. Robinson clearly stated that this idea came organically without input from DC, and that DC decided to push the fact afterwards. Why shouldn’t they have advertised this fact? A constant issue people have with mainstream comics is lack of diversity, so of course DC is going to push the fact that one of their creators is trying to buck the trend. Granted, I wasn’t crazy about the whole “Guess Which DC Character Will Be GAY?!?” angle they pushed, but that doesn’t invalidate this entire thing in any way, shape or form.
Because it’s cheap. Warren Ellis surprised the reader with Apollo and Midnighter in The Authority #7. They just happened to turn out to be gay. He didn’t advertised the fact like an offensive pig
Equality isn’t making a special case of just how “equal” they are
@edward: This wasn’t marketed by DC. It slipped out at a convention and then most of the comics media ran wild with it on their own. We never got anything from DC about this– no press releases, no hints, no warnings. It only became a marketing thing when DC had no choice left. If not for that question at KAPOW, this probably would have just happened on the page.
I’m sure Robinson’s intent was to also just casually show the Alan Scott revelation. You’re right about how making a special case of equality is counter-intuitive, but the fact of the matter is that someone or some character coming out is still a thing that turns alot of people’s heads. Hell, look what happened when Ricky Martin came out. It seems like DC partially wants to say to the naysayers who say that comics aren’t diversified enough “Look! We’re trying to do something about it!”. Yeah, they’re pretty much yelling this announcement with a huge megaphone, but on the whole, if they don’t continue to exploit the character’s homosexuality, it doesn’t really cross over too much into offensive territory.
The Gay Guessing Game that DC played was definitely 100% cheap and offensive, though. No turning a blind eye to that.
Actually…I say that DC played that game, but it was mostly that most comic news sites and fans played that game.
@ Conor: If that’s true and I mean it the sense someone just haphazardly let this slip at a panel or during an interview then it’s commendable but I find it hard professionals can’t keep something like this secret and they messed up on a mass media event
It’s their JOB! to not do stuff like that
@edward: Didio has a history of letting things slip during Q&As at conventions that he’s not supposed to. He’s got a loose lipped reputation in the industry.
Exactly that’s like saying ‘yeah we’ve got big plans this year, oh by the way someone on the team dies, but I can’t say who’, if you think that wasn’t staged then I’m afraid you have a clouded opinion on how DC work, every sale counts especially when they’ve axed a load of titles & it just so happenings that this is a newer one so lets gets some much needed advertising in-case sales start to diminish.
@RileyArmpit32 – Let’s not start accusing DC of conspiracy theories.
@conor: yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the DC Nation panels. All Didio does is not answer sensitive questions or be totally dismissive. So, sorry, I don’t buy it
@comicBOOKchris: As I put in one of the other threads, I’m not solely having a dig at DC on this is it’s just the whole pettiness of the situation, Marvel & their whole wedding-thing is just as bad.
I just don’t like the way it has been done, just bad taste & childish when just because of someones sexuality seems to be the driving-force of sales, when it probably has no integral part in the story whatsoever. If Alan Scott is gay great so what it shouldn’t make a difference, no-matter what & if new readers get it they’ll know no different, unless decide to do a history search on the character & then they’ll be in for a shock, that’s all!
@Riley,
The fact is same sex marriage is a hot topic. It’s currently illegal in many states. It’s going to be a big topic in the coming presidential elections. If Puck is using medical marijuana to combat the pain he feels while keeping a demon in check in his body, it may be “organic to the story”, and maybe “it shouldn’t matter”, but the fact is that the topic is being addressed because it DOES matter, and the writers are addressing the issue to provoke some thought on the topic.
And guess what? It’s working!
So is it that other media is covering these issues that bothers you? Should we all go back to discussing the merits of Ms. Marvel’s new costume?
Not at all I’m sorry your country still has backwards laws in some states towards same sex marriages & civil partnerships, I just didn’t like the way that Didio has deliberately put a comment out there fully knowing it was a stir on ‘whose gay’ which shouldn’t be the point.
As I’ve said in many other threads I just rather the comic came out & oh Alan Scott is now gay in this New 52 Earth 2 universe & be surprised about it, instead leaking some information that probably has no relevance to the story whatsoever!
I think Ms. Marvel’s new costume design sucks, but I don’t like the character either way.
@ Riley,
Well, yeah, “Didio’s a tool” isn’t really something I can argue with you.
I have to admit to being a bit underwhelmed here. Also, being reminded that characters like Obsidion no longer exist is no fun.
It strikes me that this isn’t a radical re-thinking of the character. Though Alan Scott has a history with women (Rose/Thorn and Harlequin), it’s always been a side note, not an integral part of his character. One of those relationships was dysfunctional and the other seemed borderline platonic. In other words, it lines up with closeted gay men from his original era. It’s almost something that could’ve been revealed in the pre-new52 and made sense.
Good interview Ron, Robinson is a eloquent and intelligent writer. I’m excited to read the series because it is well written and uses great characters regardless of their sexuality. As a side note, I found this news out this morning on the radio on the way to work today. Here’s a sample of the banter: ” Green Lantern was originally Hal Jordan and the years ago was replaced by a black guy. So this new Green Lantern, the gay one, is some sort of parallel earth mumbo-jumbo. I don’t know what happened to the black one”. As silly as that is, they did give DC credit for ” presenting a character, a hero, who is a hero first and just happens to be gay”
I have no problem with DC changing the sexual preference of previously established characters but doing it to Alan Scott kinda puts the kibosh on his best socially relevant trait in the previous incarnation: Alan Scott is a shitty father. Which produces two great characters, Obsidian and Jade…. Although if Batman could have already produced Huntress then Alan could have already had the kids. So in the new 52 he could be a GAY shitty father… humph! Nevermind
.
Have you read Earth-2? One of the jarring things about the whole reboot is that some of the ‘golden age’ names are now YOUNGER than Batman or Superman. Jay Garrick is practically Barry Allen in another universe, rather than the ‘veteran’ we all know.
I enjoy the book, but something about flipping the script here on the JSA bugs me. There was something about these characters being the pre-cursors that gave them that extra something.
Again, I like the book, but it just threw me for a loop initially and, more or less, the JSA is dead.. Yeah, they will more than likely form a JSA in Earth-2, but its really no different than JLA. Or what I’m trying to say is… you could just call them Barry Allen or Hal Jordan of Earth-2 and would their stories be any different? Probably not.
@JesseCuster: The characters weren’t old when they first debuted. They were young heroes. This reboot is a return to their beginnings.
Well, I get that, but we’re also talking about a cast of young character that debuted decades before the next cast of young characters. Eventually, it was established that, whether alternate universe or combined universe, one was a pre-cursor to the other.
What we’ve got here is TWO casts of young characters running parallel. And, even in that Earth 2, have flipped it so that Batman is (was) practically the pre-cursor to the others.
I like alternate universe stuff no matter, so I’m not hating. I just think the ‘modern’ distinction between JSA and JLA has been taken away and now we’re just left with reading origins all over again. And yes, I am absolutely aware: We’ve only seen issue #1, so I know its wait and see.
@JesseCuster: In reality, though, Superman and Batman were the precursors to these characters. And that’s what DC is returning to: the idea that Superman is “the first superhero” in both reality and in the comic book world.
all i want are good stories and quality art….if this brings that to the table- sweet!
“With Alan Scott being about 27 years old, it’s hard for him to have had children”
Clearly James Robinson has not visited many of America’s fine towns.
I’m sad about the loss of Jade and Obsidian, but they can show up in other universes or even this universe down the line through adoption or surrogates.
I would have gone with Cyborg, (or Martian Manhunter if this was pre-52). Founding Justice Leaguer in a top book. Post-52 MM has has his profile lowered and Cyborg has had his raised.
I think he meant children old enough to be superheroes.
Don’t care if he’s here or queer, and never cared to read the title anyhow (gimmick or no gimmick).
Thanks for you input.
I think DC lied when they said a “major character” would be gay. Ask anyone who isn’t a huge comics fan who Alan Scott is, and you’ll get a blank stare. Ask them who Green Lantern is, and they’ll probably say Ryan Reynolds.
I’d say that DC already had a gay character who may be more recent, but is as well known and as significant as Alan Scott: Batwoman. Why no mention of her in this discussion? Is it because her book went off the rails when J.H.Williams III stopped drawing it?
Why would Batwoman bear mentioning in this article?
They didn’t say it would be a “major character” so don’t put that in quotes. They said it would be an “iconic” character, Green Lantern is fairly iconic.
As long as they aren’t constantly putting it in our face, I don’t care who’s gay or who’s not. You can watch Anderson Cooper’s TV shows without thinking about the fact that he is gay, so I should be able to read my comics the same way. No need to put any gratuitous sex in comics, straight or gay.
Looks like I was wrong. I for sure thought it was going to be the Warlord.
Wow, I’m surprised by how many people (non comic fans) keep asking me about this today….everyone thinks it’s Hal Jordan and I keep having to explain who Alan Scott is and about Earth 2 and what not.
I think this is great, cause it gets people talking about comics!!
hopefully earth 2 will give me the spectre back.
I see no problem with the revamping of a major character to reflect the state of times. I do hope DC allows Robinson to really explore what he wanted to do with Alan and not leave it to just a shock value thing.
They should have at least picked a character with a non-ambiguous name, instead of one from an alternate universe with the same name as a well known super-hero. They make the fans have to explain to the masses that it’s not Hal Jordan. Much like when the Death of Spider-Man happened, we all had to explain it wasn’t the “real” Spider-Man that died.
Why? Oh thank god the REAL Green Lantern isn’t gay.
Just for the sake of levity for a moment, Josh’s response really highlights how ridiculous this all is.
@Josh I know right! Then I would have to burn all my Green Lantern comics because knowing that he is gay now, means that he might turn me gay too (totally kidding by the by)
Ok… but IroncladMerc is right. “How will green lantern being gay effect the movie franchise?” was a headline I saw. I’ve been asked 5 times now how I feel about green lantern being gay. Then I have to say it’s not THE green lantern and get into a way too long discussion of something I don’t care about with someone that doesn’t actually care about it either!
Great cover for #3. I never cared who was gay and who wasn’t in comix and thought it was brave an shocking in The Authority to reveal the two most violent characters in the book as a gay couple and found it intriguing but Alan Scott, one of the oldest superheroes in history? C’mon, he already had Obsidian his son in the old DCU a gay character and it worked, why couldn’t they just drag that over to Earth-2, what statement or point is there to having a classic like Alan Scott gay other than shock value? After that it won’t matter, and well, that’s kinda the point maybe but didn’t need to be made yet again. If people don’t realize it takes all kinds in this world by now then the hell with em.
I have no problem with Alan Scott being gay. My problem is with them having a de-aged Alan Scott. One of the great defining features of Alan Scott and the rest of the JSA was their age and experience. We already have 4 Earth Youthful Male Green Lanterns. Why do we need another one?
I would have rather had Alan Scott be gay, but still be an old Veteran hero.
AGREED. Everything that was special about the JSA was wiped away with the reboot. They can recreate these characters with the same names, and have them make a team and call it the JSA, but it’s not the JSA. It’s something else. It’s like New Coke, to me.
That was one of the big minuses of the new 52. After Identity Crisis when DC was really good and creating one big tapestry, I always liked that Alan was always the leader of any large grouping of heroes. They really went with the whole “first superhero thing” I really wish if James Robinson was writing a young JSA book it would take place in WW2.
y2kkev: I agree! They should have launched the team during WW2. There have been some excellent stories recently set in the past or with characters from the past. Look at Marvel’s “Mystery Men” mini, fairly recent issues of Cap and Bucky set in WW2, and characters from “The Twelve”, not to mention “JSA: The Liberty Files” Elseworlds stories and numerous war comics. Now think of a JSA book set in WW2, which has the possibility to jump forward in time to the present and tell stories in both eras. Heck, stories that cross eras! “Times Past” issues! All set on Earth 2. Robinson would be a shoe-in to write that book – he’s demonstrated on Starman and Golden Age that he can do it well.
But no. We get New Coke…
Do you have a problem with Batman being young?
Because Batman is older than Alan Scott.
Yeah, Kenny. In the new 52 the JSA should have just been active in WW2. Tell that entire story from when they enter the war. Then flash to current day where they haven’t been active in years. They mystery of the series becomes what happened to them all. It’s a new continuity so maybe some don’t survive. Treat it like DnA’s Legion run. Maybe Mr. Terrific doesn’t survive day one.
I am not a fan of Earth 2. In fact, I hated it. Robinson can make them all gay, I don’t care. It’s not going to get me to read the book.
Putting aside most of the current conversation, can we all just step back and think about the fact that we are even discussing this is kinda cool. 20 ago we would not have been talking about a gay superhero from either of the big two and the media coverage of it. Of course it would be absolutely fantastic if this wasn’t even an issue at all, just a perfectly normal thing to find in a comic book (and I’m convinced that will of course happen, hopefully soon), but at least it exists to be talked about.
NOPE! It is not allowed to talk about progress, only lack of progress. We can only point out that gay marriage was outlawed in North Carolina! We must never, ever discuss that it is legal in 100% more states than it was less than a decade ago. Also, be sure to never discuss that it wasn’t even talked about not too many years ago. Never mind that the young are in favor of it and the old aren’t and so naturally the tide will turn.
You can only talk about the negative! The sky must be falling or who will care?
How many people would click the news headline “Comparatively, everything is better today than it was not too long ago.”
It’s only a first step towards a better fictional world 🙂
I must say that I was a bit disappointed that it wan’t a character in the main DC universe (“New 52,” “Earth One,” what are we calling it these days??). I think it would have been a bit more impactful if one of the bigger name heroes came out. At least Alan Scott has the name “Green Lantern” so it’s sort of a big name. Yes, he was the original, but I think more people are familiar with Hal Jordan, or John Stewart thanks to the cartoons.
I actually kind of thought, with Before Watchmen being released soon, that Ozymandius was going to be the big reveal…since Rorschach thought he was gay..or was that just in the movie? It’s been a while since I read Watchmen
Seriously? Do you follow DC on Twitter? Trace back a few weeks and catch up on their comments about “DC’s big news”. How about the tweets that mentioned “the news everyone’s talking about”. Sure, you can choose to believe they had no publicity motivation in this. That’s certainly fine. Personally I don’t by it. They new this was an attention getter.
aren’t advertisements meant to be an “attention getter”.
I think the point that many have made here is that it was not their original intention to treat this as anything beyond the normal “big revelations” that comics have all the time. Fans ran with it, and DC responded because it would be strange of them not to at that point. No one is denying that they wanted to sell comics. But the notion that they tried to explode this story immediately is untrue.
@keith8198 Both of us can be right. James Robinson could have suggested it months ago that Alan Scott be rebooted as a gay man AND the DC Marketing could have seen this as an opportunity to grab media attention. That doesn’t mean it was decided based solely on its possible publicity grabbing nature. It just means that that DC took advantage of such as decision’s additional qualities.
@bub64882 – How about what you said : “If someone doesn’t like it, that’s fine, and if someone does, that’s fine too.”? That’s considerably more tolerant than saying “I don’t care about those people” and then talking about them being disconnected from “the times” and characterizing them as if they don’t believe gay people can contribute to society. That’s a pretty broad (and off based) characacterization.
characacterization??? oops
Well, shocker. As a JSA fan it doesn’t bother me, but lets face it. The thing that made the JSA unique was their legacy and their age, these are not the same characters anymore, these are characters with names of older characters. I read the 1st issue of earth 2 to give it chance and it was just alright. But Jay, Al and Allan are now just typical superheroes.
No offense but thats a rather naive point of view seeing how the point is to re-establish them and have them age again, they weren’t old when they debuted and Robinson has a lot of roots with these characters, I doubt they’ll be typical but unique versions of classics in a new timeline, younger but still who they were when they 1st appeared gives us and the writer to watch them evolve, I find that more interesting than continuing them as older aging mentors, although they’re multi-generational family team thing vs the JLA’s government sanctioned team was the charm that hooked me. I’m just happy to see em back and have faith in James and Nikola to take them in an evolving direction.
CaseyJustice Thanks for that.Ive only been into comics for nearly a year now and im still learning.
p.s am i the only one who likes that cover.
Guys, toaster ovens are better than conventional toasters.
You would never say that to my face. Never!
The fact is Robinson had probably the single most mature, no big deal, gay relationship in superhero comics in Starman.
Also the fact is almost no one would give half a shit about the JSA without Robinson.
So let the man do his thing.
Agreed on your 1st and last sentence and I was glad to hear Robinson was at the helm but still think plenty of people would give a shit if this book was written by a number of beloved writers as fans seem to follow writers and artists more than the titles these days….I know I do.
If they launched DC Comics brand new tomorrow, they would have more black, Asian, female and homosexual characters. Retroactively changing legacy characters during a reboot is a way of letting society’s current demographics and societal norms catch up. It only makes sense and makes them more relevant.
On the one hand, this bothers me a lot because it completely erases Obsidian and Jade from existence. On the other though, Obsidian’s constant flip-flopping in his allegiances and Jade’s absolute horribleness as a person didn’t really endear them as characters to me, especially Jade. The way she treated Kyle Rayner…ugh.
Of course, then I think, “Why can’t a gay man have kids? They totally can AND they can be biological children even! Surrogate mothers anyone?” So now, I am completely cool with the whole thing. It’s been a rollercoaster ride of emotions let me tell you. Oh wait, no, no it hasn’t.
Hmmm…. I first saw this posted earlier today while at work and could not post a reply. Thoguth about this most of the day, and quiet frankly could care less if he is gay or not. Some may call me Anti-Gay, thouigh that is not the case, I simply don’t agree with the lifestyle. I will never hold it against anyone that lives this lifestyle and would hope that you would not hold it against me for having a difference in opinion.
The only thing that would bother me in this whole issue, is if becomes more of In Your Face statement, rather then a Super Hero that happens to be gay. I have no issue with any type of hero, sex, color, race, age, etc, all I want is to be entertained. We live in a world that has a variety of life and thoughts and ideas, some we agree with and some we do not, however we all need to learn how to get along with the diveresty that surrounds us.
I will buy Earth 2,as I believe the story line is interesting, this new about Allen Scott being gay or not being gay, will not effect my descision to buy it or not.
Alan Scott I mean, it’s late here, I’m tired and can’t spell, LOL
I know a lot of people are booing the hype , but there’s actually some good coming from it. It’s put some light on some lesser known gay characters ( Okay bad choice of words) , characters that a new comic book reader wouldn’t know about. My girlfriend accidently bought two Stormwatch comics a few weeks ago, but hadn’t read bothered to read them, because it wasn’t something she thought she’d be interested in. When I learned about (through the hype on gay superheros) Midnighter and Apollo, I told her to check it out. And guess what ?She looooooooved the comic to death. And now she’s just put it on the pull list at the comic shop.
Point is, neither I, nor her would have known anything about Midnighter and Apollo if this whole thing hadn’t been blown way out of proportion. She’s even bought some back issues with them, she’s so in love with the characters. And we can’t be the only ones this has happened with.
I have never read much of JSA but if this is the Alan Scott who I loved during DC’s 52 by Morrison, Johns, Rucka, and Waid, then I couldn’t care less than if he was transsexual or married to a goat. Bring on more James Robinson and Nicola Scott!
Right on! More people like this please.
Oh wow. I thought it was going to be Krypto.
I think obsidian is going to play some sort of role. The quote” Why are you lurking in the shadows” is too conveniently placed there!
I got Earth #2 and loved the first issue. I’m looking forward to the series. James Robinson is a top notched writer who has used the sexuality of his characters to informed them in a new or innovative way. In fact, james Robinson was the first writer to have a gay kiss occur in a DC book. It was 1998 during his run on Starman. He’s not one to do something like this in response to Marvel or as a gimmick, but rather to give his character development creative approaches that take his stories in more imaginative directions. What I am interested in is his take on Dr. Midnight and Mr. Terrific. Let’s give it a shot before we predict its demise, shall we?
For those who can read German. The news of Alan Scott being gay even reached the German press.
http://www.welt.de/vermischtes/kurioses/article106414118/Schwul-sind-Superhelden-besonders-super.html
Here’s an easy mistake to make: DC comics, as part of its company-wide-initiative to update and modernize their comics, has tweaked Alan Scott’s character to fulfill the needs of another minority. That’s what everyone will think when they read the headline, ‘DC COMICS CONFIRMS ALAN SCOTT OF EARTH 2 IS GAY’. But I’m not really sure that’s what’s happening here.
As James merely all but said, this is not a story element but rather a character element. And to me, this doesn’t feel like a stunt or a company trying out yet another gimmick. It feels like James wrote it this way to pay homage to what came before.
You know it would be truly progressive of DC if they didn’t announce it. I mean if it’s not a big deal then why go through the trouble of announcing it. I think a fitting announcement on sexuality would have been that Hawk & Dove weren’t gay; just two straight dudes in super tight baby blue/red and white spandex.