Tag Archives: Marvel Comics

Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Bans 'Avengers' Comic Over Gay Kiss

Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Bans ‘Avengers’ Comic Over Gay Kiss

Anti-LGBT Rio de Janeiro mayor Marcelo Crivella has announced that the translated edition of the Marvel comic book series Avengers: The Children’s Crusade would be removed from the literary festival Riocentro Bienal do Livro so as to protect the city’s children from what he described as “sexual content for minors.”

The so-called “sexual content”? A one-panel kiss between two male characters, Wiccan and Hulkling, who are in committed relationship. Both characters are clothed in the scene.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Crivella made the announcement on Twitter, in a video where he says, “Books like this need to be wrapped in black sealed plastic with a content warning displayed on the outside.” In ordering the removal of the title, he claims that the city’s authorities are “protecting the minors of our city.” In the text of the tweet itself, he describes the contents of the comic as “content that is unsuitable for minors.”

Crivella’s tweet followed an Instagram post from Rio de Janeiro councilman Alexandre Isquierdo, decrying the book and complaining that it was “spread[ing] homosexuality to CHILDREN!” (Emphasis his.) The sale of the book, he complained, was “an absurd crime.”

Officials at the Riocentro Bienal do Livro festival have refused to comply  with the Crivella ‘order. Turns out the majority of outlets didn’t have the comic in stock in the first place, and the one that did reporting that copies had already sold out two days earlier.

Before being elected mayor the out-spoken and vehemently anti-gay Crivella was a bishop of the controversial Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which is regarded by some as a “cult” and believes in exorcisms was founded by his uncle, Edir Macedo.

DOMA Hits X-Men – Immigration Officials Go After Gay Married Canadian Superhero NorthStar

Comics and graphic novels are going boldly going places with gay storylines and characters that many mainstream media outlets are afraid to travel and have never gone before.  Case in point  the latest issue of Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men.

Immigration enforcement in the comic world is just the same as in the real world it seems and doesn’t care if X-Man Northstar saves American lives for a living; he’s a Canadian citizen and his recent same-sex marriage to American Kyle Jinadu does nothing to change that fact. And thanks to DOMA, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages ICE (Immigration and Custom Officials) come knocking on his door one day when he’s out saving the world.

I applaud Marvel for doing this.  Not only because it incorporates gay characters and their lives into storylines but also because it’s a perfect educational tool.   Sort of like a “DOMA issues for Dummies” primer for young adult readers of comics.  Where they become exposed to the problems facing us that they are unlikely to hear about any other way.

 

NY Comic-Con: Amazing Spider-Man #700 On 12/26 To Be The FINAL Issue

 

With Comic-Con New York in full swing today was officially Spiderman Day in the Big Apple and even Mayor Bloomberg attended the Spiderman panel.

But the real news, that many have missed is that the Amazing Spider-Man will finish its fifty year run this December with issue 700 before being switched over to Marvel NOW! an initiative that aims to recharge the publisher’s heroes and villains.

Many Marvel comics will relaunching under the new Marvel NOW! banner and it was assumed that January’s MN Superior Spider-Man would pick up Spidey’s story where Amazing Spider-Man left off. To the shock of many of those  at NY Comic-Con, Current series writer Dan Slott, “It’s an all new Spidey. This ain’t Peter Parker.”

When asked why the series was ending its run, Editor Stephen Wacker said, “We like stories to come to an end. It’s been going for fifty years.”

“Put away the presents and bring out the Kleenex,” Slott also warned the audience.

“This ain’t a reboot, we’re simply hitting the refresh button.` Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said “Marvel NOW!’ simply offers a line-wide entry-point into the Marvel Universe that you’re already reading about.”

The new titles will include series featuring Iron Man, the now-named “Indestructible Hulk,” Deadpool and the “All-New X-Men”.

One has to wonder how many of the super-characters are going to be coming out of the super-closet in these new non-reboots(If any.)

Gay Geek Alert! – We’re All Invited To Gay X-Men Superhero Northstar’s Same Sex June Wedding

In the upcoming 51st Issue of Marvel Comics Astonishing X-Men, Northstar X-Men’s gay superhero is set to marry his boyfriend Kyle, but in the past few issues the human and powerless Kyle who’s lack of any superhero or mutant abilities has been putting a strain on their relationship.

But never fear in the current issue Number 49, the boys are back together and seem to be indeed headed to the altar for Issue 51 which will be released in June.

According to comics site Bleeding Cool, the issue ships on June 20th and the company has “secured mainstream coverage both on-air and in print, for something that has never been seen inside the pages of a Marvel comic. Not only that, but some retailers are already saving the date and are hosting special wedding events in their stores

Northstar was the first character to come out at Marvel comics and the most well-known, though there have been several openly gay characters since then. While the X-Men are currently based in San Francisco, Northstar is a French-Canadian hero and since same sex marriage is legal in Canada its a good bet that the venue will be North of the Border.