Follow

    Homosexuality

    Concept » Homosexuality appears in 889 issues.

    Previously a rarity in comics, modern times have since seen an increase in openly gay characters to reflect a more modern and accurate portrayal of society.

    Short summary describing this concept.

    Homosexuality last edited by fables87 on 03/06/22 08:47AM View full history

    Overview

    Homosexuality used to be exceptionally rare in comic books. It was difficult to officially announce that a character was gay because of restrictions made by the Comics Code Authority. Only until recently, homosexual relationships had been subtly hinted at through wordplay and suggestion, leading many fans to speculate over the existence of hidden meanings created by the writers or artists of their favorite comic books (whither intentionally or not).

    This scene between Oracle and Black Canary led many fans to speculate over their relationship.
    This scene between Oracle and Black Canary led many fans to speculate over their relationship.

    One of the earliest examples of a popular graphic novel featuring gay characters was Watchmen, published in 1986. Watchmen had three openly gay characters (Hooded Justice, Silhouette and Captain Metropolis), but two of them were killed for their sexuality. However, it was still relatively unheard of for more mainstream comics to reveal the sexuality of their gay and lesbian characters. This has led to many years of debate over many characters and considerable controversy, including the relationship between Mystique and Destiny, Batman and Robin, and even Superman and Batman (the latter of which led to the creation of one of comic's longest lasting gay couples, Apollo and Midnighter).

    Over the last few decades, however, many comic companies have moved away from the rules of the Comics Code Authority. This has allowed them to openly declare the sexuality of their characters as well as create new gay and lesbian characters. The 21st century has seen the single largest boom of gay and lesbian characters yet and many LGBT comics have garnered strong cult followings and a highly vocal fan base.

    Character List

    Comic book characters who have officially been declared as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer include the following:

    Apollo and Midnighter
    Apollo and Midnighter
    Wiccan and Hulkling
    Wiccan and Hulkling
    Kate Kane (Batwoman) and Renee Montoya (The Question)
    Kate Kane (Batwoman) and Renee Montoya (The Question)
    Shrinking Violet & Lightning Lass
    Shrinking Violet & Lightning Lass

    LGBT Comic Creators List

    sizepositionchange
    sizepositionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    bordersheaderpositiontable
    positionchange

    This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.