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Holy shit, did you read the New York Times story about gay superhero parties?

The Skin Tight party — in which the costumes range from the familiar (like Spider-Man) to ones that only a comics geek would recognize (like the 1993 version of Superboy) — is one way that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender comic book fans are expressing themselves today. They are coming out, loud and proud, in blogs, peer groups, Web comics and more, simultaneously pronouncing their sexual identity and their devotion to comic books. But it wasn’t that long ago that the environment was less than welcoming for those who wanted to make the two seemingly disparate worlds one.

Oddly, none of the major comic book news sites (except for Rich Johnston, bless him) have picked up on this story yet. Which is kind of funny; they usually find mainstream media attention to be a totally gratifying and link-worthy experience. Another thing the major comics news websites are burying? Kick-Ass‘s disappointing box-office performance. They’re also ignoring Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar’s highly objectionable sense of humor:

I pitched this to DC for a laugh years back. The idea was that, like Death of Superman, we had Rape of Wonder Woman; a twenty-two page rape scene that opened up into a gatefold at the end just like Superman did.

I guess they don’t want discussions about sexual politics to get mixed up with all the press-release-dumping they’re doing for the mainstream comics publishers.

19 replies on “On Gay Superhero Parties, Superhero Misogyny, and a Disappointing Ass-Kicking”

  1. hey, it’s better to see a hot guy in a superhero outfit than a stupid bicyclist spandex outfit with dumb corporate logos all over it…regardless, it’s just an opportunity to show off the junk.

  2. Not surprising that Kick-Ass bombed at the box office. Saw it on Saturday night and there was hardly anyone in the theather. Not only that, but the few who were in attendance were obviously fans of the comic. The only people I’ve talked to who have seen it (or intend to see it) were people who have read the comic. That’s not a big audience, especially by Hollywood standards. Too bad, too, because for what it was, it was a lot of fun.

  4. I had that rape idea many years back, only instead of a Wonder Woman comic it was for a full episode of Caroline In The City.

  7. I enjoy Mark Millar’s movie adaptions a fair amount and I loved Superman: Red Son, like pretty much every comic fan, but everything I hear about the guy from REAL comic nerds makes me think he’s a complete jack ass in person.

  8. Mainstream comics publishers (and most indies) tend to ignore a healthy LGBT reasdership. Which is really dumb cuz there’s a huge market there.

  9. Hate to think that Kon-El is that obscure, he was one of my favorite comic characters (and yes, the hair cut and leather jacket did make him look like a Twink trying to be an Otter)

  10. Kick Ass hardly bombed…it opened at #2 right behind “How to Train Your Dragon” and made about $20m…it did perform disappointingly for studio expectations (tracking had a gross in the mid to upper 20’s). $20million for a movie with no stars, and not hugely budgeted is pretty good…plus, it’s the kind of film that will do well overseas and on home video.

  13. I call the middle.

    It is funny how mainstream comic media is so heterosexist. It’s painful sometimes and merely banal at others.

  17. So awesome (and forwarded it to my brother, who will appreciate two of his biggest interests uniting into one party).

    Women who dig comics have long been the heterosexual holy grail… apparently the first thing that made my husband entertain the idea of marrying me was when I uttered the phrase, “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to take my pants off and get my comic book.”

  18. Check out this bar in DC: http://www.greenlanterndc.com/

    I went there a few months ago when I visited. The evening included: Giant Posters of the green lantern, sassy bartenders, a very lost (but amiable) straight marine filled bachelor party where the groom was literally shackled to a bowling ball, and an event called “Shirtless men drink free” I have to say, watching a bunch of men unceremoniously disrobe at exactly 10:59 under the glow of super heroes was the highlight of my trip

  19. I also ran the Kick Ass disappointing numbers (with the hilarous title Kick Ass’s Ass Kicked)

    And I have an upcoming piece that not only mentions that pitch but another on the same lines…

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