Northstar's First Kiss

I'm not sure how many of you picked up the 0.1 issue of the new Alpha Flight limited series that came out last week. I wasn't sure if our favorite northern Nancy was going to be gracing the pages since Northstar isn't officially on the team roster and he didn't appear in any of the solicits or preview pages released by Marvel. But Northstar was featured indeed. Canada is under attack by a series of super-powered terrorists attempting to disrupt the upcoming Canadian elections in which a new "Unity" party is gathering political force.

Northstar, who we last saw splitting his time between Montreal and Utopia in the Tim Fish short piece in Nation X, is shown spending some quality time with his main beau, Kyle, when he receives the distress signal. Joining Guardian, they attempt to combat Purple Girl... or Purple Woman (she's all grown up now) who amusingly forms a throng of mind-controlled Canadians into a Canadian Voltron. Unfortunately, Kyle, who was on the scene getting publicity shots of his boyfriend/client becomes enthralled by Purple Woman's powers and gets sucked up into the Canuck Voltron!

Long story short, Alpha Flight saves the day, but not before Northstar and Kyle share their first on-panel kiss. This is big news for Northstar fans. Northstar was the first openly gay super-hero in a mainstream comic book company's line-up. He came out over twenty years ago, but never in those twenty years have we seen our Speedster from the land of maple syrup and poutine pucker up with a fella'. Marvel broke ground when Rictor and Shatterstar had their first same-sex kiss in mainstream comics (if you don't count DC's Wildstorm imprint... also interestingly enough, had Marvel run their original story for Anole where he eventually committed suicide after coming out, Karma would have taken the title of first same-sex kiss in mainstream comics. But then, we would have been without Anole, so we should be glad of that).

So congrats to Jean-Paul and Kyle for their momentous smooch. We've all been waiting for it. Plus, it brings me extra pleasure that Greg Pak was the person writing this comic. Loyal readers will know I have more than a passing crush on Mr. Pak... 

SuperQueeros! for May 25th, 2011

This week's comics are more balanced in terms of the gender of the queers they include, mostly because I looked up a comic book that's been on-going for almost six years and, low and behold, the protagonist is bi! Actually, most of the superqueeros this week are bi...Take a look:

Tarot Witch of the Black Rose #68 (EDIT: Totes an Adult Title 4 Str8 Boiz, Sorry!!!)

Hello comic-book-I-never-knew-existed, how are you? Evidently you are a Wiccan comic book (EDIT: whose proponents doth protest that it's Wiccan) about a coven's witch-warrior-hottie who defends her people from nefarious busty threats. And has a regular lady-hook-up in the form of a were-feline named Boo Cat!? Also there's frequent (EDIT: constant) nudity and gravity-defying breasts??? So we're not really out of queer-sploitation territory (EDIT: We are at its HQ), but at least it sounds like fun! EDIT: PR0N! It sounds like pr0n! This is it folks! While you were collecting all the issues of Naked Justice and Guardians of the Cube and wondering what straight people did without a Patrick Fillion of their own, Jim Balent was hard at work (pun intended) on being the straight, witch-y version of looking-at-superheroes-with-over-sized-sex-organs! Except someone felt like they had to market this book as female-empowering, not-pr0n? Straight people are weird...

Evidently it is horrible/hilarious: Here's an NSFW link that gives a great example of what this book is and, if you like that blog post, then I strongly encourage you to check out the rest of the links T-Dogg has provided in the comments! Seriously, the only things empowered by this comic are the male gaze and haunted vaginas, two things that I believe firmly in focusing on straight boys!

Wolverine #9

Mystique and her weird chest/heart bomb from Dark Reign are back! Or else she just got shot in the torso. It's hard to tell, because the preview has no lettering... I'm also not sure how either of those things would even slow down the Marvel U's Master of the Morph. Whatever the case, Wolvie is after her, 'cause he's pretty sure that she knows who sent him to Hell (wasn't it Daken?) and he wants to know whose balls he needs to bust. I'm definitely picking this issue up because, while Wolverine is as boring as toast, Mystique is the best thing since sliced bread!

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9.1

Speaking of Wolverine's bi, anti-heroic, sociopathic son, he's getting his very own "Point 1" issue! I'm nervous that when Rob Williams takes over scribe duties on Daken the Dark Wolverine's queerness will get swept under the rug. Let's hope this issue makes a point of showing all the things that Daken will do to get what he wants, including a man in uniform! ;)

True Blood: Tainted Love #4

No Lafayette in the solicit again, but he's one of the main cast so... I imagine he'll be in this book. (Obviously I haven't been keeping up with the True Blood comic book... Oops!)

Gotham City Sirens #23

Harley's still in Arkham, so Selina and Pam are going in to break her out! Let's just hope they can get her out of the toxic embrace of her ambivalent amour, the Joker!

Scarlet Betch Episode 47: Comic Book Potpourri

Hey Betches!

Rounding out our coverage from this past week of comic book marathon. We chat about Age of X: Universe and the increasingly confusing, X-Factor (and Layla Miller's increasingly confusing power set), Birds of Prey (finally with a decent artist and a cameo from out and proud Renee Montoya aka The Question), Daken: Dark Wolverine (aka emo wolverine), Batgirl (and the departure of Proxy), and a lightning review of the new Thor movie!

Let us know what you think! Plus, any comics you think we missed in our coverage let us know! Send us a tweet @ScarletBetch or by email at scarletbetch@gmail.com

Superqueeros! for May 18th, 2010

It's boy-week in comics this week as we get six bi/gay/pansexual male-indentified characters in four books! Plus a cover by out comic book artist Phil Jimenez! Now if we can just get Herc to get some on-panel guy-action I'll be a happy clam! Or snail, as the case may be. ;)

Alpha Flight #0.1

ALPHA FLIIIIIIGHT!!!!! As a queer and a Canadian I am STOKED to see this title back on the shelves. Plus, since I didn't read the original series I'm interested to learn about (most of) the original team. Especially Marrina! (Didn't she die really early on? She's back!) This issue is a pre-series set-up issue, so it should be perfect for folks like me who want some background on the ground-breaking Canadian super-squad. Plus, it'll have Northstar and Phil Jimenez on covers, so we basically know it's going to be a whole helping of awesome, Canook style! #pickoftheweek

X-Factor #219

Mysteries! Last issue was packed with MYSTERIES! Who are these super-powered Hit Girls? How can they fire bullets out of nothing? How can they so rarely miss?? How can they RISE FROM THE DEAD??? Well we're about to find out because M is PISSED OFF and ready to telepathically break into the Fort Knox of Answers that is J Jonah Jameson's mind! Plus, is someone going to tell her that Strong Guy got all fix-i-fied before she smashes some villain's face into the ground? And why isn't Guido pictured on any of the next three months of covers???

Herc #3

So our fav bi-guy Herc ain't got no powers (Humanizing! Good narrative move!) and so his sassy handler Rhea has him listen to people's problems (Good lift from JMS's Superman story!) and then put on some fancy clothes to fight Brooklyn's beasts. BAD MOVE! Just like Emma Frost, Herc uses his semi-nudity to distract his opponents/readers into making bad combat choices/impulse comic purchases! Unless his tunic is going to have as many wardrobe malfunctions as Caitlin's from Gen13 I demand a redesign!

JLA #57

After the Obsidian/Jade crossover between JSA and JLA I forgot to keep following the adventures of pan-sexual alien Starman! Luckily he's been busy fighting Eclipso, so I don't think he's noticed his fall from my queer spotlight, but I figured I should bring him back into the fold. Also, totally coincidentally, Obsidian guest stars in this issue! But, given Todd's past with Eclipso, whose side will he be on? And will that dumb Brightest Day mechanic be gone so that he can team up with his sister, or is this book's creative team about to get HUGE HEADACHES trying to both tell their story and separate two of its main characters at all times???

Scarlet Betch Episode 46: Messy X-men Storylines

Hey Betches!

We continue on our marathon of coverage this week with discussions on the conclusion and fall out of the Age of X storyline, the denouement of the latest New Mutants arc (and some awesome OTP Yuri pairings!), Astonishing X-men (also known as the book no one knows if it's in continuity or not), the racial awkwardness of Flashpoint, and finally, where-the-hell-is-the-new-runaways-book? Stay tuned for our next episode this week cuz we have SO much more to cover!

Let us know what you think! Plus, any comics you think we missed in our coverage let us know! Send us a tweet @ScarletBetch or by email at scarletbetch@gmail.com

Scarlet Betch Episode 45: Catch Up If You Can!

Hey Betches!

So we didn't end up finishing our podcasting last week. So we're covering SO much this week: the end of Wolverine & Jubilee, the beginnings of Marvel and DC's respective annual events:Fear Itself and Flash Point; and the latest in Wonder Woman. Stay tuned for our next episode this week cuz we have SO much more to cover!

Let us know what you think! Plus, any comics you think we missed in our coverage let us know! Send us a tweet @ScarletBetch or by email at scarletbetch@gmail.com

SuperQueeros! for May 11th, 2011

We've got two definites in terms of queer visibility this week, and two comics that might feature their queer characters but have previews that don't bode well. First the good news!

Birds of Prey #12

The Question guest stars alongside the Huntress as Renee and Helena team up to take out some of Gotham's crooked cops. Huntress also has a question for Renee, but we don't see what it is in the preview. Could Helena be recruiting Renee for the Birds? Or is this a more personal matter? Only one way to find out... #buyit

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9

You just can't pin Daken down, can you? Almost immediately after turning X-23 over to her villainous makers, Daken was pulling a rescue of the lady-clone of his father. And seconds after that double-crossing liberation, the comic went all Resident Evil and turned into the stabby slashfest (not that kind of slashfest) we expect from Wolverine's clones and offspring. So how will this tale conclude? Will Daken and X part on good terms? Or is this the start of some even more complex family relationships? Collision, and Liu's run as writer, ends here!

Possible Cameos

New Avengers #12 is mostly a flashback to "the first Avengers" (read: retconned origin story), but we could get some Victoria Hand if they set any scenes in the present day. New Mutants #25 is the first Post-Age of X issue, but the preview doesn't show Karma (or Magik) in the opening scene. Hopefully she'll make an appearance, but I'm not holding my breath. Though, to be fair, I am totally buying this issue anyway...

Scarlet Betch Episode 44: Shout Outs

Hey Betches!

So much happened in comics in the past two weeks that we were only able to fit out shout outs in this episode of Scarlet Betch! We shout out Godzilla, the end of Brightest Day, Green Lantern War, Generation Hope, and much much more!

Let us know what you think! Plus, any comics you think we missed in our coverage let us know! Send us a tweet @ScarletBetch or by email at scarletbetch@gmail.com

Superqueeros for May 4th, 2011

It's a motley assortment of queers in this week's comics shipment, but it's spearheaded by the epic conclusion to the most anticipated Secret Six story of all queer-story! (That's queer history, of course)

Secret Six #33

It's the end of "Darkest Hour", the awesome Secret Six story where the team fights its deceased members to see who gets to use the "Get Out of Hell Free" card! Someone's going to use it, but who will it be? I'm squeeing for Knockout to get the chance to return topside, but knowing Simone and her ever-expanding team of villains we'll probably get more than one resurrection. As long as one is Scandals' rowdy redhead, though, I'll be happier than a pig in mud!

House of Mystery #37

Okay, so the solicit says "a gang of mysterious strangers appears in the House of Mystery looking for one Lotus Blossom Mackenzie." Given the whole world-flipped-upside-down cliffhanger ending to the last issue I'm hoping that this "gang of strangers" involves some queer character, and my highest of hopes is that it includes Tursig. If it doesn't House of Mystery and I may begin seeing other people. Tursig hasn't been in so many of these issues recently! #VanishingGays

Fame: The Cast of Glee

Chris Colfer in comic book form! Also, other Glee actorzzzz... But Chris Colfer!!! The solicit doesn't say much, but if you're just starting your Mr. Colfer stalking this will probably condense all his interviews over the past 2 years into a handy two or three pages. And if, like me, you're already a huge Gleek then it'll combine three of your loves: comics, homos, and Gleeeeeeee!

Herc #2

If you don't remember, Herc's a canon Kinsey bisexual, so his continuing series makes the superqueero cut! Plus we get shots like this one. Anyone would go a little gay for that, am I right? And it's got Greg Pak co-writing, so it's got to be good!