SuperQueeros! for December 19th, 2012

Ah, December! Holidays. Vacations. And not only do we get a reprieve from work, but our comics do too! Next week the only comics coming out are Aquaman, JLA, and the last issue of Amazing Spider-man, so this week we're loaded up with 'queeros!

Batwoman #15
The penultimate issue of the awesome Wonder Woman/Batwoman crossover! It features every Batwoman character coming together to battle Medusa and also features the all-new incarnation of some yet-to-be-named character. GOSH I HOPE IT IS RENEE MONTOYA!!!!!!! In my opinion, Maggie is to Kate as Kennedy is to Willow: not OTP. Either way, this issue is sure to be a show-stopper!

X-treme X-men #8
Speaking of show-stoppers, Dazzler's inter-dimensional murder tour is about to hit a roadblock when her team comes face to face with their replacements: Zombie Apocalypse Dazzler and Howlett's hot ex, Hercules!

Wonder Woman #15
The new mythology of DCnU Wonder Woman continues to grow with the introduction of the New Gods! You've seen Diana face down her siblings in battle, but how does she compare to the awesome might of the Apokoliptian Orion???

Astonishing X-men #57
Warbird takes front and center this issue as she works find a place for herself here on Earth.

X-Factor #249
Ever the meta title, it's the end of the world in X-Factor this week and the Warders are here to make sure our dashing dude-couple don't mess it up!

Red Hood and the Outlaws #15
Crossover with Teen Titans! Not sure if Bunker is in this, but at least Starfire wears clothes now!

Hellblazer #298
John only has FIVE DAYS TO LIVE!!!! His wife thinks he should stop being so dramatic.

SuperQueeros! for December 12th, 2012

The ripple effects of my research into queer comic book characters continues this week with a new (read: VERY OLD, with her own canceled solo series) bi lady, plus a ton of the other great superqueeros!

EDIT: I forgot to mention Kevin Keller and Clay Walker in this week's Life with Archie!

Grifter #15
"Grifter's not bi!" you say. "Or a lady!" And right you are!! But his partner in action-packed-adventures, Voodoo, is very much both of those things. And this week they face off against the Suicide Squad! Maybe they'll off one of the SS and Voodoo will get to join up. And then she can date Knockout or Scandal! Or both! #matchmakermatchmaker

X-treme X-men #7.1
This issue is a brief interlude before our heroes rejoin head-in-a-jar-Xavier and meet the team he gathered to replace them, but it starts out AWESOMELY: our thundering threesome pick up a fearsome fourth when they are joined by space-mecha-piloting-SAGE!!!!!!!! Sage was a stalwart of the original "X-treme" team, so her joining up is an awesome nod to her origins. Plus, since she was kinda an Emma Frost stand-in (just with an ever-expanding list of powers), it's a lil' cheeky having her replace Emmaline. Now all she has to do is kill a space-whale-Brood-Xavier, find our heroes a way back to their head-in-a-jar-Xavier, and not find herself in any one of the perilous positions telepaths seem to encounter in this book! (Also, evidently, now that the universe is busted 'n' stuff any telepath with a wandering mind's eye can 'port a whole gaggle of mutants across inter-dimensional boundaries? Whatevs.)

Supurbia #2
DID YOU READ LAST MONTH'S ISSUE?!?! It looks like Hector Hunt is going to be romancing Night Fox's wife Alexis (or having someone do it for him)!!!! And Gio is totes gonna be coming out so he can push the tension and have Night Fox all to himself! Oh, and I'm loving the transgressive storyline of the Son of the (Mongolian) Amazons. It will be interesting to see the intolerance of the Mongolian Amazons and how the book treats it! Plus Hella Hunt is screwed! Argh, I love this book!!!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Freefall #16
Billy's in the main cast now (woo!) but the solicit only says that Buffy will have to face a demon from one of her long-lived exes' pasts. Fingers crossed that Bill gets involved! And CuteDevon!

Demon Knights #15
Madame Xanadu! Shining Knight! Exoristos (Shining Knight's sapphic Amazon)! This book is just awesome! And this issue they only have to defeat two armies (one: Lucifer's, the other: the Questing Queen's), revive Merlin, and survive a time jump (and a shift in writer)! Who lives? Who dies? Who retires???????

Hack/Slash #21
"Final" continues!!! Lotsa people die!

SuperQueeros! for December 5th, 2012

I'm a little under the weather, so this is gonna be a short rundown, but I have a couple of new titles this week!

Buffy the Vampier Slayer: Willow - Wonderland #2

How did I miss this series starting?! This is the answer to all my Season 9 prayers and dreams! Willow is on an inter-dimensional quest to restore magic to the Buffyverse, but it won't be easy, especially since Marrak, her Doctor-esque companion, is more interested in becoming her Master-esque companion, if you catch my drift. #DarkWillow

Fairest #10

Evidently Rapunzel has a relationship with a female kitsune in this series. FINALLY a queer fables character!!!!

Kevin Keller #6

George Takei guest stars!!!!!!!!!!!! Kevin writes an article about how Takei's API and queer advocacy has inspired him, so G.T. decides to pay a visit to Riverdale! #fangasm

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #5

"Why is mommy crying, Uncle Hollis?" This is going to be a heavy issue. And potentially the best one out of this prequel business.

Earth 2 #7

Hawkgirl's backstory! And Mr. T. joins the cast! (Mister Terrific, that is)

Stormwatch #15

Midnighter vs Stormwatch! The Prince of Lies has set up the team to take out their most popular asset. Will the slowly de-humanizing Engineer lead her team to commit murder most heinous? And what position is Apollo taking???? #TWHS

X-Factor #248

Death has come for Pip! Can M be bothered to save him? Would I?

Scarlet Betch Episode #71

Hey Betches!


We're back this week doing a round up of great queers in comics. From Batwoman's mind-blowing pages courtesy of JH Williams, Wonder Woman's decidedly incongruent appearances in her solo title and Justice League, Astonishing X-men, MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC (OMG!!!!), 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 November 28th, 2012

Every once in a while I find the time to scour the internet for LGBTetc. comic book characters that slipped under my radar and this week I turned up some gems! And by "gems" I mean both awesome queer characters AND erant comments like this one from a blog post about Zenescope: "I'm a LESBIAN, so I MUST have a sex-tape." Ah, the internet...

And remember folks, if you know about an LGBT comic book character that I've neglected, let me know and I'll rectify the situation and start tracking that costumed 'queero!

Chew #30
When John Colby, cyborg partner of main character Tony Chu at the FDA, calls their boss Mike Applebee a "fag" it's not simply a homophobic comment, it's also experience talking. See, John and Mike have hooked up. Yup, two non-boyfriend, kick-as gay characters populate one of the most creative comics on the stands today. And with issue #30 being The Wedding Issue (not a gay wedding) it is, as the solicit recognizes, THE WORST jumping on point. So why not give it a shot? I know I will!

Green Hornet #31
I'm going to defer to any Green Hornet fans (or anyone willing to do the research via comixology's current 99 cent sale), but it seems like Mulan Kato was outed and then immediately retconned straight. So I'm just gonna put this idea out there and keep my eyes peeled for any indication that that retcon was retconned. EDIT: Yeah, read the preview for this issue. They're OTP-ing her with GH himself. #bummer

Astonishing X-men Annual
Did you read last week's issue?!?!? It was the answer to ALL my prayers (sorta)! Karma is now a wealthy industrialist, a la Warren Worthington III or Emma Frost! She still doesn't have that gun-for-a-leg that I wanted, but now that she's working with a more substantial salary than that of a librarian I imagine she'll be bankrolling some baller adventures! And maybe Kyle will get some more screen time!

Husbands #6
The last issue! And it's secret-agent-y! How will our dashing dudes deal with a license to kill? And how will the lessons they learned influence them after they get back to the "real" world?

Morning Glories #23
So there's been no update on Hisao (original Jun), but old-Jade has finally crossed into the main narrative! Unfortunately, it seems like Irina is out to kill her...

X-Treme X-men #7
Now that Howlett and Dazzler have gone on a robot-killing rampage to save Kurt they've incurred the wrath of both Danger, queen of Robot-Earth, and Sage, liaison between the robots and the remains of the human race. So how will they escape? And is the Xavier of this world evil, good, or too dead to be of any help?

Teen Titans #14
Wonder Girl's story continues and it seems that her story will be tied to the arrival of Raven and, possibly, this whole "Trinity War" thing. But where are Skitter and Bunker??????

Justice League Dark #14
Amethyst and Frankenstein continue to guest star as they explore the depths of the Hours of Mysteries. But now that disaster has been averted in the annual, what will Madame Xanadu have to do this issue?

True Blood #7
More ancient werewolves. Everyone in this book counts as queer, right?

SuperQueeros! for November 21st, 2012

Did y'all see the list of top ten gay and lesbian characters/couples over at Newsarama? It's a celebration of Shining Knight, the intersex, ass-kicking Demon Knight I mentioned in last week's SuperQueeros! (Newsarama calls Shining Knight transgender, but unless you count Bornstein-ing your way past the concept of gender as transgender, I think S.K. came out as pansexed and pangendered.) Give it a flip through and see if you learn about any new superqueeros! I know it clued me in to Danielle Baptiste's queer identity as a (or possibly "the only") 'queero at Top Cow.

Speaking of 'queeros in the mainstream, we've got a TON of AWESOME books to read this week!

Supurbia #1

The best comic this year gets its own ongoing series! Night Fox and Agent Twilight return as a villain moves into the neighborhood and starts to court Night Fox's wife Alexis. Plus, we get to meet Supurbia's version of Lois Lane, the unceremoniously dumped Hayley Harper! And what exactly is keeping Batu's husband up late? Perhaps the creation of a Boomtube...?

Batwoman #14

Kate continues her crusade to kill Medusa with the help of Wonder Woman! Will zombie cowboy Pegasus help them out? Or is his head the one that "will role" as the preview at the end of the last issue foreshadowed? Also, why isn't Pegasus a flying horse????

Astonishing X-Men #56

From the cover it looks like Gambit is Iceman? I did not see that one coming... And if Bobby is the teammate who returns, why is there a question of if he is a friend or foe? And the solicit also mentions Kyle, so he might be in danger! Or a villain! Can Karma and Northstar pull a save out of this mounting disaster???

Husbands #5

Speaking of married super-couples, the second-to-last issue of Husbands is out this week! And it looks like this issue is going to be in the style of the Archie-verse!!!! ARGH I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE INEVITABLE CUTE-BOMB!

X-Factor #247

More marrieds: Layla and Jaimie got hitched! And now everyone is going to Hell! Sheesh, first it was Hellblazer, then it was Demon Knights, and now X-Factor is going to Hell? 2012 is a popular year for that toasty destination!

Hellblazer #297

The last issue in The Curse of the Constantines! The three plot clues are "hungry ghosts, tainted fairies, and a mother's lively corpse". Intriguing...

Uncanny X-Force #34

This is the penultimate issue of this title! The will Evan become an evil Apocalypse? Or can he manage to thwart Daken's plans and save the team that's come to save/kill him? And now that AoA Nightcrawler has killed the man who ate his wife, AoA Blob, will he be able to survive the judgement of E.V.A.???

Wonder Woman #14

Wondie is trapped in a labyrinth with an angry cousin! Will she be able to survive the vengeance of The Desert Winds? Especially since she came to save her?

Justice League #14

Wonder Woman continues to help fight Cheetah and a new monster-Superman (who I am assuming is Bizarro)!

SuperQueeros! for November 14th, 2012

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9: Freefall #15

Billy and CuteDevon fight zomps and have sexual tension!!! Plus, Buffy shows up to help slay some zompires! And this isn't the end of Billy (AWESOME), just the end of serving his time in Smallville. Hopefully CuteDevon will survive too and make the trip to San Fran with his beau-to-be! And is he going to be the only Watcher in the Scoobies? What with Giles' nieces and CuteDevon's queerness, the patriarchy of the Watchers has kinda been smashed, eh?

X-treme X-men #6

Nightcrawler time! Thanks to Kurt's emotional moment the team is on the way to his home universe to kill the Xavier of his world. But what was the relationship between this Xavier and Kurt? And what happened to Kurt's family??

Husbands #4

ARGH I LOVE THIS SERIES! I have NO idea what this issue will be about, but the cute superheroes, the cheeky (pun intended) fairy tale, and the hot (and stylish!) detectives were all awesome and I can't imagine that this issue will be anything but BALLSMAZING.

Demon Knights #14

Did you know that there is a gender ambiguous hero in this comic? Shining Knight presents as neither male nor female, and as both. That, plus the inclusion of Madame X, makes this period piece a lot more queer than I thought it was! Oh, and everyone is trapped in Hell. But don't worry, Shining Knight has got things handled.

Hack/Slash #20

This is billed as the beginning of the "FINAL" storyline. But is this the end of the series? In the words of the writer: "Yes. And no." #hype

SuperQueeros! for November 7th, 2012

We have a president! Now that BHO is back for four more, it's time to get back to the real business at hand: comics! And I'm going to start this entry with a post-election confession.

Husbands #3 (and #2)

The confession is that I forgot Husbands #2 last week! Yup, it's a weekly, web-only series, so this week go out and buy two awesome, marriage-equality-themed masterpieces from Darkhorse.com!

Stormwatch #14

Midnighter is dead?! Apollo is going to be PISSED! Etrigan (the newest Stormwatch member?) is gonna have his hands full with the angry sun god, and the solicit says that an old member is returning. The Doctor or Rose Tattoo could solve Midnighter's little "death" problem, but I'm sorta really hoping for Jenny Sparks...

Avengers Academy #39

The last issue before Marvel Now! And with our two 'queeros, Striker and Lightspeed, missing from the next incarnation of this book, this issue will be the one canonizing their immediate fates!

Life with Archie #24

Kevin reconsiders re-enlisting after Clay's brush with mortality! A new, Riverdale-centric direction for our fav Archie couple starts here!

Uncanny X-Force #33

The team takes it's fight to Daken and Mystique's Brotherhood! Only three issues left before Marvel Now!

X-Factor #246

We finally see what the heck Pip the Troll does! And since it's a "behind-the-scenes" issue maybe we'll get to see RicStar being cute together!

Earth 2 #6

The fight against the Grey still continues on and on and on. And Evil Mr. Terrific sets his explosive plans into motion!

SuperQueeros! for October 31st, 2012

Happy Halloween! And... that is the most exciting thing that happens in this post. It's the usual fifth Wednesday slump, which I guess means you have more cash for hurricane recovery! But if you do have some dollars on hand and an open comic book store nearby, there are two books that will probably not (but technically might) have a homo in them. But probably not.

EDIT: Justice League Dark Annual #1 and Karma in New Mutants #50!!!!!!

True Blood #6 
Apropos for the season, it's the latest issue of the Alcide True Blood the comic! Speaking of Alcide, he has to help Sookie and the vampires save Bon Temps from a marauding werewolf pack! Given that these wolves are aiming to kill off most of the town in an event called the "Great Hunt" I'm guessing that they're led by Apocalypse. Or Harvest.

#dccaughtup

Ultimate Comics X-men #18
BAM! War on Nimrods. Storm, Kitty, Iceman, Rogue, and Bel Ami Wolverine. Stuffs going DOWN!

Plus, this is the last issue of the arc, so if we're going to get an eleventh hour Colossus, now's the issue!

SuperQueeros! for October 24th, 2012

It's m'birthday! And it looks like the comics industry knew exactly what I wanted!

Husbands #1

OKAY. Everyone stay calm! It's here, it's happening, and it's $0.99: the first issue of the six-issue Husbands cross-time caper! Buy it at digital.darkhorse.com. The limited series starts with Cheeks, Brady, and Haley getting a mysterious wedding present that whisks them off to the first of six different parallel universes, Exiles-style. And since it's written by Jane Espenson and Brad Bell, you know it HAS to be awesome! #justwhatIalwayswanted!

X-treme X-men #5

The second half of the Howlett-centric adventure continues! At the end of last issue, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, BalloonXavier, BabyHowlett, and Mr. and Mrs. Howllet were holed up in a shack in the middle of the desert as evil, cowpoke versions of Cyke, Sabretooth, Colossus, and Danger charged toward them! And where's Howlett in all this you ask? Riding with the baddies! Since his adamantine skull protects him from psychic assault, how did EvilXavier get James to switch sides? And will he be able to find his way back so that the crew can off EvilXavier, save lil' Howlett, and scoot? (Also, did you see Greg Pak's awesome #SignsYoSonIsGay tweet? And the cover for issue #9???)

Astonishing X-men #55

Karma, Northstar, et al. continue their fight against Karma's evil half sister Hitachi. But is Iceman really dead, or was his untimely demise in a vat of molten metals simply a ruse by Northstar to rid his body of Hitachi's nanobots? And is Tiger Tyger for realsies going to let these X-n000bs take over her island??

National Comics: Xanadu #1

Finally, a new solo title for my fav Cassandra! Madame X is an all-seeing attorney in this re-imagining of the awesome, occasionally bisexual character. And while following her exploits here is a bit like following DCnU Constantine ("Well the character is explicitly queer in SOME universe."), I'm still going for it! Plus, I really like the concept of a shifting anthology that publishes one issue of each story every four months. #itsmyparty

Justice League Dark #13

The House of Secrets vs. the House of Mystery! That's all you need to say for me! I'm all in!

Teen Titans #13

Cassie continues to kill her armor-stealing ex. I wonder what bunker is up to?

Hack/Slash #19

This story APPEARS to be less "Class Comics" and more "thoughtful reversal of horror tropes", but I'll let you be the judge.

SuperQueeros! for October 17th, 2012

I'm gonna be an Andy Rooney this week: Solicits these days, oh my gosh! Change makes me grumpy!!

Batwoman #13

This era of teaser solicits is annoying for a pre-capper such as myself! "Batwoman and Wonder Woman team up to fight Medusa." While technically a complete sentence, what do I have leftover to fill this blog with??? Puns about turning "stone butch"? An ode to Kate's wigs? Softcore musings about Kate and Diana's post-battle warm-down rituals??? "Well, Kate, in Amazonian culture we do not fear intimacy between our fellow Woman." #yup #goingwiththat

X-Factor #245

So the solicit of this one is a little meatier. "Two characters... irrevocably altered... team almost halved." What I assume that means is this: we know Havok is leaving (Have you seen that indie title Uncanny Avengers? It's totes underground.), so it's reasonable to assume that his life is "irrevocably changing" and... Lorna is breaking up with him? So I guess Lorna is the other half of that set of two totes-chagned people? But what I'm worried about is that Madrox, Layla, Lorna, Pip, and Longshot are all on covers for the next 3 to 4 months and M is mentioned in the solicits. But where are my boys??? Rictor and Longshot are still on the team according to the preview, but it sure is taking them a looooong time to teleport home!

Hellblazer #296

More "Curse of the Constantines"! It's the big confrontation with John's Dexter-nephew. Will John be able to cure his nephew's homicidal tendencies? Or maybe find a way to channel his powers for demon-killin'?

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4

I am totes excited to get more Watchmen, especially more Hooded Justice/Captain Metropolis stories! But there are just SO MANY Before Watchman books! So, I'm waiting two more months to buy 'em all. But whether you wait or whether you get it now, #getit.

Wonder Woman #13

So did people notice the New Gods in the last issue? I did not pick up on that, but the recent voids in the Greek pantheon seem to give them some roles to fill in this book. But that's all in the future! This Wednesday Diana deals with Ares! As we saw in last month's issue #0, Diana is Ares' star pupil who quit the Marsian Martial Arts Program when she had too much mercy to become the soulless killer he had hoped that she'd be. So what's in the cards now that she's an adult with a whole lot of enemies???

Justice League #13

The Cheetah appears! New 52 Cheetah is a wereleopard like she was for a short time in the... old 52? I hope she's an ex-Amazon like she was in that brief, brief old-52 Wondie re-boot.

SuperQueeros! for October 10th, 2012

So many good comics this week! It may not be a large batch, but it's got spirit (read: good stories)!!!

Finally!!!!!!!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9: Freefall #14
It's Billy the Vampire Slayer!!! This month sci-fi superstars Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg bring us the first gay male slayer! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! Plus it's the beginning of the Zompire epidemic! Will Billy and his bff/Watcher survive their first adventure????

Morning Glories #22
Jun/Hisao is my favorite new superqueero! Morning Glories has all the mind-bending of Lost-style television, plus the hottest gay love scene I've seen in comics! (See issue #18 for that!) This month see if he can save his identical twin brother Hisao/Jun from ritual sacrifice! From the look of the cover I'm guessing that's a NOPE!

Kevin Keller #5
Kevin has a "new" car: its his dad's very old jeep! Luckily Dilton, the cute nerd, is there to help fix up Kevin's jalopy with the latest inventions! Well, maybe "luckily" was too strong a word... It doesn't look like Dilton has subjected all these gadgets to rigorous testing...

Demon Knights #13
Madame Xanadu et al. vs. Lucifer!!!! (Oh, and "The Demon" from Stormwatch last week was Etrigan. Why didn't they just call him Etrigan? Who here hasn't ever been bored by a story's inclusion of Etrigan?) #beingmean #teamxanadu

SuperQueeros! for October 3rd, 2012

Life with Archie #23

Last time we joined the future-flung Riverdale gang Kevin had decided to re-enlist, even though Clay had expressly requested that he not. But, in the midst of registering, word came from Riverdale: Clay had been shot when he tried to stop a robbery! Are we about to lose Clay, months after we met him? Is Kevin going to stay put now that his hubbie is in critical condition? And how will Riverdale react?

Stormwatch #13

Remember in the 0 issue when they said that Stormwatch is the current version of Demon Knights? Well, evidently, that means that "The Demon" is joining Stormwatch now that the Martian Manhunter is gone. From the cover it looks like Apollo and Midnighter are bringing The Demon in, so why does the solicit say that they're AWOL?

Avengers Academy #38
Flag football tourney between the Academy and the Jean Grey School! I'm not sure when this takes place chronologically, but hopefully we'll get some character development for Striker  and Lightspeed before they vanish from the book when Marvel NOW! starts.

Earth 2 #5
The New Trinity fights Grundy and (sort of) the Atom. Grundy fights the new Trinity and the Atom. The Green Lantern makes a world-changing choice? Hopefully it's to bring back his dead bf and not, "Hey, wanna hang at my clubhouse?" Otherwise this book is just... the most predictable set up of a superteam.

Uncanny X-Force #32

The last chapter of Final Exam! Will Daken and Mystique make it out alive? Will Evan?

Scarlet Betch Episode #70

Hey Betches!


How do we look? We're trying out Google Hangouts, and I think it works pretty well! This week we're talking about X-treme X-men's new betch, James Howlett, the current developments in Karma's mythology in Astonishing X-men, J.H. William's excellent re-telling of Batwoman's origin, the hotness that is Morning Glories and much more!

Let us know what you think about the Google Hangout format, comics, or our opinions! Plus, if there are any comics you think we missed in our coverage let us know! Send us a tweet @ScarletBetch or by email at scarletbetch@gmail.com

Also, I just did some research on James' title. In the solicit he is referred to as "Captain Howlett", which is where I determined his title. But astute reader Jason Tseng picked up that Emmeline calls him "General Howlett" on page 3. However he is the "former governor general" of Canada, which in our universe grants the title of "The Right Honourable James Howlett". So... I'm just gonna call him James Howlett. ;D

SuperQueeros! for September 26th, 2012

Last month saw the birth of a new SuperQueero in the form of Captain James Howlett (what's up with these space-time-jumping captains, eh?) and this month we (hopefully!) get to find out if DCnU John Constantine has as fluid of a sexuality as his Vertigo counterpart!

Cowboys Are Frequently
Secretly Fond of Each Other

X-treme X-men #4

After last month's reveal of Captain Howlett's feelings for his dimension's Hercules I have a lot of questions! Luckily, it looks like this week we're going to get some answers: The X-treme Xavier Hunters (too soon, Marvel) are heading to a dimension that looks a lot like Howlett's past, including a younger, twinkier version of himself. With the opportunity to show baby-James that it really does get better, will the Captain help his younger self vanquish some foes? Or maybe capture someone's heart??? Hopefully we'll get both!!

Angel and Faith #14

Hey, guys, have Angel, Faith, and Connor ever met Dark Willow? I mean, Angel has definitely met Vampire Willow, but there were no crossovers in Season 6 and Angel was a baddie in Season 8, so... I don't think anyone of these n00bs knows what "their Willow on magic" looks like. Well now that they brought Wills to a hell dimension and juiced her up on some native pixie juice they are definitely going to become very well acquainted with the dark master of the Buffy-verse! The only questions are: Will they be able to bring back good Will?  Will she regain her new magics when she leaves Quor'toth? And will she manage to kill off Connor before she becomes a goody-goody again???

Justice League Dark #0

THIS IS THE DECIDING ISSUE! Yes, I have drawn a line in the sand. This issue focuses on John Constantine's origin and to me this story can only have one of two possible outcomes. The first is that they drop some sort of reference to John having a past same-sex relationship, or a queer identity, and I become a life-long DCnU-Constantine fan. The second option is that they make no mention of John being anything other than straight, or dismiss it with some sort "it was a phase" line, in which case I'm droppin' JC-fandom like a hot, surly potato! So, Mr. Lemire, in the words of RuPaul, "Don't f*** it up!"

Teen Titans #0

Red Robin's new origin. Yaaaaaawn... But, we also get Skitter and Bunker's origins, which is a much more exciting prospect! I'm continually pissed that the Karmas, Xavins, and Skitters of the world get beaten up, "killed", and written off of books because people don't want to write them. So I'm hoping that this issue will shed some light on the mysterious origin of Skitter's powers and set the stage for her triumphal return to the Teen Titans! And, on the 'queero side of things, maybe we'll get the reveal of Bunker's boyfriend!!

Astonishing X-Men #54

Woooo! Karma's on the cover!!! Maybe she will even do something this issue! And by "do something" I mean "kick butt", not "be used like a puppet by a super-villain (even if that super-villain is another API woman)". Because I'm tired of it being otherwise!!! Oh, and Northstar will probs continue to be awesome while wrecking his marriage.

BETCH Alert: General Howlett

The betches are coming out of the woodwork nowadays! The ever affable (and my personal crush) Greg Pak (credits include World War Hulk, Phoenix: Endsong, Alpha Flight, etc.) in the latest issue of X-Treme X-men that General James Howlett, the Wolverine of Earth 208, hinted at a relationship between Howlett and his universe's Hercules. Now, Hercules has already been established as being at least situationally bisexual in the 616 universe. In fact it was Greg Pak and co-writer Fred Van Lente who made Northstar/Hercules officially canon back in Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1. So it's no surprise that Hercules would continue to be the paragon of all things Greek (including the Athenian penchant for pubescent young men) in other universes... but, at least to my knowledge, this is the first iteration of Wolverine that I know who has had an same-sex alternate universe relationship.

So, hats off to Greg Pak and his continued quest to queer the Marvel universe... one Hercules pairing at a time!

Check out scans of the reveal after the jump:

Read more »

SuperQueeros! for September 19th, 2012

At Dragon Con this year I went to an academic analysis of the racial make-up of and queer representation in the JL, Avengers, and X-men. The study only counted people as queer if they were explicitly so, i.e. if they were out. A lot of the books I'm covering this week don't necessarily feature explicitly queer characters, so I'll let you know who's what and why;

Batwoman #0

Kate Kane. The most awesome out lesbian ever. Sorry Ellen, sorry Karma, but Kate has a bat on the bottom of her shoe, so there's not really any competitsh. Anyway, this issue promises to reveal "how Kate shed her life of excess and disgrace." Didn't we already saw that in Detective Comics a few years ago? Eh, if there's one thing I've learned from Lost and Once Upon a Time, it's that you can always tell an audience the same backstory multiple times, as long as you tell it well. And with J.H. Williams III on EVERY aspect of this book (art, cover, AND writing), I'm pretty sure that's what we're about to get!

Avengers Academy #37

It's the last issue in the Final Exam storyline! And with Striker (out, gay brat) permanently scarred and Lightspeed (out, bi rainbow) ever in a state of moving on, will our heroes make it out of the Academy, or stick around for its new AvX status quo?

Hellblazer #295

John Constantine definitely dated a dude for a bit. He's married to a lady these days, though, so I'm not sure whether he identifies as queer, or if I should read that label onto him since he is, in fact, fictitious and not a real person.

X-Factor #244

Rictor and Shatterstar are totes boyfriends. Maybe they will even be in this issue!

New Mutants #49

My hero, lez-brarian Karma, was killed a couple of issues ago. Since this is the second-to-last issue of this run of New Mutants, I figure they'll bring her back this month so that all the straight characters can have some denouement next month.

True Blood #5

This book is on here because it is POSSIBLE that Lafayette will make an appearance. Also, they're looking into some villain's past this issue, and I'm assuming its a vampire and that AT SOME POINT Alan Ball made him/her sex a dude/lady (in a dream or otherwise). So Laffs probs not in this issue, but somequeer might be...

Wonder Woman #0

Is Wonder Woman queer? I think it's canon that she's had lady-friends, but I also don't think she identifies as queer (do they even have a name for queer-ness on Themyscira?). So take your pick of whether or not she's a friend of, or friendly with, Sappho.

Sword of Sorcery #0

No one has told me there will be queers in this book, but if there are no gays in "Gemworld" then there is no justice! #fingerscrossed

SuperQueeros for September 12th, 2012

The SuperQueeros this week are mostly speculation on my part, so I'll arrange them in order of likelihood:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9: Freefall #13

This one is first because I 100% know that Kennedy will be in it. I love that the move to comics has really helped the queer-Buffyverse thrive, including bringing us a new gay male slayer next month! Now, while Billy isn't in this issue, a resolution to last month's CRAZY cliffhanger is! Will Buffy's demon pal really sell her out to Wolfram& Hart? Will Buffy and Kennedy be able to take out Facebook once and for all??? Will their client have any role in this story???

Honestly guys, I am loving this title right now. And I was never the biggest Kennedy fan, but she is so dang awesome in the comic book! Check it out.

Uncanny X-Force #31

Wolvie et al. are back in 616 and they're headed to rescue Evan. Will they arrive in time to stop Daken and Mystique's nefarious plans? Or are Evan's halcyon school days over for good?

Ultimate Comics X-Men #16

Nick Fury and the Howling Kittens are aiming to take down the Sentinels dividing America! What with  Kitty's team wading into the former prison camps, maybe we'll get a Colossus cameo! (I kind of doubt it since they have two more issues in the arc after this one, but the story is pretty rockin', so I continue to hold out hope!)

Demon Knights #0

This issue is an origin story that does not mention Madame Xanadu, but she OOOOOLD, so she might make an appearance.

BETCH Alert: Billy the Vampire Slayer

Now, I don't think it's a far cry to say that Buffy has a strong following in the queer community. The messages of empowerment, overcoming oppression, and accepting one's full self all resonate deeply with the experience of queer kids. On top of that Buffy was a pioneer in inclusion of openly queer characters with Willow, Tara, Andrew, and Kennedy (and eventually Buffy herself in the comics). Now, with the help of the ever amazing and frequent Whedon-collaborator Jane Esponson (credits include Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, and Husbands), the very first gay male slayer is being introduced to the buffyverse.

Read more »

SuperQueeros! for September 5th, 2012

It's Zero Hour, folks! Yes, one year after the launch of the new 52 each title is getting an issue #0 origin issue! Not sure why DC wants to do this, other than providing the opportunity to tie up some plot holes and ret-con some of their newly minted cannons for this year's Trinity War, but at least the covers look cool!

X-Factor #234

The "Five Days That Change X-Factor" is on Day 3. Strong Guy is now Bad Guy, Darwin is a demon hunter, and Rahne is single-mom-ing it up with her pup. But that's not enough! No, the destruction of X-Factor continues this week when someone goes crazy! It's no surprise that, given that her BF is featured heavily in the post-AvX universe, the comics gods have chosen Polaris for this not-at-all-cliche fate. After all, how else could they unencumber Havok? A long distance relationship with a non-traditional, complex, and flawed set of rules permitting sexual tension with new teammates but requiring angsty, angsty monogamy? 

BWAHAHAHA, be serious! Making your ex insane is much easier!

But enough of my tomfoolery! It looks like Lorna is going to find out who her real mom is and tumble into some sort of "Lovecraftian" insanity. So she's the daughter of Magneto and Cthulu? 

Suddenly I'm more okay with this story.

Stormwatch #0

See the stuff that Stormwatch did before we joined their narrative! Since issue #1 dealt with Midnighter and Apollo's recruitment I'm not sure if we will have any sort of queer characters at all, but they are gracing the cover, so I will allow for the possibility of an appearance!

Avengers Academy #36

Striker: disfigured and undone! Hazmat: irreparably toxic! Mettle: right back to the feeling-less shell he was two months ago! And everyone else is powerless! Things do not appear to be going well, which can only mean one thing: they're about to get worse!!

Issue of Note:

The new Green Lantern is showing up in Green Lantern #0 this week!

Scarlet Betch Episode 69

Hey Betches!


We're back this week talking about the new betch on campus, Cullen Row in Batman #12, Kevin Keller and his trip to the London Olympics (and betchy ex-bfs), J.H. William's return to art on Batwoman, Wonder Woman, the Young Masters' guest appearance in Avengers Academy, and the great facepalm of Karma's perpetual victimization in New Mutants... and 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 August 29th, 2012

Tomorrow is Dragon Con Eve, you guys! For Southeastern Gaymers like me, Dragon Con Eve is basically Christmas Eve if Christmas were a four day long gift to yourself and the theme were "The Young Avengers" instead of "Jesus". Oh, and in this analogy Aaron Ashmore is the stocking stuffer.

I. Am. DYING.

But, anyway, comics:

Angel and Faith #13

I am digging Willow sans Buffy! Their falling out was too... boring. And Willow's quest to get back magic is much more interesting than fake robot pregnancy. It's too bad this is the penultimate issue of the story... but maybe it will reinvigorate Will for the rest of Season 9! I know she gets some powers for next week's issue and that probably means that this week has a Willow-centric cliffhanger, so I am well chuffed!

Uncanny X-Force #30

I don't think Daken or Mystique were in last week's issue! This week focuses on the New Brotherhood trying to turn Baby-pocalypse evil, so hopefully they'll both rear their sexy, sexy heads.

Justice League #12

I still consider Wonder Woman queer. I mean, I'm queer and if my writer pitched the idea of my boyfriend being Superman do you think I would protest? Nope, no I would not. 

It's like I always say, "Just 'cause you're a friend of Sappho doesn't mean that's your whole sexual identity, and just because you're dating a Kryptonian dude doesn't mean you didn't love your last Thymesciranese girlfriend."

But I am hoping that it doesn't last, if only because "Dark" and "Cliana" are both ridiculous.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUEER ADJACENT TITLES:

True Blood #4

This issue focuses on Alcide's backstory. Not the "back-" I'm interested in, Joe, but I know somepony out there is going to want to pick this issue up.

New Mutants #48

Technically Karma is in this issue because Doug re-lives her death scene in either a nightmare or a Necrosha-zombie rehash. Awesome. #notawesome

AND NOW I ABUSE MY POWER:

STEED AND PEEL #0

OH. EM. GEE. You guys, Steed and Peel is getting an on-going series!!!! If you don't understand how amazing this is, PLEASE go back and watch Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel in the British TV show The Avengers ("No relation." - Joss Whedon). It stands the test of time, and Rigg is SO kick-as. Plus, one of their stories, the one they are revisiting in this issue, was the genesis of Emma Frost and Marvel's Hellfire Club!!! (As some dude whose wit I am stealing once said, "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." Chris Claremont definitely heard that!!!!)

Anyway, basically all of my dreams are coming true this week. Thank you, DragonCon-mas!

SuperQueeros! for August 22nd, 2012

Did you guys see the edits to last week's SuperQueeros? Oh my gosh, there were 'queeros pouring out of the woodworks! This week is a little bit more sedate (I assume!). It must be going for quality over quantity:

Astonishing X-Men #53

More Northstar-centric goodness! Also, I just tried to call Northstar "'Star" and realized that that is the nickname of another gay male Marvel superhero, Shatterstar. So, in the Marvel Universe Theory of Queerness, queer ladies are rainbows and queer gentlemen are stars! (And queer trans heroes, heroically scoffing at the chains of a gender binary, are written off of their books. #notbitter #bringbackxavin) 

Also Karma! And did you guys catch New Mutants last week???? Yeah. Horrible. Alternate-Universe-Face FRIED HER. UGH!!!!! But she's kicking butt in this book! (I pray...)

I, Vampire #12

Stormwatch guests! Apollo shoots stuff with his hands!

Justice League Dark #12

The team is split up! "Blackbriar Thorn" is the name of a character!

Teen Titans #12

Wonder Girl's armor is still rampage-y!

SuperQueeros! for August 15th, 2012

Wonder Woman strikes twice this week, Julie Power has no power (I blame the derecho [actually, that's a great code name...]), and maybe we'll meet back up with the boys from XFI! Plus Constantine, Karma, Daken, and Mystique!

EDIT 2!!! THERE ARE SO MANY SUPERQUEEROS THIS WEEK! Check out Batman #12 for the awesome adventures of Cullen Row and his amazing sister, Harper Row! It looks like Harper is lining up to be the next Oracle, but in a punk-Gaga-in-the-sewers kind of way!

EDIT!!! Kevin and Clay are in Life with Archie #22!!! Will the Archie comics cave to the new cliche of killing the queer of color????

Batwoman #12

J.H. Williams III is back on art!! Batwoman continues her crusade against the motley group of monsters she faced in the last 6 issues, but this time she's taking them on one at a time. First up is the disgusting and dangerous Bloody Mary who has holed herself up in, where else, an abandoned Hall of Mirrors! Which raises the question to me, who abandons a hall of mirrors? Shouldn't those have a significant salvage value????

PLUS, in order to fight this legendary urban legend, Batwoman enlists the help of a werebeast and the master of legends herself, Wonder Woman!!!!!!

X-Factor #242

Darwin is back! Rahne's baby is back! Strong Guy is a Bad Guy! Will we meet back up with the odd, odd threesome of Rahne, Rictor and Shatterstar? Fingers crossed, but either way Peter David is going to work his usual magic this week! #fanboi

Wonder Woman #12

Apollo has come for Zeus's throne, and Diana is the only thing standing in his way! But the solicit mentions something about Wondie needing to protect her closest friend? And Zola gives birth?! And it's not human?!?!?! (I mean, duh, it's a demigod, but the solicit says it's "not what we would expect." What does one expect a demigod to look like? I'm going to cross out "Zeus" and "Jamie Madrox" though, since those are too obvs)

Avengers Academy #35

Lightspeed has been depowered, Striker has been conscripted into EVIL, and Big Zero and the other Young Masters of Evil are being, well, also evil!! How are the kids going to save the world when half of them are normies and the other half are being controlled by a criminal mastermind??? None of my final exams were ever this hard! #TWHS

Uncanny X-Force #29

X-Force versus Daken, Mystique, and the New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! If EVA is Fantomex's CNS, does that make her a lesbian?

New Mutants #47

KARMA CAMEO!! (If not more!) Everyone is coming back from the dead these days, and the original Hellions are no exception (twice)! Hopefully Shan and Sam will stick around for more than just dinner though!

Hellblazer #294

Seance with a dead sister, another nephew-committed murder, and the family cult? "Curse of the Constantines" marches on!

Scarlet Betch Episode 68

Hey Betches!


In this issue of Scarlet Betch, Anthony and Jason talk about the end of iZombie, the future of Teen Titans, the endless victimization of Karma, and the politics of superhero boyfriends, also we get excited about Bunker/Vibe speculations (Viker? Bibe?).

Also, lots of love to our friends at GeeksOUT.org who have graciously asked us to crosspost our content! #nerdluvs


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 August 8th, 2012

Wait, it's Wednesday already?! Okay, here's a super-quick run-down, since I'm super-late for work:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9: Freefall #12

Buffy and Kennedy (wooo!) vs. the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart! If only Angel weren't in a hell with Willow right now!! #starcrossed

Batgirl #12

Batgirl vs Batwoman!! #buyit

Kevin Keller #4

Kevin goes to the Olympics! With the gang in tow, of course!

Demon Knights #12

So it seems like Morgan LeFey is winning right now. Think that's what'll play into the issue zero?

SuperQueeros! for August 1st, 2012

And just to match last week's week of beginnings (Shout out to the schoolies!), this week is a week of good-byes: to a great series that I was JUST getting into, to all the DCnU books, to the queerest Academy ever to grace the pages of comics, and to Strong Guy's "good guy" image. See for yourself:

i, Zombie #28

The final issue!!! (Great cover too!) I guess it's true what they say, you can't face an elder god without losing either your mind or your continuing series. That's what's happening with Gwen: The soul-sucking, Innsmouth-generating space-Cthulu (Xitalu for short) that's menacing the planet has arrived and started chowing down on Earthlings. Luckily, Gwen has a plan. Unluckily, it involves filling herself up with so many (living) souls that she is essentially a Giant Gulp of spirits (last Friday night), then feeding herself to the space monster so that it will take a nap (food coma!). Unfortunately for the plan, however, her friends and family's penchant for sticking together in times of trouble has landed all of them in Giant Gulp ground-zero. Is saving the world worth it if you have to kill everyone you love to do it? And, more importantly, will the were-terrier get the guy before it's too late to ride off into the sunset (of existence)???

Avengers Academy #34

Thanks to AvX the Academy is closing down and, for the next four months, the kids have to decide if they're going to follow Veil to Jeremy Briggs' rival academy or... do some... other thing? It's very unclear. Their only other choice appears to be homelessness. Anyway, pressing social issues aside, Briggs has promised the kids a release from their powers! Whoo! Hazmat and Mettle might get some happiness! But there's always a cost, and this time it might be paid with lives... 

(But it will probably just be paid with angst and weird deformities. #spoilers)

Stormwatch #12

All endings are beginnings too, especially with next month's issue zeroes for the DCnU books. This week Martian Manhunter breaks up with Stormwatch, ending the first era of the Stormwatch epoch. But, because he wears a cape, he has to do it the only way superheroes know how: with a knock-down, drag-out brawl! In space! 

Also, later this month Stormwatch guests in I, Vampire, the village bicycle of crossovers. #RelevanceThroughForcedInteraction

X-Factor #241

Strong Guy's been dumped. And, as we all learned in Teen Wolf this week, when you die and come back your a soul gets replaced by a hottie-cidal fury that makes you exact indiscriminate vengeance on every Tyler you come across! Using a Colton Haynes!!!! 

I mean, Strong Guy will probably use his fists and incredible intellect, but... I still have my fingers crossed for a Colton Haynes! #Kanima

Earth 2 #4

Bottom billing for killing minority characters. Boo! I just really hope Solomon Grundy or Rose/Thorn is Sam reincarnated... I want conflicted gay romance between equals!!! Like Catwoman!!! #AnneHathawayDreams

SuperQueeros! for July 25th, 2012

Two of my favorite queer characters showed up again last month!!!! Willow and Daken are rocking new books and, with only one back issue to pick-up, we should all go check them out!

Angel & Faith #12

Willow's teaming up with the Angel-verse (Faith, Angel, and Connor) to go to a hell (Quor-Toth) to try and bring back magic! Meanwhile, it looks like Giles' nieces are going to have to take care of some unwanted vampire thieves before they can get back to their TOWIE marathon.

Uncanny X-Force #28
Last issue the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants revealed itself: AoA Blob, Sabretooth, The Shadow King, Skinless Man (uhh... gross), the Omega Gang (Omega Red + buddies????), Genesis (but I wanted Good-pocalypse!), and... MYSTIQUE WITH DAKEN AS THE LEADER!!!!! OMG,  this book just got amazing-er!!!!!!!!!!! Except that they killed Gateway, which is the crap-est thing anyone has ever done. #racialprofiling

Astonishing X-Men #52 
The honeymoon has to be put on hold! Last month Kyle and Jean-Paul were the first gay superheroes to tie the knot (on page -- unless we ever saw Apollo and Midnighter's nuptials? In which case I NEED THAT ISSUE!), but this month it's time to get back to the crisis at hand and find out who's making Karma crazy so we can help her kick its butt! And maybe her kick-as leg will kick some as too! (Also, has anyone noticed how often Karma just disappears only to get her brain taken over by evil psychics? You would think people would have started wondering if she were okay when she wandered off, rather than waiting until she crash landed back into their X-lives. Or maybe they should use her like a plot trouble detector to find evil psychics...)

Teen Titans #11
Wonder Girl's armor puts its plans into action and attacks the "teens"! (Come on, none of these people act or look like teens.)

True Blood #3
Vampires and stuff and Lafayette!

Justice League Dark #11
Yeah, I read last month's issue and I still don't understand the solicit. Evidently "secrets" are "revealed"? Yeah, riiiiight. Only if this is the last issue in the series! Duh!

SuperQueeros! for July 18, 2012

Wonder Woman #11

New storyline pitting Wonder Woman against the villain-from-a-million-issues-ago, Apollo! Plus, Zola has her baby!!! And is Strife on Team Wondy now????

Batwoman #11

The last issue in this parallel-story-arcs, urban-legends-attack, jigsaw story! I'm excited to see what stops get pulled out!

Avengers Academy #33

Emma comes for Justin's Sentinel! (again...?)

X-Factor #240

The focus is on Layla this issue. I know nothing else.

Hellblazer #293

This new story is called "Curse of the Constantines". Awesome!

SuperQueeros! for July 11th, 2012

New Mutants #54

Karma's back! Well, grisly Karma from the future. With crazy Warlock armor? Oh, time travel... That robot leg better do something now though!

BtVS Season 9: Freefall #11

I love that this book is basically the Summers girls and a rotating cast of the Buffy-verse's catalogue of queer characters. Kennedy takes her turn at the plate this storyline with a job offer for the Buff-ster: bodyguard!

Demon Knights #11

I have consistently forgotten that Madame Xanadu, bi seer-supreme, is in the book. Shame, shame, shame on me. :( This issue everyone is turned into a demon!

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2 (of 6)

I am so excited for this book. It feels like there are 50 queer characters, all of them compelling and effed up, but none of them blown up on a train. Please pay attention, rest of the comic-verse.

Superboy #11

Superboy house-hunts while Bunker helps him wallop a Decepticon. Bunker, you are living my dream.