Dark Wolverine writer Marjorie Liu Talks Daken, Weaponized Sexuality

Newsarama posted a great interview with Dark Wolverine writer Marjorie Liu asking about her experience writing one of Marvel's most notorious and highly billed bisexual. Liu makes some interesting points about Daken's unique powerset as a male character and his relationship, or lack of one, with his father, Wolverine. I've had a lot of conflicting feelings about Daken as a character. On one hand it's great to see writers really embrace the bisexual part of Daken, and its refreshing that recently it seems that Daken's bisexuality is more complex than it has been in the past (it seemed that whenever Daken was having sex for "fun" it would be with a woman, but sex for business/nefarious plots/leverage would be with a man). It is somewhat unique, as noted by the interviewers to see a male character use his sexuality as a weapon. Check out the interview over at Newsarama!

SuperQueeros! for September 9th, 2010

WOW! Just got back from Dragon*Con last night and let me tell you: WOW! As always it was an awesome four days of hot costumes (additional photos, also from 2009), hilarious superstar panels (Firefly cast!! Brandon Routh!! True Blood cast!!!! STAN FREAKING "THE MAN" LEE!!!!! [@therealstanlee on twitter!]), internet celebrities, awesome parties, cool new and classic comic creators, educational and awesome panels, and, of course, US!!!! A great time was impossible NOT to be had, even if you only went for only one day! Thanks to everyone who attended for making 2010 such a great Con, and to those who didn't or couldn't attend: drool over the photos, start saving your dollars, and meet us there in 2011!

Now, back to the SuperQueeros! schtick of listing this week's queer-inclusive comics! Remember, comics come out on Thursday this week, not Wednesday, because of Labor Day. If you know a comic I haven't included that has a queer character or queer themes, please let me know in the comments section and I'll add it!

Daken: Dark Wolverine #1

I'm so excited for Daken #1!! Marjorie Liu is still on writing duties, and we haven't seen a bisexual character in a solo title since BKV's Mystique, so it's basically awesome on all fronts! Perhaps it's a sign of progress that, not only has the shortest male hero in the Marvel U (sorry Puck, you're dead) also become the most ubiquitous, but that he has now spawned two ground-breaking characters: a female, 616-canon hero set to rival Mayday Parker in popularity and a bisexual male anti-hero.

Postive change feels good. So will reading this book! #cuteboys #violence

Green Lantern #57

This gets put on the list because the solicit features the words "a male Star Sapphire". The phrase after that is "in the form of the Predator", which basically both negates and hetero-normalizes the former phrase**, but I'm still allowing for the possibility that Geoff Johns will stop his trend of turning the DCU back into a straight, white boys club and feature a queer space hero. Buy it if you like Green Lantern, but not if you're expecting progress in comic books.

**Predator is the force that powers the Star Sapphires. In the past he has been shown to be an obsessive, controlling male who preys on the women whose power rings he fuels. By making him the only male Star Sapphire, the Violet Lantern Corps is effectively reduced to his heterosexual space-harem. Way to go, DC.

SuperQueeros! for August 25th, 2010

I'm a proponent of using bisexuality to make storyline-flexible queer characters. By definition the lesbian and gay communities' romantic dramas are insular and often disconnected from our day-to-day interactions with the (majority straight) rest of the world. IMO, bisexuality is a great way to let new and old characters have a queer storyline, while not invalidating past romances or forbidding future non-queer couplings. Plus it fights bi-phobia! And if this week is any indication, it's a track that a few good writers are taking advantage of:

Dark Wolverine #90

It's the end of Dark Wolverine! Well, this series, at least! Stay tuned, though, as Daken moves from one eponymous solo series to another with next month's launch of Daken: Dark Wolverine #1!! (Oh, right, this month: find out how the "Dark Wolverine" segment of Daken's life ends! He totally flirts with a gay anti-mutant activist in the preview, so #hot and #thought-provoking!)

X-Factor #208

Rahne's back! And like any good storyline featuring pregnancy and bisexuality (#oxymoron) we get a pregnant-wolf-woman vs. cloned-alien-swordmaster betch-fight! It'll be like a flashback to Rahne's X-Force days (last month?), but with better writing! And, side note, isn't this baby NOT Rictor's? Like, isn't it some Norse wolf-god's spawnling? Layla Miller: Puppy Edition, subtitle: "I Smell Stuff"? Meaning Rahne should stick with her baby wolf-daddy, not break up my longest fan 'ship?

Anyway, back to the main plot, stuff with the Norse hell goddess Hela is going down or something. To paraphrase Pam Ravenscroft "Blah, blah, Norse emergency, blah."

X-Men: Legacy #239

ANOLE!!!!!!! LOA!!!!!!!!!!! KILLING ROBOTS!!!!!!! It's like the good old days of Kitty phasing through Sentinels all over again, but with more explosions and punching! This is one of my fav books on the market today, and it has Anole AND Rogue! (And Magneto and Loa and Indra!) #buyit

Wildcats #26

Blah, blah, magic emergency, blah. Apollo + Midnighter are in this book! They're not listed in the solicitation, and with a team this expansive they might not be in the book at all, but get it anyway! Because gay marriage is teh cutexorz!!!!!

Justice League of America #48

The end of the Starheart saga! A White Lantern reveal!!! Some Obsidian/Starman make outs? I don't think I remembered to get this month's issue of the JSA, but when last I left our gay boy and bi boy one was evil and one was unconscious. Plus they'll have to finish fighting Obsidian's dad before they can "have each other's adopted babies," but I've still got my fingers crossed! #wallacewellsrocks

Wonder Woman #602

Blah, blah, amazon-rape secrets, blah. Wonder Woman kicks some more guyz and stuff and finds out some scary thingz. I'm buying it, but there's been no indication of queerness, just butt-kicking. And the weirdest woman-in-the-refrigerator storyline evar. But what they're doing with an iconic character is interesting, if fated to be as fleeting as Superman's post-resurrection redesign.

Gotham City Sirens #15

Denouement and new storylines! Catwoman deals with the aftermath of her battle with her sister and Poison Ivy's new job takes an interesting turn! They say villains drive stories, and this is one of the best books out there, so Q.E.D., I guess. The Sapphism might be a little on the light side to warrant a place in this column, but by femme-fatalism (a new category of "awesome") it makes the post.

Madame Xanadu #26

Boys are smelly! Well, at least this boy is. Sammy's malodorous melodrama is the focus of this issue of the GLAAD-nominated comic. Will MX be able to help Sammy, or will this comic just stink?

SuperQueeros! for July 21st, 2010

Scott Pilgrim Volume 6, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, came out today!!!! Did you go to a midnight release party? I totally did! And then I stayed up and read Volume 6!!! I do not remember Scott Pilgrim being so much about pictures. And declarative sentences. But I guess you can't be asking questions all the time! Or talking! Also, BLOOD.

Anyway, I loved it and it was cute and there were 4 (FOUR!!) gays, two of whom TOTES MADE OUT, so SP6 gets ALL THE THUMBS UP!!

Oh, and some other comics come out this week?

New Mutants #15

Karma has a sexy new leg!!!

"I thought you said was going to be sexy!?" "This is sexy!!"

- exchange between Karma, the lesbian-sexual, and Box, the machine-sexual???, in Second Coming #2

Also, more demons are coming to kill everybody! Because Inferno was an atrocity whose sins are going to be revisited on an unsuspecting readership team of New Mutants!! Oh, and Moonstar and Cannonball are totally making out? And Sunspot and Magma are totes an item now? So Zeb Wells likes bad 80's crossovers and... 'shipping? I just hope that all the romance hasn't gotten in the way of his writing some bad-as guns into Karma's machine-leg!

X-Factor #207

Something, something HELA!! Rictor and Shatterstar, sleuthing, butt-kicking boyfriends, and some other people get hired by the Viking Goddess of Hel to do... something! And evidently it will have the internet all atwitter and the twitter all abuzz and the googlebuzz all a-internet because something MAJOR CRAZY FREAKY is about to go down on the last page! So go buy it! (actually do: Peter David is pretty much known as "The Delivery Man" because he always #delivers)

Justice Society of America #41

Obsidian is still crazy! Starman just got his heart crystal ripped out! Is he dead??? Will he be able to be resuscitated?? Will the Starheart drop it's hold on Obsidian long enough for him to sexily save the blue, bi alien hero? Will the totally make out, despite the chaotic havoc around them?? Hopefully the answer to all these questions will be YES, but the only way you'll know for sure is to pick up JSA #41!!

Dark Wolverine #88

Daken vs FrankenCastle! The match-up that killed Frank Castle will probs play into his resurrection (see Shadowland previews/comic book history 101), and here's where it all goes down! Also, given the title's history, maybe there will be some Punisher-on-Wolvie making out! (plz?)

True Blood #1

Something something... all the cool TV show characters tell their origin stories told... something... Alan Ball gets paid... something something LAFAYETTE!!!!!! That last word is the only one you need to know. This is gonna be awesome (hooker)!

Superqueeros! for May 26th, 2010

Wildcats #23

Part one of three!! The Wildcats have finally set up a home base for their operations, so now it's time to start solving some mysteries! Jackson King and Ladytron are on the hunt for the new Doctor, but back at the ranch an army of baddies is on the rise! Apollo and Midnighter will no doubt be cameo-ing in this storyline (if only as boyfriend ex machina), and the World's End Wild-verse is one of the most exciting universes I've ever read. #pickoftheweek

Wonder Woman #44

THE ULTIMATE SIMONE WONDER WOMAN!!!!! While Gail will be joining JMS, Geoff Johns, and more next month on the anthology issue #600, this is the last issue penned exclusively by Simone before JMS takes over writing duties! And while I'm super excited for JMS's take on the power princess, I'm also expecting the amazing beefcake to drop off after the switch in writers. Which is tres triste, y'all. Tres triste.

Dark Wolverine #86

Daken Vs. Wolverine! Also, Romulus Vs. Skaar, but whatever. Daken Vs. Wolverine!!!! Lots of daddy jokes!!! I'm so excited for the stabbing and the bitching! And the this-storyline-is-not-a-dream! That will be a welcome relief from this title's status quo! Also, hot inked sociopaths!

Detective Comics #865

The Batman story in this book is actually quite good. But that's not why DC865 is featured in this blog post! The Question is nearing the end of her storyline and this issue the solicits promise a reveal of the big bad! The Question is the only reason I'm still picking up this book now that Batwoman is gone/on hiatus/elsewhere, and it's a testament to the quality of her story that I'm plunking down the dineros for her mini-comic. So git it!

Gotham City Sirens #12

Poison Ivy's in trouble! Will her sirens come to her aid, or will she have to outsmart her former employee and save her own life? It might not be explicitly queer, but GCS has definitely found its feet and is a consistently awesome book about the DCU's most compelling villains.

Madame Xanadu #23

It's the end! Not of the series, but of the storyline that pits the Madame against her sister Morgana. The solicits promise a fight to the death, but for mystical immortals that's, I'm sure, simply a relative term. Check out the action packed conclusion of this GLAAD-nominated book's most exciting storyline!

SuperQueeros! for May 12th, 2010

I have a BIG exam on Thursday, so let's make this short and sweet! Who's a homo (etc.) this week in comics????

SEIGE IS OVER!!!!

SEIGE #4

Yup! It is the end! Loki does some awesome magik-ing and recharges our heroes as they go head to head with failed-hero-turned-omnipotent-super-villain the Sentry the VOID!!! Expect some Billy/Teddy cameo action as All Who Avenge team up to put the beat down on everyone's least favorite Marvel character!

Dark Avengers #16

It's curtains for the Anti-Avengers! This makes sense: The Heroic Age starts next month and--despite their best (or worst) intentions--making it as heroes has not worked out for this team of villainous posers. BUT Dark Avengers is, to quote the solicit, "Marvel's number one ongoing series". So expect some awesome fireworks and a classic "The End!... Or Is It????" final page! The ongoing title maybe be "ending", but I'm pretty sure a concept this good is just going on hiatus until next summer's Heroic-Age-ending event.

ALSO: Second Coming!

New Mutants #13

It's chapter seven and our favourite Asian lesbian librarian (Wait. How has Karma never done pr0n? Or AT LEAST ironic burlesque!) has lost a leg! Damn you, Yost!!!! But, also, how will phantom limb syndrome effect someone who can control OTHER PEOPLE'S LIMBS??? And, also, will Iron Man or Box step up and give her a fancy attack leg? I'm thinking something along the lines of Rose McGowan in Planet Terror! Whatever the case, this issue is the start of Bastion's second assault on Hope Summers and the X-Men, so jump on now if you like action!

SuperQueeros! for April 21st, 2010

Comic books featuring queer characters for the week of April 21st, 2010!!!! And, stunningly, it's an all-boy week!! Progress never looked so... male!

X-Factor #204

So, Mordo, occult super-villain, has captured M and Strong Guy for nefarious purposes, and somehow Rictor and Shatterstar are in the same scene at the beginning of this comic book? even though they were in different countries last issue? So... stuff's gonna happen? And 'Star is gonna get all protective of Rictor and beat some people up!!! #cute! But this issue is also a Second Coming tie-in? So there will be a new story starting up? While M and Strong Guy are still kidnapped? Well, this is MAX TOTES confusing, so if you haven't had a chance to read this AWESOME, QUEER-POSITIVE, (sometimes convoluted) title, jump on NOW! You won't be at a disadvantage! #silverlining

Dark Wolverine #85

The climax of Daken's Dark Reign storyline starts NOW! And it involves him teaming up with his Dad! And if you've looked at the preview you know that Stephen Segovia read "Dad" and decided to pencil a "hot daddy" instead. It's a seminal event and some excellent art: check it out!

The Authority: The Lost Year #8

It's a comical comic this month for the Authority as they face off against Midnighter, masked used car salesman! I wonder what kind of huckster Apollo is? #gayhusbandsinaction

SuperQueeros! for March 31st, 2010

This is a huge week in comics (Blackest Night ends and X-Men: Second Coming begins!) and also it's chock full of queer characters and queer character cameos!

First off, a mea culpa: Though I reported that Gotham City Sirens #10 was coming out on March 3rd, it's actually shipping 28 days later! Thankfully, the world hasn't zombie-apocalypse'd in that time (sorry Cillian), so you should still be able to pick it up at your local comic book retailer, this Wednesday, March 31st, 2010!

Detective Comics #863

This is the last Batwoman comic for a while. We know from the June solicits that July will see the return of Batwoman to Detective Comics, but in what capacity (guest star, lead character, etc) I know not. So snap up the potentially ultimate issue of the comic-sphere changing team-up of Rucka-and-Kate in Detective Comics! Oh, and the creepy original villain The Cutter is going to get his comeuppance, which is gonna rock too.

Female Force #13: Ellen Degeneres

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The All-American lesbian queen of comedy gets her own comic book! I'm gonna swoon...

Dark Wolverine #84

OH WAIT NO NOW I'M SWOONING! This comic features a hot kiss between Bullseye and Dark Wolverine, one not followed by gay-panic!!!! I have no idea how this comic is going to wrap up Daken's storyline/time in the spotlight that was Dark Reign, but I'm SUPER excited for his further bisexual, sociopathic exploits! More kissing with boys!

New Mutants #11

This issue is looking to be another queer-cameo book. Karma and the rest of the crew get shooed out of the room by Dani pretty quickly this issue as our "Valkyrie from Hel" repays the debt she owes to the Norse goddess Hela. Her task? Wrangle some god-souls into Hel. I'm hoping we'll see another Dani vs. Ares fight, but I'm so unfamiliar with the Norse gods and the list of SEIGE casualties that I'm not holding my breath. Either way, the forecast is 100% for god-level beat downs.

Wonder Woman #42

New crazy-awesome Wonder Woman story! That's all I know, and that's all I need to know! #getit!

Madame Xanadu #21

I don't know that much (read: anything) about the queer content in this book, but it was nominated for a GLAAD award, so it earns a spot on this list until proven queer-exclusive!

Cloak and Dagger #1

The book opens with an Anole and GREYMALKIN (he's not dead!) cameo and stars Cloak and Dagger, the single most fierce pairing of super-teens ever created. Per square inch, this is probably the gayest book on the market this week.

SuperQueeros! for March 17th, 2010

Each week I scour the weekly solicitations for all that's queer in comic-dom. This week:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!! It seems that all the queer characters are off celebrating; there are only two titles making this week's list!

The Authority: The Lost Year #7

The Authority are trapped on a world where the Engineer and the Doctor rule warring nations (one hemisphere each) and in which Apollo was caught in the crossfire! Now The Authority's version of Apollo has been captured and it's up to the team to get him back before the two bereaved Midnighters end up killing each other. However, none of these scenarios answer the eternal question, how far would Midnighter go with himself? #crossedfingers

Dark Avengers #15

Osbourne's secret weapon is revealed! Will The Sentry end up dying, thereby answering the prayers of his million and one detractors? Will Daken factor at all into this book? Will Karla make a move to sleep with Victoria too? Some of these questions will be answered and some come from the fanfiction I'm writing! Find out all the answers this month (though not necessarily in Dark Avengers #15)!

PS - I'm not actually writing Moonstone/Victoria Hand fanfiction, even though anything Hand does is HOT. #sexylibrarian

SuperQueeros! for February 24th

What an awesome day in the life of Queer comics! Don't know which titles will be featuring homos in spandex? Well here's the (extensive, though not necessarily complete) list!

Wildcats #20

Midnighter isn't gone, he just changed teams!!! (To the Wildcats. He's still a queer-mo.) I was pissed when, post-World's End, Midnight was booted from The Authority, but it's not that he was dropped as a character, he was just traded to the Wildcats because his beau is still extra-terrrestrial atm! Sorry for any slandering I've done, Wildstorm! Now pleeeeease rescue Apollo, okay?

X-Factor #202

Just like the cover promises, it's pansexual Shatterstar versus Top Ten Villain Doctor Doom! With M and the Thing! Can this get better? What's that, Valeria Richards is in this issue??? Oh DAAAAAAAAAAAANG this is gonna be good! (Plus maybe will get some more answers about Layla's involvement in all this!)

Batman and Robin #9

The final issue in the three part Batwoman crossover! Kathy Kane is gonna rise again, thanks to the Lazarus pit buried in the rubble that crushed her to death, but will she be the same Batwoman we've come to know and love, or something more twisted, more feral, more insane, and more awesome?

Nation X #3

ANOLE ISSUE!!!!! With Danger and Armor!!! This issue is a must-have for fans of the green-spiked lizard-boy and for anyone who loves short, fast, self-contained, good stories. These tie-ins are fast becoming my favourite X-title thanks to their diverse cast of characters and diverse-er creative crews!

Dark Wolverine #83

Seige! Killing Osbourne! Achieving his destiny as a villain! I think all of these things are in this issue, plus a bisexual sociopath. Who needs okcupid when this title exists???

Wonder Woman #41

Part Two of the Crows storyline finds Wonder Woman fighting Power Girl and every sane person in the world buying this book. Punching, cleavage, and knocking down buildings. The only thing that could make it more perfect is if it were written by Gail Simone. Oh, wait!

Gotham City Sirens #9

The Riddler's back this week, making this issue the most "Questioning" title in all of comic-dom. Are any of these characters still queer?

JSA #36

Obsidian's name was in this week's solicits, meaning that Bill hasn't forgotten about him, and hopefully meaning that we'll get some rescuing action ASAP! But I think Obby is still an egg, atm...

SuperQueeros! for February 17th

Here are the queer-inclusive titles for February 17th! Unless I missed any! In which case please notify me in the comments and I will edit them in, giving credit where credit is due!

Authority: The Lost Year #6

Even though Apollo and Midnighter have been written out of the Authority continuing series (just like all the other Wildstorm queers) they're still alive and kicking in this limited run! Get 'em while they're cannon, because in a comic company without room for insecure, exotic, bisexual girls, what chance do we have of ever seeing the comic world's premiere gay super-couple again? #bitter

Dark Avengers #14

The Sentry is getting his reckoning! Yes, the Dark Avengers are collapsing in on themselves, and their self-destruction is going to be the catalyst to providing us answers about the Sentry. No word yet on Daken's role in this issue, but the hetero is DEF representin' as Moonstone spends this issue rutting her way through the team roster. I would be disgusted if I weren't so jealous.

Finally, because every gay geek wanted to be Kitty Pryde at some point growing up - Ultimate Colossus is simply a wish fulfilled - consider picking up a copy of Uncanny X-Men #521. Because if you're wondering what Magneto is doing on the North Pole, in a deep trance, using his magnetism powers on "Full Blast", I would just like to remind you that giant space bullets are not made out of dreams. (Though comics are. #homecoming)

SuperQueeros! for January 20th, 2010

Every Wednesday boys stumble over themselves to ask me what SuperQueeros! is and I say, "It's my weekly round up of what queer-inclusive comics are hitting the stands near you. If you think I've missed any, here's my number, let me know." But you can just leave a comment. ;)

Dark Avengers #13
It's the beginning of the end for our favourite anti-heroes as SEIGE begins in earnest. Who will win? Who will die? Will Dark Wolverine make out with anyone? Will I actually buy this issue? All these questions may or may not be answered in this book!



Dark Wolverine #82
This book might actually have some making out. Word on the street is that Daken has his own secret, devious, and dark plans. Here's hoping that they involve manipulating shirtless fitness models! Note: If I ever become editor of Marvel we are definitely have a Gail Simone-penned DCU crossover whose sole purpose is have Catman and Daken nakedly make out. #OTP



The Authority: The Lost Year #5 (of 12)
This is being teased as the classic bump-in-the-night story, but none of my stores have been carrying this title, so I have no way to judge the applicability of that archetype. Also, Apollo and Midnighter! Maybe bedroom-playing Daken and Catman! But in that marital game, who would play which role? This and other mysteries maybe answered in this book!!!!

Superqueeros! for December 16th, 2009

You know the schtick: I scour the solicitations each week for LGBTT-SAP...etc. characters and you guys make your pink dollar known. Also, you let me know when I've missed somebody and I'll edit the entry faster than Barry Allen on a sugar high!

X-Factor #200

Yes, Mavel has returned to the original numbering for the most awesomest X-title in comics today! So be sure to check out this landmark issue, which just happens to fall a month after the landmark 50th issue! But seriously, Ricstar is the best 'ship out there and Valeria Richards is a kick-ass diva:

we're looking at a win-win book here. Go. Read. Love.

The Authority: Lost Year #4

I don't know much about this book, except that it opens with Midnighter defeating multiple military helicopters, a la Wolverine: Origins. I wonder if they'll talk about how revolutionary the fictional Apollo and Midnighter are now that they've crash landed in the "real world"? Of all the members of the Authority, those two would have actual power and influence in my life. Either way, it's another Authority book!

Dark Wolverine #81 and Dark Avengers #12

Okay, Dark Wolvie's double feature is getting one entry this week. With Siege on the horizon, things are winding down for the evil Avengers. The Wolverine story this week is a one-shot from Ms. Marvel's perspective, so I have no prognostications about its quality. Meanwhile, Victoria Hand, my new favorite evil lesbian (Brand+Hand OTP), gets put front-and-center in this month's Dark Avengers as she bargains with some of the most powerful mystic forces in the Marvel universe for the return of her favourite super-powered employers. In summary: Wolvie looks not seminal, and Dark Avengers is a must for fans of Dormmamu, Enchantress, the Beyonder, and Sappho.