Shooters: Extra Sticky WIP Updates

 Minor Shooters Update: Page 1 partially colored, Page 2 inked

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Who is the new 'mo in the New 52?

Even after releasing a statement that clearly underlined that key characters in Dc's New 52 would be undergoing racial, gender or age changes but not sexual preferences, we now here that in the next few weeks they will be doing just that. A 'major' 'iconic' 'key' 'prominent' character and he will not have previously been seen in the New 52 up to that point.

Of course the internet is all a rattle trying to figure out who it is, who it shouldnt be, who tumblr wishes it would be and why. Conclusions might as well be gymnastic bars because everyone and their sister is jumping to, swinging from and getting dizzy from them. 

And this has gotten me to thinking. Yes, I am always glad of new gay characters in major comics, I am glad Northstar is getting married even though the character himself doesnt have a powerset or personality that appeals to me, and I would love a main player to be batting on my team. But why all the fuss?

Is this new gay character a knee jerk reaction to both Archie comics, and Marvel Comics having gay weddings this year? Are they jumping on the 'hot topic' bandwagon since Obama is backing gay marriage? Was this planned all along? Well it seems unusual that they would explicitly state this wasnt going to happen and then say they changed their minds if this was planned. And I gotta imagine they havent reacted quite so quickly to obama so I'm inclined to think they believe Marvel is hogging the gay limelight.

Which is what is infuriating. I want their to be gay role models in comics but I want it to be treated like it isnt a big deal. These big 'look at us we're tolerant of things now' are just counter productive. Sure they get the publicity and they get people talking but the teenagers and children who need to see that gays are just like everybody else and get treated just like everybody else are being subjected to these spectacles. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe I should just be happy and move on but would it really be so awful if let's say Wally West showed up in a book, kicked ass with Barry, then went home at the end of the comic kissed his boyfriend on the cheek and then had to run off to fight another crime and noone made a big deal out of it? Maybe Wally himself is a bad example as his character has been defined by Linda for decades but you know what I mean.

However even with all that said and done I can't get thist damn new gay off my mind. I GOTS to know. And instead of going down the MASSIVE list of current fanboy speculation I will narrow it down to my top 3 fave notions.

1) Alan Scott

The original Golden Age green lantern, now being reinvented for the book Earth 2. I LOVE my green lanterns, it's true. But I would love a gay green Lantern that didnt answer to any sort of space corp even more. A more traditional kind of superhero I could easily see a gay version of Alan rising to the top of my fave's list and with it Earth 2 being one of my most anticipated buys. HOWEVER there is one problem. Alan has a magic ring, a weakness to wood and his powers sorta flames. Too much material?

2) Wally West

As I mentioned already Wally West has a defining relationship with his wife Linda for decades and they even had twins, and he was the flash for over 20 years. A change to his sexual preference would be HUGE and since he hasnt appeared in the new 52 and it looked like they had zero plans for him to come into it maybe they have been working on a brand new version of the character. Perhaps even an Earth 2 variant. I dont know, and odds on it being Wally are slim but you never know.

3) Shazam

The newly renamed Captain Marvel, Shazam is a very possible candidate for a sexuality shift. Basically a magical Superman, Shazam will have a new key role in the DCU and will have a much higher affinity with magic than he once had. Factor this and every gay mans dream to be able to transform into a muscular adonis with a few simple syllable, my money would be on Shazam for sure . . . except for one tiny little thing. I cant actually pinpoint Billy Batsons new 52 age. He seems quite young while living in that orphanage and I'm not sure DC is ready to make a statement about young boys transforming into hunky adult men with clearly defined sexualities. But who knows?

Right now my money is still on Alan Scott, and all the potential innuendos aside, I hope I'm right. I NEED a magical gay green lantern. You have no idea how much I NEED that character in my life.

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Comic Review: Astonishing X-Men- Northstar Proposes

It's no secret that the X-men have always been a class of comics whose themes and character development run in parallels with gay issues and social dynamics. And of course when some of those x-men are also gay it only increases the relatability of the narrative to their gay readers. The most famous of these I suppose is the character Northstar, who was Marvel's first openly gay character who was also a major player and not a background extra, plot device or expendable redshirt. In fact the issue where Northstar came out for the first time sold out, in spite of the fact that the comic itself wasnt very popular usually.

Of course the road has been rocky between then and now for Northstar, there was even a time where in the space of one month Marvel had him killed off in 3 seperate alternate realities but of course noone stays dead in the Marvel universe for long and now years later he's in a healthy stable adult gay relationship with his boyfriend Kyle and has become the role model of other x-gays (not to be mistaken for ex-gays) such as anole as well as gay teens and young adults in the Real World itself. 

Currently in Astonishing X-men #50 Northstar and his civilian boyfriend Kyle have been getting some media attention as it is the issue where Northstar proposes, and image releases and press statements from Marvel indicate that #51 will be Marvel's first depicted gay marraige. Although after reading 50 I'm not sure how we get from point A to point B but I suppose finding out is half the fun.

My favourite part of issue 50, was in fact the very first page. While this might just be personal preference I just loved the banter between Iceman, Gambit and Northstar when Jean-Paul asks for advice and Remy is only too happy to give it. Seeing Gambit give advice the same way that he would give advice to anyone else in a similar situation, and make no special inferences to the gender of the characters in anyway was just what I needed. Everyday problems of everyday people with extraordinary powers in extraordinary situations.

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I made it into BoyToons Magazine! :D

While Patrick told me he might get round to doing this at some point, it still took me completely off guard when I saw his tweet about it today. It was really very nice for me to read and I was so flattered in places I may need to go see a doctor to have the swelling in my head released.

What I really loved was seeing what pictures he chose to post up on BTM. Some of them are from a few years ago and some much more recent. It's really nice to get a sense of what someone else wanted to show people from the things that I have done.

The article itself is >here< written by Patrick who can be found >here<, who y'all know from ClassComics which can be found right about >here<

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Commission 8: Buff Nova and Torch

Pencils commissh for Rider. This was fun.

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