It’s a big world. You’re not going to like everything. Keep your eyes on your own paper, your hands to yourself and deal with it. Don’t go into Gay Panic because no gay dude wants your straight wienage. It’s a big world full of gays in life and in comics. We have all sorts of choices out in the daylight nowadays. If Peter Allan David’s thoughtful support in comics is any indication – it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change.

If one in 10 people are gay, then media and comics should reflect that in both old and new characters. To equate gay inclusion to Blacksploitation is dishonest and smacks of a pre-existing chip on your shoulder.

Sure, there are trendy hacks in every medium that exploit minorities and more for shock value, however your objection didn’t really cite any concrete examples and just went off on the two characters displaying tenderness to one another that wouldn’t bother you if it were a heterosexual couple.

(continued down the page)

2. If/when my parents say "commie bastards, kyke, spook, coolie and mick" in my presence (they know not to) i tell them to cut it the fuck out and step into the 21st century. Bigotry sucks in every form but with each generation we get closer to defeating it. Sometimes It's OUR duty to educate our elders.

3.Yes homophobe – Liefeld's comments sounded as if he was unfamiliar with what other writers had done with Rictor and Shatterstar in his absence. And his comments WERE homophobic "Shatterstar is akin to Maximus in Gladiator. He’s a warrior, a Spartan, and not a gay one" – c'mon – you can't NOT expect that to bait a mob of angry gay geeks. I feel perfectly justified in picking up my torch and joining in.

4. Congrats on being evolved enough not to be easily duped into buying things by titillating lesbians – but news for you – you are the exception to the rule.

5. If not Rictor and Shatterstar then what old characters revealed as gay are you bothered about? I tried to come up with a list.

6. Thanks for the heads up on the cover to #50. It prompted this post.

7. Is Menace a male monster? – didn't look male – not sexy by any definition – but it looked female to me.

8. I see a reason for Rictor to hang all over Shatterstar in the group shot – they've been recently reunited and over the next few issues (between current one and #50) will come out to (and hopefully be accepted by) their teammates. If Siryn and Madrox had lived happily ever after with their baby you wouldn't think twice about her hanging on him.

9. for the record – no one was making out every 5 pages. The amount of affection showed has been tasteful – there has been 1 kissing panel in each of last 2 issues.

10. You want a good story – try reading Peter David's X-Factor. With or without the controversy – his writing stands for itself.

11.. Thanks for posting!

2. If/when my parents say "commie bastards, kyke, spook, coolie and mick" in my presence (they know not to) i tell them to cut it the fuck out and step into the 21st century. Bigotry sucks in every form but with each generation we get closer to defeating it. Sometimes It's OUR duty to educate our elders.

3.Yes homophobe – Liefeld's comments sounded as if he was unfamiliar with what other writers had done with Rictor and Shatterstar in his absence. And his comments WERE homophobic "Shatterstar is akin to Maximus in Gladiator. He’s a warrior, a Spartan, and not a gay one" – c'mon – you can't NOT expect that to bait a mob of angry gay geeks. I feel perfectly justified in picking up my torch and joining in.

4. Congrats on being evolved enough not to be easily duped into buying things by titillating lesbians – but news for you – you are the exception to the rule.

5. If not Rictor and Shatterstar then what old characters revealed as gay are you bothered about? I tried to come up with a list.

6. Thanks for the heads up on the cover to #50. It prompted this post.

7. Of course the companies are doing this for profit – they will do whatever they can to sell the books. I would have to apologize on behalf of the comics community for "Shield Agent Cooning," "Bruddah Voodoo" and even Black Lightning and Power Man were originally 2 dimensional stereotypes – DC has evolved him a bit) but you can't tell me that characters like John Stewart (the GL not the talk show host), Steel, Cyborg, Storm, Bishop and T'Challa the genius inventor, gifted athlete and King weren't somehow inspirational to young readers like yourself. There are young gay readers out there who need to see themselves reflected in the world of comics. And if a writer can take an old character off the shelf and make it more interesting with a gay twist and it's not incongruous with what has gone before – go for it.

8. If anything I'd say the tendency to take beloved characters and turn them evil and then kill them (Phoenix, Parallax, Hawk, Scarlet Witch, Obsidian (he got better), Northstar (he got better)) is much more upsetting.

9. For the Record – noone was making out every 5 pages… there was 1 kissing panel in each of the last 2 issues.

10. There was a great reason for Rictor to be hanging all over Shatterstar – they are in love and recently reuinted after a long time apart – AND they would have just come out to (and hopefully feel supported by) all their teammates (we have a few issues between current 1 and that cover).

11. If you want to read a good story – pick up any trade paperback written by Peter David. He is good and controversy or not, his stories stand on their own.

12. Thanks for writing. Always good to hear another viewpoint!

Come on.

I don't have anything against gay folks, before you start labeling me…just don't like it in ALL of my comics as its seeming to find its way in every single book, yet we still have Black characters named 'Shield Agent Cooning', 'Gorilla Girl', 'Bruddah Voodoo', a black woman who turn into a male monster named 'Menace' and countless other fast, jive-talking, slave chain wearing, jumping or ex-convict Black characters to exploit.

Do what you want. Love who you want. Its your choice. Like its my choice not to buy books with men making out every 5 pages for shock. How about writing a good story? Does anyone do that anymore?

For the record…LIEFELD SUCKS.

Son-Of-Dad
Straight Male and proud!