What more could we ask for? What do you want? Blood? No… Maybe Ant Man and the Wasp… but aside from that, The Avengers biggest fault was ending. Director Joss Whedon has done an amazing job of taking a volatile (at best) mix of characters and giving us a real silver screen experience that somehow remains true to the comics.

Desktop version of above image.

After his work on Dr Horrible, Dollhouse, Firefly and Buffy, many knew Joss Whedon had a bigger role to play in entertainment. His familiar touch is readily apparent in certain quieter scenes between our heroes, and really goes a long way to both humanizing the superhuman and expressing a movie’s worth of backstory in a few snarky statements. Especially brilliant are the Black Widow’s introductory scene (where we see and FINALLY HEAR a bit more of the Natasha Romanoff we all know and fear) and Iron Man’s short but sweet date with Pepper Potts.

Since Black Widow and Hawkeye were the only characters who hadn’t starred in their own solo movie in recent years, they got a bit more history explained through a previous relationship. Natasha is starting to gel with her comics history, but Hawkeye we still don’t know much about. With six major Marvel characters to convey in a matter befitting the legacy and appealing to the general public, there is a short list of people in Hollywood who could have pulled this off as successfully. I hope Joss Wheedon like’s making Avengers Movies. Because I want at least 3 from him!

After he makes those, Joss NEEDS to make that Wonder Woman movie before he winds down a seasoned film director to do some arty sci-fi films for the Oscar gold. More SPOILERIFIC discussion on what The Avengers 2 and 3 might entail after the jump…

OK If you are reading this. I’m assuming you’ve seen the movie AND the denouements after the credits. So The Avengers 2 will include THANOS! The Mad Titan himself. And if The Avengers movie was about anything other than our heroes, villains and an alien hoarde… it was about – The Tesseract – a.k.a. The Cosmic Cube. So if Thanos is involved in Avengers 2, can The Infinity Gauntlet be far behind? Maybe. Perhaps. Before they go cosmic, they need to get their feet wet in space. So I’d guess some creative license manipulation by Thanos in the Kree/Skrull War for the sequel. Then… once they’ve saved the world and intergalactic civilization, they can step up to save reality as they know it from Thanos’ dance with Death in the 3rd film. Or is this akin to asking for an X-Men movie with a real Phoenix effect?

Also what exactly is Shwarma and why does Joss Wheedon want us all to ask Siri for the closest Shwarma joint upon exiting the theatre?

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Norways answer to The Lonely Island boys, comedy sensation Kollektivet has launched a new humorously ironic musical send up of the lack of gay role models in comics. The video is pretty damned funny, but about 5 years late.

With Northstar’s impending X-Wedding, Batwoman defending Gotham while dating a lady cop, Apollo and Midnighter reromancing in Stormwatch, Bunker being his flamboyant self in Teen Titans, Stryker coming out and Lightspeed planning a lesbian rainbow date with Runaway Karolina Dean in Avengers Academy and Rictor/Shatterstar’s ongoing relationship… not to mention Wiccan and Hulkling FINALLY sharing their first on-panel kiss – comics are more inclusive and supportive than ever before! Its about time. All that aside – the video is hilarious. Someone just needs to get the kid some current American comics so he’s not so shocked.

via Queerty

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We’re getting closer to the impending mutant milestone that is Astonishing X-Men #50 – and the engagement that it will likely contain. We are still not seeing any significant character development besides Northstar and Kyle, so I feel safe in having their present engraved, but hope both grooms will live long enough to enjoy it. Welcome to the X-Men _______ I hope you survive the experience. I was glad to see Kyle’s Jinadu’s reckless behavior (following BF Northstar to a rumble alongside Wolverine) didn’t get him in too much trouble.

Apparently it was Karma (and not the bad guys – whew) that he ran into last issue while hot on the GPS trail of Northstar’s cell. As those involved start to figure things out, we are treated to some battle-ending hysteria from Kyle followed by the exchange below. Their conversation strikes me as one of the most honest and believable in the 4 color history of Superhuman-Human romances – and I love the bit about the laundry and cleaning. Like YOU wouldn’t want YOUR superspeed flying boyfriend to do all the chores in seconds??

• The Marauders Are Back! • Something From Northstar’s Past Has Resurfaced And Is Looking For Revenge. • Kyle Goes Missing – How Is He Connected To The Person Behind Everything?

Part of the solicit was a tease – Kyle isn’t missing – YET. Here’s what we know… Something is definitely up. A telepath is involved and Northstar AND Kyle appear to be the focus of the mastermind behind events. The flashes of the very near future (guessing present will catch up with these by next ish or the Wedding) we saw last issue of Northstar running slowly for his like from mind-controlled Wolvie and Gambit are nothing compared to what he has to deal with this issue. Is Jean Paul Beaubier faster than a speeding bullet? I’ll say yes. Because if he’s not…

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Unfortunately I can’t find a Youtube clip of the scene so you’ll have to settle for a Hulu clip (which only last a few weeks – so watch sooner than later).

I’m far from a connoisseur of the genre (my first exposure was when Buffy, Xander and Willow mused while watching a Bollywood musical) but I REALLY love the song. I’ve been enjoying the show since the beginning. Their choice of songs to cover is great but I also love most of the original music too. I’m definitely a bigger fan of Karen than Ivy (Megan Hilty). I prefer the sweet small-town starlet to the backstabbing Broadway bitch. I like Karen’s songs better too. I can see why Derek imagines her as Marilyn.

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Does the sense of empowerment these kids get from being themselves offset the potential dangers they face? I’d like to think one outweighs the other, but every small town teen suicide adds more weight to the argument. Unfortunately 14 year old Kenneth James Weishuhn of Primghar, Iowa has become yet another sad statistic shifting the balance. After coming out on Facebook in March, Kenneth was the target of relentless bullying at school, received voice-mail containing death threats and was the focus of an anti-gay Facebook hate page. Local authorities are investigating. Kenneth was a sweet sensitive kid with a heartbreaking page dedicated to the “dream wedding” he’ll never have and will be missed deeply by his family and friends. Iowa paper The Sioux City Journal published a full front page editorial on bullying. I sincerely hope the children who drove him to this are haunted by guilt the rest of their lives.

Telling them It Gets Better isn’t enough. Before we can responsibly encourage LGBT kids to come out, we need to foster a more tolerant and accepting environment for those in the sort of unenlightened communities that use their “Holy Bible” as a cudgel. How many more children have to die before the so-called “Christian Communities” realize they are NOT doing what Jesus would do.

Anyone who doesn’t see that this kind of EVIL behavior (death threats and psychological torment) is simply unacceptable in civilized human beings was likely a child who learned to hate from a parent. Bigots with children will continue to encourage such actions from their lemming-like offspring UNTIL/UNLESS there are real ramifications – and NOT just for the bad kids – parents who teach their children to commit hate crimes should be punished as well. The only way to reach small-town minds is with the long arm of the law. Al Franken’s Obama endorsed Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act sound like a good start, but until I learn more about punishments I won’t know if they go far enough.

We can’t arrest someone for every instance of teasing, but extreme ongoing bullying (online or face-to-face) needs to be illegal with punishments such as fines, tolerance education and forced community service (for both child and parent), but bullying someone to the point of a suicide attempt should carry a harsher punishment… MUCH higher punitive fines, longer and more in-depth education, plus an additional 3-6 months Mandatory detention in a Juvenile detention facility for the children responsible AND a ruling that may help with a civil judgement should the victim’s family decide to sue the parents (for allowing their children to commit hate crimes) OR school (for not adequately protecting the students).

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Sure we have Kurt and Blaine as an adorable couple every episode now and of course there was Dave Karofsky’s attempted suicide, but other than that the LGBT aspect hasn’t been quite as front and center during Season 3… until Saturday Night GLEEver that is.

During GLEE’s deliecious Disco flashback episode, GLEE puts the T in LGBT when a member of Vocal Adrenaline (a shy transgender-identifying teen named Wade) comes to Kurt and Mercedes for advice on whether he should don wig, dress and heels to debut his confident female persona (named “Unique”) for Regionals. The pair run it past Sue (of all adults to ask?!?!) and she offers up a pair of Janet Reno’s old Boogie Shoes in an effort to sabotage the enemy camp with controversy.

Controversy aside, I don’t see how this number would have worked without Unique in drag. By the way, Wade/Unique is portrayed by Alex Newell who was one of the winners of The GLEE Project. Alex enjoys it when people refer to him as “Kurtcede” and has high hopes that Wade/Unique might catch Dave Karofsky’s eye (tho that may be unlikely as Max Adler has been signed for the ABC submarine drama, “Last Resort.”

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Joe Phillips began his career as a traditional comic book artist. His first professional job was cover artist for Mister Miracle #7 in 1989 and he continued on the title until its end in 1991. He then went on to create visuals for such popular titles as “Justice League of America”, “Silver Surfer”, “X-Men”, “Legion of Super-Heroes”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “Lobo”, Captain America”, “Wolverine”, “Green Lantern” and “Superboy.” He was also a regular contributor to the Marvel Illustrated Swimsuit Specials, so these kinds of Beefcake Heroes are right up his alley.

It wasn’t until his work on "Superboy & Risk: Double Shot" (Feb 1998) that Joe sexualized his hero a bit more than was the norm and dropped "a few gay hints in the background." These "hints" were picked up by a number of gay fanboys at the time and actually led to Joe creating a regular homoerotic cartoon strip for XY magazine called… Joeboys. The wild succcess of his Joeboys led him to mainly leave his traditional comics background and focus on creating art for the gay community.

In 1999 Joe Phillips co-founded Xodus USA which sold clothing and gay-themed accessories. Joe released his first annual Boys Will Be Boys calendar in 2001 and by 2003 Bruno Gmunder had published a collection of the calendar images that was so popular the publisher re-released it in 2007 with double the content.

Joe Phillips has also created a number of homoerotic animated films. His first, Cumquest was a Star Trek spoof. His second film, The House of Morecock was released in 2001 and nominated for a GayVN award in 2002. He released his first CGI film, Stonewall and Riot in 2006.

He launched Xodus magazine in 2003 and has since created artwork for ID Lube, Elbow Grease, Inside Pride, Jocko Underwear, Odyssey Magazine, Gloss Magazine, Gay and Lesbian Times San Diego, Freshmen, All Boy, Cyber Socket, and Prism Comics plus singers Ari Gold, Justus Boys, Alan Gnuo and Levi Kreis. He also created the art for the comic book character “Rage”, which featured in the second season of the Showtime series Queer as Folk.

Joe Phillips "Beefcake Heroes" series does nothing more than put iconic male heroes in the provocative poses traditionally found more in erotic pin ups than comic strips.

"Comic art is finally coming out of the closet," he said. "The heroes and their fans can’t ignore they are sexy."

Comic artists have been doing that to female heroes (and villainesses) for years and Joe Phillips is a firm believer that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. THANKS JOE! In the Huffington Post interview Phillips mentions a possible follow up to the series with Beefcake Villains!!!

via JoePhillips, AlexanderSalazarFineArt, ComicArtFans and PrismComics

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After Marvel released the White X Save the Date teaser image, it was speculated that Jean-Paul and Kyle will wed in the 51st issue of Astonishing X-Men (on shelves June 20th). What do we know? Astonishing X-Men 51 will contain “something that has never been seen inside the pages of a Marvel comic.” The White X image has been used before (to tease the marriage of Scott and Jean), so a wedding is definitely inferred. Combine that with the fact that Northstar is the only team member close to that point in a relationship, and he’s the obvious answer (unless manwhore Gambit goes to extremes to get a jealous rise out of Rogue). A media blitz is planned to coincide with the May release of Astonishing X-Men #50, which rumor has it contains the proposal. Marvel will also be celebrating the event with John Cassaday variants for Astonishing X-Men #50 and a Djurdjevic variant cover for #51.

He may have been beaten to the title of first gay wedding in comics by the Wildstorm incarnations of Apollo and The Midnighter (whose DCNu counterparts are following their footsteps and may have some invitations of their own to send out soon enough) and Kevin Keller’s interracial military nuptials were more of a “shock” to those shocked by such things, but marrying off Northstar would be a HUGE milestone in the Marvel Universe which despite having a number of LGBT characters… up until now hasn’t broached the topic of marriage equality. Though there WAS a semi-proposal in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #9… Keep and eye on X-Factor. Maybe it will be a triple gay wedding?

The only bad news is since Marvel plans a media frenzy around the event, this gives the Few Thousand Women Who Can’t Count enough time to notice and get riled up. Lets hope they drop the ball again.

via BleedingCool and Gay.net

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Out of the mouths of babes. I just can’t imagine an exchange like this in the comics I read growing up. “Boys can like boys. It doesn’t matter.” They are two short simple sentences, but one can imagine the sense of empowerment that those 7 words could instill in a young gay or lesbian reader. Or in straight readers for that matter. As overjoyed as I am about new LGBT characters and the commercial success of books starring gay characters like Kevin Keller, these small moments in mainstream titles are just as if not more powerful.

Which makes me wonder why the usual crop of Bigoted Bible Thumpers (BBTs) aren’t raising a Holy stink about it. Has no one told them yet? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, their furor over Kevin Keller’s gay interracial military wedding in Life with Archie #16 was so late that the books sold out before they could organize a boycott.

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