CREATORS SPEAK OUT
We asked 16 of the top gay creators in the comic industry their thoughts, and here’s what they had to say.

What made you decide to 'come out' as a gay creator?

Howard Cruse: It was time. Coming out is a civic duty. Every generation is morally obligated to lend a hand to the next generation. For me, that includes, among other things, demonstrating to fledgling artists that they do not have to choose between being honest and having a career.

Jose Villarrubia: I have always been out in my personal and professional lives so it was just an extension. There are too many closeted people in the comics industry. Being out is certainly the right thing to do.

Eric Shanower: In 1989, Andy Mangels asked me to be on the Gays in Comics panel at the San Diego Comic Con. I was flattered to be asked to appear on a panel, and I had no reason not to do it. I didn't think of it as "coming out" as a gay cartoonist. I thought of it as maybe setting an example for some young person who might be struggling with his or her sexuality, though when I appeared on the panel, it quickly became apparent that I was preaching to the choir. I was unprepared for the gratifying response to my appearance on the panel; I'm used to laboring in solitary and--particularly in the days before e-mail--receiving very little response to my work.

Robert Rodi: Why on earth would I do otherwise?

Greg Fox: It was almost as if I couldn't NOT proceed with KYLE’S BED AND BREAKFAST (the gay comic strip I write and draw). I had done plenty of more mainstream, non-gay oriented comics material previous to this..... but when I created KYLE’S BED AND BREAKFAST, it so exceeded everything I'd done previously....in writing quality, in my feel for the characters, and in what I felt was a positive contribution to the world....that it made everything else I was working on pale in comparison. I just felt very strongly, in my heart, that this was the way to go.

Devin Grayson: You know, it's funny, but -- being asked. That was all. I'm pretty out in my day to day life, and one day one of my Vertigo editors, Joan Hilty, told me about "Out in Comics" and asked if she should send my name in and I said, yeah, great, thanks. I'm very defensive about my privacy, about not having my personal life scrutinized, but because gay rights still is, sadly, such a charged political issue, I'm more than happy to stand up and be counted.

It saddens me so much that there are still people afraid or ashamed about coming out. Society certainly still has a long way to go with racism, but can you imagine someone being afraid to be "out" as an African American? At least we've got people ashamed of their prejudice on that account -- though it still happens every day, it is, in general society, no longer acceptable to be blatantly, noisily racist.

I was on a panel at a comic convention once -- not about gays in comics, just about upcoming work or something -- and I mentioned being bisexual, and someone in the audience stood up, agape, and asked how I could just casually admit that. If I'd announced I was -- I don't know, Hispanic or something, that guy wouldn't have dared stand up, but he honestly felt that, due to the subject matter, the shame was mine, that the whole audience would support him in his disbelief. And that's gotta change. Let's at LEAST get to the point in our lifetimes where that guy would have had to stay in his seat, looking around nervously, thinking, "gee, am I the only one in here freaked out by that? I'd better keep my mouth shut or this crowd will turn on me..."

Roberta Gregory: I dont think I really decided. I don't think there was ever much of a choice, that was just how it was. I didn't just draw myself one day saying "Yoo-hoo everyone! I'm a dyke!" I sort of resent people being snoopy about other peoples sexuality anyhow, (unless you are planning to make a move on them, what business is it of yours anyhow?) and I also do not like labels, but they work for some people, I guess. I never even really thought of myself that much as a girl, when I was younger.

Marc Andreyko: I never really "came out" in any big way. I mean, I'm not enough of a name writer for most people to care, but I made a conscious choice to not actively avoid the "gay issue" after the murder of Matthew Shepard. The more gay people in the public eye, the less chance of such horrible stuff happening again. I hope.