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CREATORS SPEAK OUT Do you think the majority of gay comic readers are as vocal as they should be about what they want from their comics? Howard Cruse: I'm kind of out-of-the-loop as far as knowing how vocal comics readers are about anything. I think everyone should demand that all art be honest. Jose Villarrubia: On line, yes. Off line, I don’t know. There seems to be a bit of confusion about what gay readers want in their comics, since there is a lot of variety in the kinds of comics that they enjoy. But I think that ultimately we all want more editorial freedom to portray gay subjects openly. Eric Shanower: How vocal SHOULD they be? I find it somewhat reprehensible for a reader to dictate to a creator what that creator should be creating. A free exchange of ideas is okay. But once that creator has caught his or her slippery seed of inspiration, that creator needs to be pretty much left alone to tend the garden and help that seed grow into its full potential as a work of art to give the world. If you're saying that gay comics readers should shout to the publishers that they want more gay comics, then okay--do it. Given the state of comics publishing today, however, the larger publishers would then just plug in more token gay characters to their super-hero storylines. There's already a lot of interesting and genuine gay content in comics from smaller publishers-let's encourage and support those projects (and while vocal is good, the truth is that money says it louder), and then we'll see more of that sort of comics. Greg Fox: Absolutely not. I think the majority of gay comics readers just accept the way things are in comics, thinking the major comics companies aren't going to bend to their requests. If every gay comic book fan wrote in to DC & Marvel on a consistent basis, demanding more gay representation, it might make the companies re-evaluate their position. Devin Grayson: Yeah, for the most part. But the trick is to speak with your money. That's the only language the corporation listens to. When something positive happens in a comic, buy five issues. Demand that your retailer order more. Create buzz. The higher ups tune out complaints -- you're getting lost in the cacophony of fans who want Hal Jordan back and fans who DEMAND that so and so's costume be changed and fans who are petitioning for such and such to be restored to his rightful place on the team he was just bounced off of. I hate to break it to you, but comic publishers don't read Internet boards and they don't even read PopImage. They read sales charts. Marc Andreyko: No, I don't think gay readers are as vocal as they should be, but that's a tough issue. Lots of gay readers have "secret identity" issues i.e. they are still closeted. But that is beginning to change. The gays in comics panel attendance gets bigger every year and younger readers attitudes about gays are changing from things like MTV's "Real World", "Will and Grace", hell, Adam Sandler had a gay couple in "Big Daddy"! The world is changing with a speed I can' t believe (but gay readers should speak up!) Roberta Gregory: I don't know. I am not really a reader of comics, or someone looking for material to enjoy. If I want to read something or have some gay content to enjoy, I just create it myself. Brad Rader: I think everybody should be more vocal about what they want, unless, of course, it runs contrary to what I want, in which case, they should shut up. Ariel L Schrag: Nobody should expect anything from comics-everyone has the option to buy what comics they do or do not want to read. creators are not here to service fans. Tommy Kovac: I dunno. Personally, I just try to make sure that I buy comics that are done with integrity, gay or straight, and support them that way. Sharon Cho: Yes, I do think their presence is felt. However, I'm not sure the creators/publishers are aware of the number of gay readers. I'm sure they view gay readers as 1% or less of the reading population. Chris Cooper: I can't really say. I don't know if we make our desires clear to editors beforehand, but certainly when we do get a bone thrown our way, we're usually so shocked and overjoyed that we write them in profusion! Terrance Griep Jr.: Being a proud member of the Gay League of America, I have to own up to a certain amount of bias on this one: my fellow GLAers are nothing if not vocal! Adam Dekraker: No. The only way companies will produce more gay themed product, and this goes for movies, comics, websites, animation, magazines, and any other media you can think of, is if they know there's an audience that will buy it. I'm tired of hearing people complain about not seeing enough of what they want out of their comics. Write letters asking for what you want. Thank publishers when they do give you what you want. And if all else fails, go out and MAKE YOUR OWN COMICS!!! It's so important that if people feel a real need for a certain kind of story, that they realize they can go out and do it themselves. Even if it's just Xeroxed mini comics, they've gone and created the story they wanted to read, and now they can pass it on to others. Bevis Musson: In recent years yes. You only have to look at something like the DC Message Boards to see what a strong gay voice there is in the comic book reading world. Gay readers are much more willing to speak out about bad portrayals of gay characters or the lack of gay characters than they might have been a few years ago. I think that's as much to do with a change in the way that gay people speak out generally as anything really comic book related. I don't think it's the being gay thing that makes us more vocal, it's just the fact that in the past we haven't been vocal and so when we did start speaking out it seemed all the more obvious. And I think everyone should be vocal about what they want from comics regardless of whether you're talking about sexuality or race or just how a character is portrayed. Comics are written for the public. Comic companies have to listen to what the buyers are saying otherwise they'll lose money so if you are willing to say your bit the companies are more likely to pay attention. Of course there is the converse thing with gay characters maybe turning some readers away but you can't win them all and at least if you do speak out you know that you've at least tried to make a difference.
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We
asked 16 of the top gay creators in the comic industry their thoughts,
and here’s what they had to say.
