Saturday, November 21, 2015

In the news: Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Confirms He's Gay

I (Rob) have been a big superhero fan since I was a kid and still read comics and enjoy them. Over the last 10 years, there have been a couple of gay characters introduced in comics- which helps educate readers that we all need to get along and accept each other. This month, Marvel Comic's Iceman character "came out of the closet."
Here's the article from the Huffington Post:

Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Confirms He's Gay

The character was one of the original five members created in 1963.

Headshot of Curtis M. Wong
The Huffington Post
The mystery of "X-Men" member Iceman's sexuality has finally been solved.
A teenage version of the iconic character, displaced in time, made the surprise revelation in All-New X-Men #40 which was released in April. The plot line raised questions about the character's present-day self, who presented himself as heterosexual -- until now.
Panel from Xmen #600. Credit: Marvel Comics
In Uncanny X-Men #600, which hits newsstands on Nov. 4, the young Iceman, or Bobby Drake, comes out officially as a gay man while confronting his older self.
Gay and lesbian characters are becoming increasingly visible in the comic book universe. In 2012, Marvel Comics announced that its first openly gay hero, Northstar, would marry his longtime civilian boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, in an issue of Astonishing X-Men.
Iceman's coming out, however, is noteworthy given that the character was one of the five original "X-Men" members, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963.
Marvel Comics Editor Daniel Ketchum told The Huffington Post that he was particularly proud of the new issue, calling Iceman's character just another example of how the franchise has always strived to reflect "the human experience."
"As a young person reading comics, starved to see my own life experience reflected on the page, I remember thinking it seemed only possible for that to happen as a one-off story relegated to a D-List character," he said. "I don’t know that I would have believed it if I was told that years later, this story would be presented in the flagship 'X-Men' title, featuring an A-list character who has been a mainstay of the franchise since the beginning."
 

Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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