To all GLA members:
After several requests, I am posting this to the list. Permission is granted to post it on the GLA website, or to any other Gay comics discussions lists (as long as this message and copyright statements are included). Any other postings should be run by me before posting.
This story is not at the current time in active development. And while the main super-hero characters are copyright to DC Comics, the plot/story elements are copyright to me.

Enjoy,
Andy Mangels

Message: 13
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 01:35:21 EST
From: AMangelsSW@aol.com
Subject: Re: Gays in the JSA/Dr. Mid-Nite

>>I've also heard lots of stuff floating around about the new Dr. Mid-Nite being gay. Is this true? Was there anything in the mini-series about this or is it just speculation?<<

The source of those rumors is probably someone who knew I was working on a project that speculated this. This summer, leading up to San Diego Comic Con, I was working on a proposal for a one-shot Dr. Mid-Nite story that took place in modern continuity, but which was largely a flashback to the Golden Age character.

"What if your secret identity had a secret identity?" was the theme.

In it, the new Dr.'s assistant needs to track down something that was in the late Dr. Charles McNider's possession (in order to solve a crime). In the process, she tracks down the man who was his lover, who is now living on Fire Island, enjoying his old age. He tells her the story of how he and McNider met in World War II, then again around the time of the Korean War, and how, shortly after that, they became lovers. Due to the times, they kept their relationship a secret from friends and family, even the other JSA members. It wasn't until the 1970's and the post-Crisis Ragnorak hooh-hah that any of the JSAers found out much about Mid-Nite's private life. Anyhow, my story ended with the woman coming back to the new Mid-Nite with the artifact and the story. As she wonders if such discrimination would happen among today's heroes, he replies that he hopes not, as he doesn't plan on hiding anything. And the story ended.

It was designed so that the final coda could be left off if DC shied away from making BOTH Dr. Mid-Nites gay, but since the Golden Age version was deceased, I didn't think it would be too shocking. I spoke with Roy Thomas about scenes he had written in the Secret Origins which hinted at the gay thing (he didn't remember it being a conscious decision, but also said that absolutely NOTHING in the entire history of the character would contradict it either). I looked over the Strazewski series which also dropped hints (which Terrance Griep tells me via Len were also unintended). And finally, I spoke with Matt Wagner about the new Mid-Nite to make sure it was OK with him.

I then worked with artist George Freeman (Leave It To Chance, Captain Canuck, Jack of Hearts, to mention 3 of my faves) and asked him to be the artist. With his input, I finished up the proposal and emailed it off to the editor in question. At San Diego, the editor was also given a sketch of Mid-Nite drawn by Freeman, to show how he would approach the character.

The editor in question was Bob Schreck, who would come out on the Gays In Comics panel as bisexual. The book it was proposed for was Legends of the DC Universe. We did not announce it at the panel, nor did I publicly let people know that Bob was the prospective editor, because I did not want unfair pressure placed on him. It was my hope though, that Bob might champion the story.

Several weeks after San Diego, in a terse AOL Instant Message, Bob told me that he was rejecting the story, and that he found the elements about Mid-Nite's sexual orientation to be "not intrinsic to the story." When I attempted to discuss/defend the story with him, Bob requested that I not contact him again.

So, that's where things are with that character/storyline. According to discussions with Stephen Sadowski, it is unlikely that this direction will be at all dealt with in upcoming issues of JSA.

At some point, I may put the proposal up on a website or allow the GLA website to post it, as an interesting example of what might have been.

Andy Mangels

Message: 8
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 17:34:34 EST
From: AMangelsSW@aol.com
Subject: Re: Bob Schreck / and my GLBT controversial views

Having been contacted by a few people privately, and having heard that my posting about the Dr. Mid-Nite story was under discussion in the GLA chat (not that very many people said anything here on the list), let me make a few points about Bob Schreck for those who may have misunderstood what I was saying.

Bob Schreck is a great editor, and has been instrumental in getting a lot of entertaining comics out to the marketplace. He also, unhesitatingly, braved the potential backlash by publicly coming out as bisexual at the DC Comics offices, and at the San Diego Comic Con.

As for my Dr. Mid-Nite story, Bob did not find it interesting enough to warrant his attention. To my knowledge, that was the sole reason it was not accepted. I don't believe the decision was based on outside pressure, or any bad feelings toward me (Bob and I had always enjoyed a fairly good relationship). The story just didn't rock his world.

That's an editor's prerogative, and there's not anything a writer can do about that, other than to "argue their case," and/or try again. Where the only conflict arose in this matter (between Bob and I) was when I tried to argue my case, and was told the decision was final, and that the fact that I had tried to argue my case was not acceptable. Why it was such an issue here (knowing that Bob — and every editor — often gives people a chance to "argue their case" even if only out of politeness) is something that may or may not ever be discussed between Bob and I.

Bob is an open presence in the editorial halls at DC (as is lesbian editor Joan Hilty at Vertigo). He is working on a storyline in an upcoming series he edits that introduces a gay supporting character. And now that he's working as Batman editor over Devin Grayson (openly bisexual), perhaps she can explore her longstanding feelings about homoerotic tensions in the Batman family! ;>

Bob is not an enemy, but an ally. The disagreement between he and I over this story, while extremely unfortunate, does not mean that he is against us. Please do not misinterpret my postings to mean anything of the sort. He is an ally. He is a good editor. He is a good man. And, he is a part of our community.

On related notes...

As a gay political activist, I hold views that not everyone agrees with in the community (as can be attested to on the Gays In Comics panel every year). One gay comic creator says that I am "barely tamed." Another creator (on this list) says that I "have a big gay chip on my shoulder." While I can cop to both those, I also contend that without those who are willing to PUSH for more rights, for more representation, and for more sense of community, we won't advance in any of those areas.

It ain't gonna happen because the straight people decide it's time, out of the goodness of their hearts.

Some of my "controversial" concerns/beliefs/goals:

I firmly feel that GLBT editors should give GLBT creators EQUAL chances at getting work. Why should the guy who happens to live in New York who comes into the office get work any more than the guy in the rolodex? Or the guy who bought you a drink at the Con? Or the guy who you went bowling with at the company bowling party? Why is it "special treatment" if GLBT creators are put into consideration for a job by a GLBT editor? And shouldn't that GLBT editor — knowing the prejudice GLBT creators face — make attempts to level the playing field if possible?

I believe that GLBT creators should be thinking of other GLBT creators when it comes time to consider who they want to work with on a project. Sure, I've campaigned for straight creators to work with me on some projects, but I've also campaigned for a LOT of GLBT creators to work with me on projects as well. Why can't others do the same?

I believe that ALL creators — but especially GLBT creators — should be working to include more minority representation in their work. As an example; the NAACP's complaints about no African-American representation on television series this fall [1999]. Casting directors aren't necessarily going to think about "Hey, why not cast a Black/Asian/Jew/etc. in this part?" until they're made aware of it. But I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that African-American casting directors are more colorblind in their casting than are white casting directors.

In other words, if WE don't do it, how can we ask OTHERS to do it. I've been pretty successful in my career in terms of having GLBT characters (and SOMETIMES in the storylines) in projects I've worked on. It DOESN'T mean that I MUST have them in everything I do, but it does mean that if there is a way to do so that works in the confines of the story, I will DO so.

I also believe (and have stated before on this list) that GLBT comic fans should support GLBT creators and their work. This doesn't mean that all of you should buy everything on the "lavender checklist" (someone else's name for it) that I post every month. But it does mean you could give the books a try. You're likely to find a common ground in the work you find there, and in the voice of the creators.

Guess that about wraps up my piece for the day. Back to work.
Andy Mangels

Message: 10
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 03:50:42 EST
From: AMangelsSW@aol.com
Subject: Re: more posts and an apology

>>I think it could be more interesting to let the reader make the final conclusion, and piques the interest of readers about the real scoop on Dr. MidNite.

Of course, handled by the wrong writer, it could end up another long, drawn out red-herring like we've had in the past, so you'd have to write every subsequent adventure to this one. ;-)<<

I did mention (in the first posting) that I had given Bob and DC an out in terms of leaving the ending off or changing it. Your suggestion was one of the ways I suggested to him that it could be changed, if needed.

And thanks for the vote of confidence about future adventures, though that is (apparently) never to be.

Back to the eggnog,
Andy Mangels

A Dr. Mid-Nite Story
Writer: Andy Mangels
Artist: George Freeman
What if your secret identity had a secret identity?

Basic Premise:
Camilla Marlowe, the assistant to the Modern Age Doctor Mid-Nite explores the life of his Golden Age predecessor. What she finds is an old lover kept secret from the government and his Justice Society friends. . . a male soldier now in his late seventies.

Story:
In Portsmouth City, darkness fills a room, as Doctor Midnight gets the drop on some art thieves who've broken into the art museum. He captures all but a pair of them, who escape with an ancient Greek statue. After he wraps the crooks up, he hears about the loss from a curator; the missing statue is one of a pair. Its "companion piece" is under the ownership of the late Dr. Charles McNider. Doctor Mid-Nite bows out and returns to his home. He's determined to find the statue, moreso since its companion is the property of the man who was Dr. Mid-Nite in the 1940s!

    He is aided by Camilla Marlowe, who has continued assisting Dr. Pieter Cross in his efforts to keep Portsmouth City free of crime as Doctor Mid-Nite (as we saw in the 1999 mini-series). She uses her computer skills to track down information about the first Dr. Mid-Nite, an adventurer who first appeared in 1941, fighting crime within the ranks of the Justice Society and the All Star Squadron. But she is stymied in an attempt to find out anything about him personally; Dr. Charles McNider never married and had no children. Where then did his estate go when he died (in Zero Hour), and who has the statue?

    Eventually she tracks the records and holdings to a Harry Chamberlain, a retired military man in his late seventies, now living in a resort house on the beach at Fire Island, New York. Marlowe flies out to meet him, and the man is reluctant to talk to her at first. She tells him that she is the assistant to the new Doctor Midnight, and tells him about the statue. He shows her its twin, which was in the bedroom. She mentions that she had a hard time tracking McNider's records, and wonders what Chamberlain's connection to him was, if he doesn't mind telling her.

    Chamberlain gives her a look, studying her, then asks, "Did you ever have a secret identity, young lady? Both of us have, me and Charlie." He sits and sighs, deciding. "You know, I've kept this secret for a lifetime. Maybe its time to let go of the secret now." He begins his story:

    Flashback to Winter 1943. The US has not officially entered into war against Germany, but covert reconnaissance missions were being conducted. A 20-year-old Corporal Harry Chamberlain is part of a special forces mission to Poland that has JUST been captured. The President has asked several members of the All Star Squadron/ Justice Society to help — covertly — rescue the prisoners and bring them back with their information. Three heroes embark on the mission... Dr. Mid-Nite, Starman, and Wildcat... all chosen for their specific skills.

    The mission is a dangerous one, and all doesn't go as planned. The trio manages to get to the military camp where the squad is being held (six men, Lieutenant, Corporal, radio man, medic, explosives, machine-gunner). In the ensuing rescue attempt, the heroes narrowly avoid harm to themselves, and several of the squad they are rescuing are wounded or killed. Because Starman can't transport everyone with his gravity rod, they are forced to flee in transports. The heroes stay behind to stave off the attackers while the squad escapes in the transport truck.

    Eventually, the heroes get back with the surviving squad members. Dr. Mid-Nite, utilizing his skills as a medical doctor, must deal with the wounded, including Chamberlain. Two of the squad are dead, two wounded (one is really bad, and Cpl. Chamberlain has a broken lower leg, and has been shot in the shoulder), and two are fine. Dr. Mid-Nite works on Chamberlain and the other man.

    The story switches to a few weeks later, as Dr. Charles McNider checks up on the progress of patients at a military hospital (perhaps we can work in an appearance of the original Golden Age Nurse Diana Prince here?). He is especially interested in the progress of Chamberlain, who is walking with crutches. They move through a garden, and stop to talk. Chamberlain discusses how McNider can still practice medicine when he's blind, then notes "probably the same way you fight crime, huh?" McNider's secret identity is blown, but somehow it doesn't seem to be a big deal. But with a tentative hand on Chamberlain's shoulder, something deeper is expressed between the two men. Something tender. A hand to the cheek, a look in the eyes. . . and then it's too much for either of them. They break away.

    In the present, Chamberlain offers Marlowe a drink of some sort, then resumes his story. By 1951, he was a First Sergeant, when military troops were sent to South Korea. He accompanies his men there, and his platoon fights with distinction. But he and his men need to perform a rescue mission of their own without the aid of "mystery men," and under heavy fire, they get another group of men out from a POW camp. In the process, he is blasted with shrapnel in his back, and forced to come back to America.

    While recouping, Chamberlain once again gets a visit from Dr. McNider, who has continued his crime-fighting as Dr. Mid-Nite, but isn't as active as he once was (the JSA was forced to disband by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951). This time, McNider keeps touch with him, and the two go out for a drink and dinner together. And then they go home together, ostensibly to look at Dr. Mid-Nite's trophies. But in the dark of the night, they finally acknowledge their attraction (in a tasteful way).

    The story continues, with various montages of Dr. Mid-Nite in solo super-hero action, and Chamberlain and McNider tentatively making a life together in an era in which homosexuality was barely even talked about, much less condoned. When he sees them or works with them, McNider keeps the relationship a secret from any of his fellow crime-fighters, except perhaps for Black Canary. The intrusion of J. Edgar Hoover into their private life is a concern, as he helped McCarthy shut down the JSA in 1951, and would love to blackmail Dr. Mid-Nite if given the chance.

    Chamberlain retires from the military in 1960, near the start of the Kennedy administration, and begins work in the Peace Corps. By then, McNider has slowed down his crime-fighting, and shortly thereafter a new "Silver Age" of heroes begins to appear. We see some more montages of super-battles that McNi der was involved in (JLA/JSA cross-overs and the like), but we're seeing them from the point of view of a normal person who loved one of the heroes (similar in fashion to the Marvels approach), instead of as an omniscient participant.

    During the whole time, Chamberlain discusses not only what was going on in the super-hero world, but also how the changing face of the gay rights movement affected the two men in their relationship, as well as the age difference between McNider (who was kept young through mystical means as were all the JSAers) and himself. And then there was the whole post-Crisis Ragnorak period where Mid-Nite was off in another dimension, and Chamberlain thought him dead. Through it all, few JSA members knew about McNider's private life, though Chamberlain did begin attending some holiday get-togethers as McNider's "companion."

    And then, during Zero Hour, Dr. Mid-Nite did die. And Chamberlain has been left wondering why? And what good came from his demise? He ruminates on what good the deaths of any of the soldiers killed under his command did in the wars, noting that Mid-Nite's death was just as senseless, just as capricious a fate. He asks Marlowe if she's ever been concerned about her own Doctor Midnight that way, and warns her that she should be. She blushes, explaining that she doesn't feel that way towards Dr. Cross. "Don't you?" he teases, telling her that Dr. McNider had his share of girls with crushes on him over the years, including his nurse, Myra.

    Chamberlain bids her good-bye. It's almost time for his walk on the beach with the best of the Fire Island boys romping around, and he prefers solitude for a while. She promises to keep in touch, and he tells her he will send out some of McNider's schematics for crime-fighting equipment...advanced for its time...to her and Cross. And then, when she turns to leave, Chamberlain gives her the companion statue to the stolen one. "Take this back to the museum with you. If your Doctor Mid-Nite is as good as mine was, he'll be able to reunite them. It's more important that they stay together," he sighs, "than that they stay here with me alone."

    As she leaves, Chamberlain doesn't go to the beach just yet. He goes to the mantle and takes down a picture of himself and McNider together, in happier times. Pocketing it, with a tear welling in his eye, he grabs his cane, and walks to the beach, into the sunlight.

    Back in Portsmouth City, Doctor Mid-Nite crashes in through the window of a penthouse apartment, while the two escaped thieves (a man and a woman) are in bed. A brief battle ensues, but Mid-Nite gets the better of the duo. Then, after calling the police, he departs with the statue. He returns home to his estate, where Marlowe is waiting for him with the other statue. Put together, the two statues are a pair of (non-gender-specific) lovers, their bodies entwined.

    Marlowe relates Chamberlain's story to Cross, as he strips out of hiscostume. He is intrigued, and smiles to himself. "Do you think," he asks her, "in this day and age it would matter if super-heroes found out that one of their fellow heroes was gay?" Marlowe doesn't really think so. Not in today's enlightened society. "I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it," he says, smiling to himself.

    What does that mean?

    "Well, I'm gay as well, and I'm not planning on keeping two secret identities," says Cross.

    And we fade out on Marlowe's surprised reaction.

Notes:
The Golden Age Dr. Mid-Nite's sexual preference has never been revealed, though hints have been printed in the past. In Secret Origins #20 (Nov. 1987) Mid-Nite speaks of a female nurse's romantic intentions that are "doomed from the start. . . but I could never bring myself to tell her." According to continuity (and Roy Thomas), Charles McNider never had any real romantic flings with women, and never married.
Also, after consulting with Matt Wagner, creator/writer of the Modern Age Doctor Mid-Nite, he has given permission to make the new Mid-Nite gay as well. It was his intention that the current Doctor was too busy to think about sex much, but he could as easily be gay as straight.

"Heart of Darkness, A Dr. Mid-Nite Story" plot and story elements are © by Andy Mangels and may not be used or reproduced wholly or in part by any method without permission of the author. It appears here with permission.
Dr. Mid-Nite,the Dr. Mid-Nite logo, the JSA, and the JLA are © and ® of DC Comics. Art by Matt Wagner from Who's Who volume 1, #6. Used without permission.