Archive for March 19th, 2009

Silhouette

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

By Ronald Byrd

silhouetteReal Name: Ursula Zandt
Occupation: Crimefighter
Group Affiliation: The Watchmen
Base of Operations: New York City
Outed in: Watchmen #2

The Silhouette was one of several costumed crimefighters who debuted in 1939 and organized as the Minutemen in the fall of that year. Nothing is known about her origin. She was expelled from the Minutemen in 1946 when it was learned that she was living with a lesbian lover, and both she and her lover were killed by one of her past adversaries six weeks after the scandal.

In a bonus feature in Watchmen #9,  “Probe Profile: Sally Jupiter” , the interviewer brings up the topic of costumes as a sexual fetish. Jupiter states: “Well, let me say this, for me, it was never a sex thing.” The interviewer brings up the Silhouette. Sally confesses that she didn’t like Ursula because she “was not an easy person to get along with” but felt the woman deserved better treatment after newspapers published accounts of her homosexuality.

Jupiter fleetingly refers to the Minute Men voting Silhouette out of the group to minimize PR damage and then says it was unfair since a couple of guys who are now dead were known to the other Minute Men to have been gay.

The Silhouette relied upon her athletic ability, fighting prowess, and wits.

The Watchmen created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Art by Dave Gibbons. © and ® DC Comics. Used without permission.

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Captain Metropolis

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

captmetropolis1By Ronald Byrd

Real Name: Nelson Gardner
Occupation: Crimefighter, former Lieutenant in the US Marines
Group Affiliation: The Watchmen
Base of Operations: New York City
Outed in: Watchmen #9

Captain Metropolis was one of several costumed crimefighters who debuted in 1939, and it was he who organized the team known as the Minutemen in the fall of that year. Nothing is known about his origin save that he was once a lieutenant in the US Marines and applied his knowledge of military technique and strategy to eradicating organized crime in inner urban areas. Unknown to the general public, Captain Metropolis had a gay relationship with one of his teammates, Hooded Justice, a relationship that may cast some light on his unexplained departure from the Marines; how he dealt with Hooded Justice’s disappearance and presumed death in 1955 is unrecorded. The Minutemen disbanded in 1949, but Captain Metropolis continued his activities, even attempting unsuccessfully to form a second team, the Crimebusters, in 1966; his tendency toward making racist statements about African-Americans and Hispanic Americans may have contributed to the declining popularity of costumed heroes during this era. Captain Metropolis was allegedly decapitated in an automobile accident in 1974.

Captain Metropolis had no superhuman powers but was an excellent military strategist, a skill he adapted to crimefighting; presumably, he was also a formidable opponent in hand-to-hand combat.

hoodedjustice2

Speculation has it the two men seen holding hands here are Captain Metropolis and Hooded Justice in their civilian identities.

The Watchmen created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Art by Dave Gibbons. © and ® DC Comics. Used without permission.

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Hooded Justice

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

hoodedjustice3By Ronald Byrd

Real Name: Possibly Rolf Muller
Occupation: Crimefighter; possibly a circus strongman
Group Affiliation: The Watchmen
Base of Operations: New York City
Outed in: Watchmen #9

Hooded Justice was the first costumed crimefighter to appear publicly on the alternate Earth that is the home of the Watchmen, debuting in the fall of 1938. Nothing is known about the tall, muscular Justice’s origin. Known for his violent demeanor in combat, he was among the founders of the Minutemen in 1939, and in 1940 he prevented the Comedian from raping their teammate, the Silk Spectre.

The Comedian responded to the beating with the remark: “This is what you like, huh? This is what gets you hot… ” The implication is that Hooded Justice’s crimefighting activities serve as a release for more than one kind of aggression; the Comedian also implied that he would one day seen vengeance on Hooded Justice for the beating. Unknown to the general public, Hooded Justice had a gay relationship with one of his teammates, Captain Metropolis, who alone among the Minutemen may have known Justice’s true identity. Although the Silk Spectre often pretended to be his girlfriend in public, he also had frequent rough sex sessions with young men, perhaps supporting the Comedian’s speculation.

In 1955, six years after the Minutemen disbanded and following demands that he testify before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, Hooded Justice vanished from sight and was never heard from again. A corpse tentatively identified as that of circus strongman Rolf Muller was found not long afterward, leading some to speculate that the two men were one and the same. However, while some right-wing sources speculated Muller, of East German descent, had been a communist agent, it is known that, before the bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the US into World War II, Hooded Justice expressed approval for the activities of the Third Reich, hardly something one would expect from a communist of that era (Actually, it seems unlikely that a gay man would support either the Soviets OR the Nazis.). Then again, the Comedian, who may or may not have retained his grudge against his former teammate, was himself an active anti-communist government agent who conceivably could have played a role in these events; the full story of Hooded Justice’s life and presumed death remains unknown.

Hooded Justice had no superhuman powers but possessed an unusual level of strength, stamina, and brutality.

The Watchmen created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Art by Dave Gibbons. © and ® DC Comics. Used without permission.

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Looking Back at Wonder Woman #185

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Ohmygod! It's THEM!

Ohmygod! It's THEM!

By Joe Palmer

IT’S THEM! Sadistic lesbians menace Diana Prince?

It was 1969 when WONDER WOMAN #185 hit the spinner racks, shelves of drugstores and supermarkets around the country. The comic had undergone a radical revision the year before in an attempt to attract new readers. The Powers That Be decided to greatly downplay the character’s Amazonian heritage, strip her of her powers, and occasionally couple her with an Asian sidekick masquerading as her mentor. The man responsible for this new direction was Mike Sekowsky, though he received helped from Denny O’Neil.

This change was as far a departure from the character’s previous continuity and sensibility as were some of the changes that American culture was experiencing. Richard Nixon was in his first term as President and the United States was conducting a war in Vietnam. American society was in flux. On one hand, traditional family values were still bolstered by post World War II consumerism on one hand. On the other the massive changes in social structure and identity that resulted from the Civil Rights Movement and the hippie “threat”.

Power was going to the people and things like color film, Polaroid cameras, and color TV were becoming commonplace. Drive in movie theaters were favorite spots for many Americans, too with some drive-ins having two screens. The screen in front showed movies for adults, and kids were meant to watch cartoons and kiddie movies through the rear window. I dared to break this unwritten rule the night my family went to see BONNY AND CLYDE. Warren Beatty transfixed me and I was all of eleven, but that’s a story for another time.

People during this time also bought, yes bought music—there was no Napster and recording technology was not as mass produced and available as they are now. Your main choices back then were “45’s” or albums with popular music selections ranging from bubble gum acts like the Monkees or “hippie” music from the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, Donovan, and Iron Butterfly.

On June 22 gay icon and diva Judy Garland died of a pill overdose in her London home. In New York City’s Greenwich Village just a few days later on June 28 a number of Stonewall bar patrons publicly protested the police harassment and raids of their community.

Back to the “Emma Peel” version of Wonder Woman, and specifically issue #185 and its sensationally titled story “It’s Them!” The plot is thin, oh so incredibly thin. It opens with Diana returning to her New York City home on Blocker Street (a likely reference to Bleecker Street) from Paradise Island to discover a frightened young woman named Cathy. Cathy is hiding in Diana’s darkened, street-level clothing boutique from a group of villains ominously known as “THEM!” And if the exclamation mark didn’t provide enough melodramatic emphasis, “THEM!” is almost always done in thick, red letters.

THEM! is a gang that has been terrorizing the neighborhood for a while, but apparently, Diana’s been too busy dividing her attention between learning Kung Fu moves from I Ching and visiting Paradise Island to notice. What makes the story of interest is that “THEM!” appears by inference to be lesbians—and sadistic ones at that. The gang’s proclivities are inferred because the story was printed in 1969, a year when comic  publishers were still subjecting themselves to the guidelines established by the Comics Code Authority,(CCA). The CCA was an agency created in response to Frederic Wertham’s book, SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT and the Senate hearings of 1954, both of which leveled charges of inappropriate content for children being published in comics. Much like television and film media being subjected to the Hayes Code, it was simply impossible to include directreferences to LGBT characters or themes unless they were buried in subtext or coding. The CCA’s prohibition against depicting “sexual depravity” reamined in its guidelines for another 20 years until its 1989 revision.

wondwerwoman185-02The most obvious clues to the nature of “THEM!” are their clothing and appearance: they’re dressed as drag kings. Top Hat, the boss of the bunch, wears a costume that’s a cross between a circus ringleader and Victorian opera goer. It’s a gaudy green affair of a suit paired with a frilly yellow top and contrasted by a purple cape and top hat. Moose Mama is a big boned butch kind of gal who likes to wear biker’s clothing accented with gold costume jewelry. Pinto prefers dressing like a cowboy from the Old West. Well, maybe it’s the same Old West that the Rawhide Kid came from if you know what I mean.

When the gang bursts into Diana’s boutique, Top Hat tosses a dog collar on a chain at Cathy and commands “Put it on, slave!” and then threatens Diana who in turn quickly disposes of “THEM!” in a no-nonsense manner.

Diana is genuinely concerned for Cathy’s well being and takes her in. While soaking in a hot bath Cathy reveals she felt stifled at home and decided to run away from her straight-laced parents. After arriving in New York she naïvely accepted the gang’s offer of a room, only to discover they had stolen her money. At this point Cathy is forced to wear a dog collar and become their slave, complete with beatings and humiliation.

Diana’s acts of kindness are contrasted with the determination of THEM to recapture their slave. Their acts of intimidation start with tossing a rock with the requisite threatening note attached to it through a window and nightlong chanting outside Diana’s bedroom window. The next day, a male accomplice knocks groceries out of Diana’s arms, but he is cowed by a dark haired man who lives in the neighborhood.

Unfazed, Top Hat orders some previously unseen gang members to enter Diana’s store under the pretense of shopping and instead to slash clothing. Out on the street Diana confronts a dog collar wielding Top Hat. Again, the dark haired man appears and causes Top Hat and her gang to disperse.

With nine pages left, the plot really picks up. Later that night, Diana agrees to let Cathy stay, and then discovers an unmailed letter from Cathy apologizing to her parents, Diana decides to contact the “Missing Persons Bureau” and as fate (and the plot) would have it, at the same moment that Diana is speaking to whoever at the bureau, Molotov cocktails crash through the shop windows. Diana and Cathy escape to the street. Top Hat and her gang are gloating nearby while firemen try to extinguish the blaze. Tony Petrucci, the dark haired man, and his mother also witness the fire and offer to take in Diana and Cathy.

In the morning, Diana wakes to find a note from Cathy saying she’s returned to THEM and of course Diana starts to search for her. Meanwhile, a well intentioned Mrs. Petrucci informs her son of the events and he gets some of “the boys” together for a final showdown. Top Hat and gang with a resigned Cathy leading at the head suddenly appear on the street before Diana. Top Hat thrusts two dog collars at Diana, commanding her to put one on herself and the other on the young woman. Tony and his boys surprise Top Hat’s gang, disarming them swiftly and inexplicably without drawing Top Hat’s attention while she continues to threaten Diana. Armed with a repertoire of Kung Fu moves, courtesy of that nice I Ching, Diana delivers a quick and resounding defeat to Top Hat.

The police arrive to take custody of the gang, and moments later, Cathy and her parents are tearfully reunited, thanks to the information Diana gave the Missing Persons Bureau. Mrs. Petrucci, being the epitome of a good Italian mother, invites everyone up. Over coffee and biscotti, Diana seems to have forgotten her store has burnt down and proposes the idea to Cathy’s parents to let Cathy work in her store. With Cathy out of the clutches of those awful, frightening lesbians—er—criminals, and back with her Ward and June Cleaver parents the story ends on a happy note.

Were Top Hat, Pinto, and Moose Mama really lesbians? Reading the story now it certainly seems clear to me that they were. Even when I read it in the used comic bin at Boss Drugs in 1970 or 1971 I had a distinct impression there was something more to the story. Heaven knows that we in the LGBT community are self-trained to look for sub text. Could Sekowsky’s story have been a comment on the nascent Gay Rights Movement? In house ads for other DC comics have September sale dates. Considering printer deadlines and the time it takes to create a comic it’s possible that Sekowsky was compelled to comment on Stonewall though the timeframe would have been very tight. Or, he may have used as inspiration the elements of the gay underground culture that contested the illegality of gay bars in New York which ultimately resulted in the legalization of these spaces. It would be ironic, given the accusations of rampant lesbianism in Golden Age WONDER WOMAN comics made by Frederic Wertham. Or maybe it was really a twisted take on the Cinderella fairy tale with Top Hat, Pinto, and Moose Mama serving as the wicked stepmother step-sisters, and Diana as the fairy godmother?

Or not.

This story was reprinted Diana Prince Wonder Woman volume 2. Click the link to purchase a copy from Amazon and help support this site.

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Looking Back At Gay Comix #1

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

By Joe Palmer

gaycomix011The year is 1980, the start of the “Me” decade. Movie goers that year had their pick of films such as Raging Bull, Airplane, American Gigolo, Popeye, The Shining, Xanadu, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Blue Lagoon, and the original Friday the 13th. Christopher Cross, Bette Midler, Pat Benatar, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb all won Grammy awards for their music. Punk and new wave in its various manifestations were in force to act as an alternative and counterbalance to the Top 40 and disco. People watched Magnum, P.I., 60 Minutes, Little House on the Prairie, The Dukes of Hazard, and in the fall everyone wondered who shot J.R. on Dallas. The debut of MTV is a year away still. Jimmy Carter was President, Americans were held hostage in Iran, and on November 4th, Americans elected former actor Ronald Reagan as their new President. The HIV virus was just beginning to make its presence known.

1980 was a year that marked a big change in my life. That change came on June 14th. This was the day I’d moved from my central Illinois hometown of 16,000 people to Chicago. In my hometown of Lincoln it seemed everyone had a German last name, worked as a farmer or in a factory, got stinking drunk on a Friday night and sobered up enough for church on Sunday, and, of course, was heterosexual. Attending church was my madatory obligation in those days. News of the Stonewall Riots four years before had yet to make it to me, so I naїvely and successfully set off to find gay men to date around 1977. It wasn’t too long before I’d found a man whom I thought was the true love of my life, and it was he who persuaded me that we should move to Chicago. Imagine my shock and euphoria when I experienced my first Gay Pride Parade that also fell on my birthday that year two weeks later!

One day while wandering I came across the comic book on a newstand a few blocks from my first apartment in Chicago. This comic was unlike any I’d ever seen before since my fascination with the medium began as a nine-year old in 1967. Yes, I’m that old. The comic in question was the first issue of GAY COMIX with a September cover date. Only a year before had I met through a friend of my then boyfriend another gay man who read comics; Kevin had a very cynical attitude and it wasn’t long before we stopped trying to talk about comics. In my nervously excited hands there was proof of at least a small handful of gay people who appreciated comics. Finding these stories was a big step out of a second closet.

Some – many – of you know about Jim Shooter’s infamous Hulk story that included a scene in which Bruce Banner is nearly raped in a YMCA shower by two men was published with an October date. Now I must admit to forgettingwhich of these two comics I first read. The Hulk story will be looked at another time.

After thumbing through the pages at the news stand, I paid the $1.50 price – expensive on a weekly take home pay of $120 – and walked the few blocks home, and dove into the stories. Inside the two color covers were stories by Howard Cruse, who also edited the title, Lee Mars, Roberta Gregory, Billy Fugate, Kurt Erichsen, Mary Wings, Demian, and Theo Bogart. Rand Holmes drew the front cover and Roberta Gregory did the back. There wasn’t a Perez, Wolfman, Thomas, Swan, Ordway, O’Neil, Byrne or Claremont in the lot of them. Nor were any of the stories include any of the elements of super heroes, mystery, horror, war, spy, western or sci-fi comics, all of which I was familiar with. Since I’d had little exposure to other styles of art outside of the comic book standards of the day I audaciously decided that the artists, with Howard Cruse as an exception, were amateurish.

gaycomix02The book was still fascinating to me simply because of the idea behind it: gays and lesbians telling stories about themselves. Aside from “Saboteur” which had an activist bent, every story was about the search for acceptance or love. Lee Marr’s “Stick in the Mud” was about the late blooming lesbian Sue who after a failed marriage and a string of disastrous dates finds her soul mate. Billy Fugate’s “Fallout” is a critical look at stereotypical gay culture while his one page short, “Found a Reason”, is a tender look at two senior men in a committed relationship. Roberta Gregory’s “Reunion” focuses on a small group of women negotiating their paths in life through a series of relationships and their personal affirmations to become the person they’ve always wanted to be. In “Billy Goes Out”, Cruse poignantly relates Billy’s attempts to move on with his life after the death of his lover. It became my favorite story in the anthology because it spoke of the capacities to hope and love. Mary Wings’ “A Visit from Mom” recounts a lesbian daughter’s sudden realization of the true nature of her elderly mother’s fifteen year relationship with her best friend. Theo Bogart’s full page illustration of a doting and perhaps intentionally oblivious mother delivering hot drinks to her son’s room while he and a friend indulge in a little masturbation.

As I mentioned above, the most important and empowering aspect for me of GAY COMIX #1 was the potential for gay people to use this medium to tell stories about themselves. Of course, this was something I could do in my own life though on an extremely personal level. It made me aware that I could reject being pigeon holed within the gay community and certainly society at large, and instead could make my own choices. But that’s another story that is being written still. Go write and tell yours.

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Sealed with Approval 1989

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

comicscodeseal3The Comics Code underwent its most drastic revision in 1989. For the first time homosexuality (see “Institutions”),  sexual preferences (see “Language”), and sexual orientation (see “Characterization”) are openly mentioned. Despite these and other similar changes this most recent and still in effect version makes it clear that its emphasis is on assuring that
comics displaying the Comics Code Authority seal provide “decent and wholesome” entertainment for children.

Please note that bold italic emphasis has been added here.

Preamble

The Comics Magazine Association of America was formed in 1954 by a group of publishers committed to the principle that the public deserved decent and wholesome comic books as entertainment for children. To that end, those publishers set content guidelines, created a reviewing authority and established the Comics Code Seal. This seal was to appear on covers of the CMAA member comics as a way of communicating to the public their shared commitment to uphold these standards.

While the comic book industry has changed over the intervening three decades, as has almost every other facet of American life, the publisher members of the CMAA remain committed to providing decent and wholesome comic books for children. This new updated version of the Comics Code is a reaffirmation of that commitment.

The member publishers of the Comics Magazine Association of America hereby reaffirm our joint commitment to our shared principle: that comics carrying the Comics Code Seal be ones that a parent can purchase with confidence that the contents uphold basic American moral and cultural values.

Institutions

In general recognizable national, social, political, cultural, ethnic and racial groups, religious institutions, law enforcement authorities will be portrayed in a positive light. These include the government on the national, state, and municipal levels, including all of its numerous departments, agencies and services; law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the Secret Service, the CIA, etc.; the military, both United States and foreign; known religious organizations; ethnic advancement agencies; foreign leaders and representatives of other governments and national groups; and social groups identifiable by lifestyle, such as homosexuals, the economically disadvantaged, the economically privileged, the homeless, senior citizens, minors, etc.

Socially responsible attitudes will be favorably depicted and reinforced. Socially inappropriate, irresponsible, or illegal behavior will be shown to be specific actions of a specific individual or group of individuals, and not meant to reflect the routine activity of any general group of real persons. If, for dramatic purposes, it is necessary to portray such group of individuals in a negative manner, the name of the group and its individual members will be fictitious, and its activities will not be clearly identifiable with the routines activities of any real group.

Stereotyped images and activities will be not used to degrade specific national, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups.

Langauge

The language in a comic book will be appropriate for a mass audience that includes children. Good grammar and spelling will be encouraged. Publishers will exercise good taste and a responsible attitude as to the use of language in their comics. Obscene and profane words, symbols, and gestures are prohibited.

References to physical handicaps, illnesses, ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences, religious beliefs, and race, when presented in a derogatory manner for dramatic purposes, will be shown to be unacceptable.

Violence

Violent actions or scenes are acceptable within the context of a comic book story when dramatically appropriate. Violent behavior will not be shown as acceptable. If it is presented in a realistic manner, care should be taken to present the natural repercussions of such actions. Publishers should avoid excessive levels of violence, excessively graphic depictions
of violence, and excessive bloodshed or gore. Publishers will not present detailed information instructing readers how to engage in immutable violent actions.

Characterizations

Character portrayals will be carefully crafted and show sensitivity to national, ethnic, religious, sexual, political and socioeconomic orientations.

If it is dramatically appropriate for one character to demean another because of his or her sex, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, political orientation, socioeconomic disadvantages should never assign ultimate responsibility for these conditions to the character themselves. Heroes should be role models and should reflect the prevailing social attitudes.

Substance abuse

Healthy, wholesome lifestyles will be presented as desirable. However, the use and abuse of controlled substances, legal and illicit, are facts of modern existence, and may be portrayed when dramatically appropriate.

The consumption of alcohol, narcotics, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco will not be depicted in a glamorous way. When the line between the normal, responsible consumption of legal substances and the abuse of these substances is crossed, the distinction will be made clear and the adverse consequences of such abuse will be noted.

Substance abuse is defined as the use of illicit drugs and the self-destructive use of such products as tobacco (including chewing tobacco), alcohol, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, etc.

Use of dangerous substances both legal and illegal should be shown with restraint as necessary to the context of the story. However, storylines should not be detailed to the point of serving as instruction manuals for substance abuse. In each story, the abuser will be shown to pay the physical, mental and/or social penalty for his or her abuse.

Crime

While crimes and criminals may be portrayed for dramatic purposes, crimes will never presented in such a way as to inspire readers with a desire to imitate them nor will criminals be portrayed in such a manner as to inspire readers to emulate them.  Stories will not present unique imitable techniques or methods of committing crimes.

Attire and sexuality

Costumes in a comic book will be considered to be acceptable if they fall within the scope of contemporary styles and fashions.

Scenes and dialog involving adult relationships will be presented with good taste, sensitivity, and in a manner which will be considered acceptable by a mass audience. Primary human sexual characteristics will never be shown. Graphic sexual activity will never be depicted.

Administrative procedure

Article I:

All comics which member publishers wish to bear the Comics Code Seal will be submitted to the code administrator for review prior to publication. The administrator will review them according to the guidance he has received from the permanent committee and will either approve them to bear the seal, or return them to the publisher with comments. The responsible editor from the publisher will either revise the comic in accordance with those comments, or discuss with the administrator the concerns raised with him and reach agreement on how the comic can properly bear the Code Seal either without being revised or within a mutually-agreeable set of alternative revisions. In the event no agreement can be reached between the editor and the administrator, the matter can be referred to the permanent committee, which will act promptly to determine if, or under what conditions, the comic in question can bear the Code Seal. Decisions of the permanent committee will be
binding on the publishers, who agree not to place the Code Seal on any comic on which it is not authorized.

Article II:

The members of the Comics Magazine Association of America include publishers who elect to publish comics that are not intended to bear the Code Seal, and that therefore need not go through the approval process described above. Among the comics in this category may be titles intended for adult readers. Member publishers hereby affirm that we will distribute these publications only through distribution channels in which it is possible to notify retailers and distributors of their content, and thus help the publications reach their intended audiences. The member publishers agree to refrain from distributing these publications through those distribution channels that, like the traditional newsstand, are serviced by individuals who are unaware of the content of specific publications before placing them on display.

Article III:

Recognizing that no document can address all of the complex issues and concerns that face our changing society, the member publishers have established a permanent committee composed of the senior editor of each member’s staff. The committee will meet regularly to review those issues and concerns as they affect our publications, and to meet with the guide and administrator of the Comics Code, and will replace the previous written guidelines of the Comics Code.

Source for the material is Amy Kiste Nyberg’s Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code (Studies in Popular Culture Series).

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