GAY: There’s a list on the internet for you to disagree with!

Despite a rather packed schedule I took some time over the last two weeks to participate in Andrew Wheeler’s survey of characters who are inspiring to the queer community, which is now online over at Comics Alliance. Go read it! I’m quoted directly saying a few words about Kevin Keller, Diesel Sweeties, and Maurice Vellekoop.

Andrew’s been a bit upset about the reaction in the comments because the first responders to the article weren’t terribly kind to it. Apparently, despite the fact that two-dozen queer comics creators and other people in and around the comics industry picked their favourites and Andrew spent probably 5 or 6 hours sorting it, tallying it, and then writing up each selection (with a few lines from the rest of us thrown in for good measure), this list is invalidated by its absences and invalidated by its choices. Ah, and its headline, since clarified.

Frankly, I expect a lot better out of the comments section on Comics Alliance!

I don’t particularly like numbered lists and was skeptical about participating because of that–I had a head time ranking the importance of Apollo and the Midnighter against Fun Home, for example–but I was able to get over myself by asking myself the following question; “So what the fuck are you going to do about it?”

The answer of course is nothing, because who’d be mental enough to spend two weeks e-mailing 30 people, sorting and tallying their responses, and then writing up an article about it? Particularly for a bunch of QUEER characters and stories, the kind that get ever-so-much attention from the rest of the comics industry? Nothing and no one, but my friend Andrew Wheeler, so of course I helped out in whatever way I could.

So, Andrew, thanks for celebrating queer characters & stories on one of the best read comics websites with the biggest bunch of assholes in the comments sections, particularly because I don’t recall any other comics website doing anything for pride week this week (and of course, perhaps I missed it… feel free to correct me in the comments). While pointing out that the sad state of commenters is not simply confined to your article may not make you feel 100% better, I do hope that you’ll take a measure of solace from the fact that CBR wrote an article about gay couples throughout comics history last week and the same sorts of people showed up in the comments to bitch that there wasn’t enough on the moutherfuckin’ Legion.

Seriously, no one cares about the Legion. It’s fucking boring.

– Christopher

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