Marvel’s Iceman Cometh Out; New York Times, 11/5/15

George Gen Gustines, New York Times; Marvel’s Iceman Cometh Out:

"Mr. Alonso said the feedback has been largely positive. On one side are the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers “who are looking to see their reflection in our characters,” he said. But there are also critics. “Some readers see this as opportunism, but I can assure you it is not,” he added.

Comic books are no strangers to gay heroes. When the mutant hero Northstar came out in 1992, the news was praised in an editorial in The New York Times: “Comics have often explored new terrain, conferring hero status on groups that society in general had stereotyped in peripheral roles.” Since then, many more gay, lesbian and bisexual champions have been introduced.

With this turn of events, Iceman may be the most high-profile gay hero, though that can be like debating who is stronger, Thor or Superman?...

Iceman’s first appearance was in 1963. “He is a perennial character,” Mr. Alonso said. And one with significant exposure outside of comics, including an animated series with Spider-Man and portrayal in the popular X-Men films.

“This fulfilled our mandate to reflect the world outside the window,” Mr. Alonso said. “We wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t make sense.”"

Perry Moore, Author of Book About Gay Superhero, Dies at 39; New York Times, 2/19/11

Dennis Hevesi, New York Times; Perry Moore, Author of Book About Gay Superhero, Dies at 39:

"Perry Moore, an executive producer of the fantasy movie series “The Chronicles of Narnia” and the author of “Hero,” a book about a gay superhero, died on Thursday after being found unconscious in his Greenwich Village apartment. He was 39...

But Mr. Moore, who was gay, had a more personal mission: although he was glad that comic books had been introducing gay superheroes for some time, he wanted to see them portrayed in a better light. What particularly disturbed him was the death of Northstar, a member of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, whose announcement in a Marvel comic book that he was gay made headlines in 1992. In 2005 Northstar was killed by a brainwashed Wolverine. Mr. Moore said he felt that the murder of Marvel’s biggest gay hero by one of its most popular characters had sent the wrong message.

He began giving speeches in which he cited his own research showing that more than 60 gay and lesbian comic-book characters had been ignored, maimed or murdered."