George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight | Yup, Alan Scott (The Original Green Lantern) Is Gay

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Yup, Alan Scott (The Original Green Lantern) Is Gay

June 1, 2012

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DC Comics announced a while back that one of their major characters is gay, and that his sexual orientation would be a part of the storyline in a forthcoming issue. Today, they revealed that the character in question is Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. Scott made his first appearance way back in July 1940, but the character has been reworked as part of a comic book series called "Earth 2".

In the second issue, out next week, Scott will appear as part of the Justice Society. The book won't feature a "coming out" moment - according to writer James Robinson, "he doesn't come out. He's gay when we see him in issue two." Robinson also points out that the fact that the character is gay is not the primary focus of the book: "This guy, he's a media mogul, a hero, a dynamic type-A personality and he's gay. He's a complex character".

DC's decision is part of a bigger trend - the recently released Astonishing X-Men #50 from Marvel features Canadian character Northstar proposing to his boyfriend (check out a review of that issue right here), and Archie Comics featured a gay wedding for Kevin Keller last year.

Not everyone's happy about the slate of gay characters in comics: following DC's original announcement, the American Family Association-affiliated group One Million Moms said in a statement, "They want to indoctrinate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light". Speaking with USA Today, Robinson seemingly rebutted that statement: "Presenting that kind of a heroic role model hopefully will be a good thing and help to show gays in a positive light for people who might be a little more small-minded".

If you want to check out a sneak preview of the 'Earth 2' issue, it's online right here.

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