And The Newly-Outed Gay Character In DC Comics Is…

Improperly-opened champagne bottles are a must for any blackest night.

Last month DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio said they would be revealing that a “prominent” character is gay. We had our guesses, and I’m tempted to scream a Nikki Finke style TOLDJA, but now we know the official answer. Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, just got a little more fabulous. The comics publishers really love making the blond, lantern-jawed ones gay.

Today several major outlets are posting the news that Alan Scott will be gay in the Earth 2 issue in US and Canadian stores next week. We have a preview below. In addition, Bleeding Cool has a great roundup of quotes from the articles released so far. Here’s a condensed version:

“He’s very much the character he was. He’s still the pinnacle of bravery and idealism. He’s also gay,” Earth 2 writer James Robinson told The Post. [...] Robinson said he decided to make the change because making the character young again meant erasing Scott’s gay superhero son out of existence. “The only downside of his being young was we lose his son, Obsidian, who’s gay. So I thought, ‘Why not make Alan Scott gay?’” [NY Post]

“What I really want to do with this character is make the fact that he’s gay to be a part of who he is and not to be the one identifying aspect of him,” Robinson says. “And have his humor and his bravery be as much or more a part of him as his sexuality.” [USA Today]

“There is another [gay] character down the line, but that character won’t be appearing for some time, so it’s probably a bit too early to talk about that, but this book will definitely have a diverse cast. Alan Scott won’t be the only gay character in Earth 2, I promise you that.” [Robinson speaking to The Advocate]

I can’t say I’m surprised. Alan Scott didn’t seem uncomfortable about being taken to that gay bar, after all.

Below are a few actual panels from the comic, instead of the “artist’s rendering” above. Don’t ask why I have a naked guy popping champagne in my “artist’s rendering” file. I’m a fancy blogger doing important blogger things.

Earth 2 preview via USA Today. It’s taking all my willpower not to make a flamer joke about that last panel. My gay card might be revoked if I said it, and it’s such a pain in the ass to get it renewed.