Broken Frontier

As the conversation comes to a close, Allan Heinberg discusses his reaction to the early outing of the two Young Avengers Hulkling and Wiccan (the superteen formerly known as Asgardian) while Neil Figuracion wonders why it’s so controversial.

Part 3 - The Inevitable Questions About Gayness and Comics

BF: It must have been surprising that readers clued in to Hulkling and Asgardian's relationship so quickly. Why do you feel readers would be so keen on outing their potential gayness as to declare it after a mere glance?

AH: I have to admit, the reader response to that single panel in YA #1 took me completely by surprise. But comic book readers are incredibly perceptive and understand that when the artist and writer devote an entire panel to a single shared glance, that glance must have some storytelling significance. We hadn't planned to address Hulkling and Asgardian's relationship until well into the first year, but after the enthusiastic response to that panel, we were able to integrate their relationship into the fabric of the book much earlier.

BF: Wiccan's "coming out" to his parents almost reflects the way that fans just assumed it. Would it really be easier to come out of the closet as gay than to come out of the closet as a superhero?

AH: Not in most families, no. Not by any stretch of the imagination. When I was growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, being gay was probably the worst possible thing you could be. Most of the parents of the kids I went to school with would probably have preferred their kids become convicted criminals than well-adjusted gay men and women.

And though I'm heartened that shows like Sex & The City, Queer Eye, and Will & Grace have now become accepted parts of this country's pop-cultural landscape, many of the letters we've received about Young Avengers suggest that there are many, many people out there who still regard homosexuality as a choice and a character flaw. The amount of ignorance and fear in this country is staggering. That said, however, most of the mail we've received has been overwhelmingly supportive.

BF: Even for an understanding set of parents, coming out can be quite a bombshell. From a dramatic point of view, why did you make it so easy for Billy's parents to pick up on and accept his gayness and his relationship with Teddy?

AH: Part of it was about subverting expectations and not wanting to write a scene I felt I'd already seen many, many times before. Also, Billy's parents are extremely well adjusted, Upper West Side doctors. She's a therapist, and he's a cardiologist, so I thought if anyone's going to have a solid grasp of human sexuality, it would be the Kaplan's. And finally, I guess it was my hope that in seeing Billy's parents lovingly accept his sexuality, readers might be inspired to have similarly loving reactions if ever faced with that particular moment.

BF: As an out gay man, and a prominent new writer in comics, what about your experience informs your comics writing?

AH: All of my life experience informs my writing. I try to bring as much of myself as I can to whatever it is I'm writing. I can't help it. If I can't find find an extremely personal way into a story or a character, I simply can't write it. It's just the way I'm built. Look at Young Avengers: I'm a huge comic book fan, so the Young Avengers are comics fans. I'm an openly gay man, so Hulkling and Wiccan are, too. I love Jessica Jones, so Jessica Jones is a huge part of the book. My issues with my parents are similar to the kids' issues. That way I stay personally connected to every aspect of the book and writing never becomes a job. It's an essential part of who I am.

BF: Aside from tokenism, why is it valuable to have a gay character in a comic book? What do they bring to the table?

AH: I don't know that it IS valuable to have a gay character in the book just for the sake of having one. It's more important to me to try to create a compelling, interesting character who just happens to be gay. Or black. Or white. Diversity is essential, but the minute characters become defined by their gayness or their blackness or whatever it is that makes them "diverse", they cease to become interesting. At least to me.

BF: How do you feel about the way mainstream comics have treated their gay characters?

AH: Writers like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, and Mike Carey have all done (and continue to do) incredible work with gay and lesbian characters. But let's face it, most mainstream comics are less concerned with relationship dynamics than they are with huge superhero battles, so sexuality of any sort becomes very much beside the point.

BF: It's troubling that after decades of comics coming out stories (like Northstar or the Pied Piper) that there's still an element of the comics fanbase who who'd rather stop reading a favorite book than to admit there's a gay character. What do you have to say to those fans? Have you had any nasty fan encounters?

AH: I've had some harsh letters (most of which we've run in the YA letters column), but no nasty encounters as of yet. And while it makes me sad to lose readers, Young Avengers is not for everyone. It is what it is. Hulkling and Wiccan are who they are. And if their being gay makes people drop the book, then those people shouldn't be reading Young Avengers in the first place.

BF: While it may be nice that the Young Avengers letter column has been busting at the seams, when the arguing ends what would you want the fans to be discussing? What elements of the book have been overshadowed by the controversy?

AH: In my opinion, the letters we've run in YA have been some of the most interesting, passionate, articulate letters I've ever read in any comic book. Not just about the representation of homosexuality in comics, but about the nature and purpose of art itself. And I feel very privileged that we've been able to provide a forum for that kind of discussion.

That said, I never get tired of people talking about how incredible Jim Cheung, John Dell, and Justin Ponsor are.

BF: What new projects are coming up for you, in or out of comics?

AH: I'm currently developing an hour-long drama for Touchstone and ABC. And I'm writing a movie script, as well.

BF: Is there anything else you'd like to share with your fans?

AH: My undying gratitude to our readers for picking up Young Avengers every month and giving us an outlet to continue to tell these characters' stories.

End Part 3