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Pride Month Recommendation 5 - supporting cast

the X-Statix TeamI really had planned to only do the 4 earlier posts, but it's Pride Month and I still have other things I can recommend that don't really fall into any of the earlier categories.

This post will be about books that have LGBTQ characters in the supporting cast. Basically the books I'm going to mention have LGBTQ characters who have a decent story (often with a coming out story), but don't drive the story over all. Sometimes that means they have one major scene and are just there supporting and being supported over the course of the series or sometimes their role is more prominent at times than others, but again their story doesn't dominate the series as it's not really about them.

Make sense? I hope so. Now onto the recommendations:

X-Force/X-Statix by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred - Sadly the only way this is available at the moment is in an over-large Omnibus edition which many libraries would be reluctant to lend out due to cost and the fact that they tend to easily damage when they get that big. Also, while this title is amazing, it doesn't have huge name recognition, which is just sad, so it may not circulate much without pushing it. So all that said, this is still a great gem of a title and still relevant for our times today (maybe even more so). The title started off as X-Force, as the title was winding down and Milligan was given the ability to do whatever he wanted. He created a reality TV mutant superhero team that was completely and utterly expendable and proved that point by slaughtering the majority of the team in the first issue in a rescue attempt gone bad. Sadly that means the X-Force's first gay member, Bloke, was taken out too, but fear not.. over the course of the series new characters come in to fill in the ranks as members die off. Yes the body count on this title is rather high. Members Phat, William Robert "Billy-Bob" Reilly, and Vivisector, Myles Alfred realize that their powers aren't as flashy and they aren't as cool or popular as their teammates. To combat this, they decide they are going to fake a relationship and fake coming out, which escalates into them actually coming out and actually having a short lived relationship. They had a few moments to shine as a couple and then individually before the end of the series.

 SpotiZombie by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred - this comes in 4 individual trades (Dead to the World, uVampire, Six Feet Under and Rising, and Repossessions) or one large Omnibus. First of all, I think I have to admit that I'm a huge fan of Mike Allred's art, so you'll probably see his name a few more times in the future. It's just so pretty. Second of all, this series is absolutely nothing like the TV show on any level except that Liv Moore kinda looks like Gwen Dylan and they both get memories from brains. That's it. The supporting cast, concept, and well everything is completely different. Gwen Dylan is a zombie with best friends Ellie, a 1960's Ghost, and Scott aka Spot, a wereterrier. Gwen begins to learn some secrets about who she is and what she really is while also dealing with insane things that happen including the end of the world. But the LGBTQ characters in this are Spot and Gwen's brother, Gavin. Spot has a really great story and a solid coming out as a geeky guy who always just assumed he liked girls (and thought he had a crush on Gwen) until he has to realize that he's really not into girls. There is also some funny coming out scenes as Spot comes out to his friends as gay.. and a wereterrier. Gavin's story is a little more complex, but all ends pretty happy with Gavin and Spot dating.

Batgirl by Gail Simone and various artists and Batgirl by Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher, and Babs Tarr - This is a rather long and crazy series and not without some controversy all around. There are 8 total trades in this The Darkest Reflection, Knightfall Descends, Death of the Family, Wanted, and Deadline with Gail Simone as the writer and then Batgirl of Burnside, Family Business, and Mindfields by Cameron and the gang. Alysia Yoeh is introduced immediately in Gail Simone's run and comes out as a transwoman shortly after. She remains as Barbara Gordon's (aka Batgirl) roommate until the new team takes over. At that point, the title takes a turn and becomes a lot less serious and Babs herself becomes more flirty, fun, and a tad reckless. Alysia becomes more of a background character at this point, but is eventually married during this half of the series. As I stated before, there is some controversy about this series though. First people felt that Barbara Gordon had changed during Burnside phase of Cameron and crew's run. They didn't like how she felt younger and less serious than previous incarnations. Second, shortly into the Burnside run there was a reveal that one a villain was pretending to be Batgirl. Babs struggles to confront the new flashier Batgirl and it is revealed that the fake Batgirl is actually a guy in drag. Bab's reaction to the reveal was deemed transphobic because of this and the creators stated they would change it when it was collected in trades (and it has been), but still some people may be upset over the initial print version.

Please not again, this is in no way a definitive list. Just a few recommendations on my mind. There are tons more out there and probably some I've forgotten. I always forget some, but they'll pop up later somewhere I can tell you that.

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