LGBT Characters in Comics - Comic Strips

Comic Strips

Early comic strips also avoided overt treatment of gay issues, though examples of homosexual subtext have been identified. The 1938–1939 edition of Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates features a primary villain, Sanjak, who has been interpreted by some as a lesbian with designs on the hero's girlfriend.

The first widely distributed comic strip to tackle LGBT themes and include a gay character was Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury. The strip introduced the character Andy Lippincott in 1976, and his diagnosis with HIV in 1989 and AIDS related death in 1990 was the first representation of this issue in comic strips. This storyline led to a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Trudeau, but three newspapers of the 900 carrying the strip refused to publish it as being in bad taste. Two years later, the long-standing character Mark Slackmeyer was revealed to be gay, continuing a reputation for controversial content. Slackmeyer, a liberal, continues to feature in the strip, with focus on his relationship with his politically conservative partner, Chase, including their marriage in 1999 and separation in 2007.

The 11 July 1984 installment of Bloom County had the strip's main characters staying at Bob & Ernie’s Castro Street Hotel, run by a gay S&M couple.

When Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse explored the coming out of a teenaged character in 1993, it provoked a vigorous reaction from conservative groups. Readers opposed to homosexuality threatened to cancel newspaper subscriptions, and Johnston received hate mail and death threats towards herself and her family. Over 100 newspapers ran replacement strips or canceled the comic. One result of the storyline was that Johnston was made a jury-selected "nominated finalist" for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1994. The Pulitzer board said the strip "sensitively depicted a youth's disclosure of his homosexuality and its effect on his family and friends." Subsequent appearances of the character have not focused on his sexuality, and the creator has said that this will continue.

In most widely circulated strips, LGBT characters remained as supporting figures into the 21st century, with some, including Candorville and The Boondocks, featuring occasional appearances by gay characters. The conservative strip Mallard Fillmore occasionally approached gay issues from a critical perspective; these storylines have been described as "insulting" to LGBT people. Many openly gay and lesbian comic creators self-publish their work online as webcomics, giving them greater editorial freedom, and some of the strips are printed in collections. One example is Greg Fox's Kyle's Bed & Breakfast, a series focusing on a group of gay friends who live together and face realistic problems associated with their sexualities, including relationship troubles and being closeted.

Since the late 1980s specifically gay publications have also included comic strips, in which LGBT themes are ubiquitous. Local LGBT newspapers sometimes carry their own strips, like Ron Williams's Quarter Scenes in the New Orleans paper Impact. Strips including Wendel by Howard Cruse, and Leonard and Larry by Tim Barela, have been syndicated in national gay magazines like the Advocate.

One of the best known and longest-running LGBT comic strips, Dykes to Watch Out For, was written by Alison Bechdel – dubbed the "elder stateswomen of LGBT comics" – from 1983 to 2008. Dykes to Watch Out For is known for its social and political commentary and depictions of characters from all walks of life. Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic was lauded by many media outlets as among the best books of the year.

Other noted LGBT-themed comic strips have included Doc and Raider, The Chosen Family, Chelsea Boys and The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green. Ethan Green has also been adapted into a live-action feature film.