Chrisonomicon

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Get ready to slap leather! That loveable red-headed scamp is back! And no one handles a hot rod like the Rawhide Kid!

Here-here for Marvel, comic book pioneer, for their brave venture into the world of gunslingers, gunslingers and Tom of Finland:

Although shy with girls, the original Rawhide Kid was not intended to be gay. The new version uses double entendres and euphemisms to reveal his homosexuality without saying anything explicitly. Based on a blurb on Marvel's Web site, the tone may be campy.

While this isn't their first openly gay character, it's made CNN headlines, the New York Post, and my Christmas wishlist, as it smacks of my favorite Louisiana hangout . Although Neale makes a good point -- "this comic will simply re-enforce all the worst possible stereotypes about gay men to impressionable teenagers" -- I doubt teenagers who end up reading the Rawhide Kid will be any more adversely affected by these themes than teens who are exposed to the over-sexualized men and women in straight counterparts. A great move by Marvel, in my opinion, and one that should not only bring marketability to a character forty years in the dust jacket, but also push Marvel deeper into a niche market that neither it nor any other media outlet has yet to fully penetrate.

How's that for double entendres?