Underoos Are Back (In Adult Sizes)

Cosplay costume alert. Via IO9:

Right now, Hot Topic is selling seven sets — Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Captain America, He-Man and Skeletor — for just under $20 each (new Batman Underoos definitely exist, but they seem to be sold out online). Happily, besides being for kids and adults, that's a 50/50 split of characters for guys and gals. I suspect — and I certainly hope — that this is just a trial run to see how they sell, and that more will come. If so, given how many licenses Hot Topic carries, do you know what we kind of Underoos we could possibly get if we're lucky? Deadpool! Transformers! Supernatural! Halo! Harry Potter! Rocky Horror Picture Show! THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS AND AWESOME.

The brand first launched in 1977.

Archie Comics: Archie To Die After Taking Bullet For His Gay Friend Kevin Keller

Mashable has the story:

Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay best friend. The famous freckle-faced comic book icon is meeting his demise in Wednesday's installment of "Life with Archie" when he intervenes in an assassination attempt on Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character. Andrews' death, which was first announced in April, will mark the conclusion of the series that focuses on grown-up renditions of Andrews and his Riverdale pals. "The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO. " He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. It's what Archie has come to represent over the past almost 75 years." Keller's character first joined Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones and Reggie Mantle in the Archie Comics spin-off "Veronica" in 2010. He later appeared in his own solo title. In "Life with Archie," Keller is a married military veteran and newly elected senator who's pushing for more gun control in Riverdale after his husband was involved in a shooting.

The wingnuts are gonna scream. (Tipped by JMG reader Murray)

Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Responds After Some Papers Refuse To Run Comics

Yesterday's Dilbert comic strip outed the long-running Indian intern character Asok in panels that criticized India's recent recriminaliztion of homosexuality. As several JMG readers noted, the gay-themed strip did not appear in some newspapers around the country, where older strips were rerun. The Sandusky Register yesterday wrote about the substitution:

Today and Saturday, the syndicate distributing “Dilbert” — in an unusual move — sent the Register two sets of comic strips. The main strip, intended for publication, features topics such as homosexuality, war and politics. The alternative strips exclude any talk of these matters. A two-day series essentially mocks a recent Indian Supreme Court decision to make homosexual behavior illegal. The Register decided to print the strips with controversial themes — the ones Adams and others intended for publication.

Adams wrote about the flap on his blog:

Today Asok the intern came out. Tomorrow he’ll have some things to say about the so-called government of India. Cue the inevitable cries of “Stop being political! You’re ruining Dilbert!” Allow me to address that right now. It’s only political if there’s someone on the other side of the debate. In this case, no one favors a government deciding which sexual acts among consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes are allowed and which are punishable by jail. If I am wrong, and you favor the government restricting what kind of sex you can have with another consenting adult, please proudly state your case. I’m listening. Cue cricket sounds…

Here is today's follow-up strip.

Dilbert Mocks Indian Anti-Gay Law

Today's Dilbert comic strip mocks India's recent recriminalization of homosexuality via the strip's Indian intern character Asok, who first appeared in 1996 and is now, apparently, openly gay. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

How To Suck At Your Religion

Go read the full thing at The Oatmeal.  And don't miss the final line at the bottom.

xkcd

Teach The Children About Hammertime

I actually do remember JFK's assassination rather vividly and I was only four years old. Source.

Oatmeal: How To Suck At Your Religion

Click over for more great Oatmeal panels on this theme.

The Final Life In Hell

The continuing demise of print has claimed another victim, Matt Groening's seemingly eternal Life In Hell strip, in which cavorted Jeff and Akbar, the gay "lovers or brothers or both, whatever offends you the most."

"Life in Hell” actually earned Groening his big break in Hollywood. It started running in Wet Magazine in 1978, then moved to the now-defunct LA Reader, where Groening worked. The strip eventually made its way to LA Weekly. Its popularity grew, amassing a client list of more than 250 papers, when producer Polly Platt noticed “Life in Hell” and showed it to actor/producer James L. Brooks. Brooks contacted Groening and wanted him to develop a series of “bumpers” based on “Life in Hell” for “The Tracey Ullman Show.” Groening was a bit apprehensive at the thought of handing over the rights to his characters, so he created the Simpsons to fill the slot.

At its final publication last Friday, Life In Hell was only appearing in 40 papers. Now to dig out my Jeff and Akbar t-shirt, circa 1988.

Green Lantern's Gay Lip-Lock

As predicted, Green Lantern is gay. More preview panels are at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

Green Lantern Is Gay

So says this guy.

Batman Is Gay

"Gayness is built into Batman. I’m not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There’s just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he’s intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay. All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him. He doesn’t care — he’s more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid." - Action Comics writer Grant Morrison, speaking to Playboy Magazine.

Mitt Romney Or Charlie Bucket?

From xkcd.

Safer Sex Comic From France

Via Copyranter.

I Hate That I Get This

Therefore, mission accomplished. Source.

Bee Yourself

Archie Comic Gets Gay Character

After running for 69 years, the venerable Archie comic has added a gay character.

"We're trying to reflect society and we're just trying to show Riverdale is a diverse place," says Dan Parent, the artist-writer behind the series. Kevin Keller makes his debut in September in "Veronica" No. 202, on sale in September, as a hunky new kid who catches the raven-haired vixen's eye. Though Veronica is used to getting her way, she's finally run up against a boy who's immune to her charms. Cue the hijinks. Parent says he hopes the positive message will offend as few people as possible, but adverse conservative reaction "was not a reason not to do the story." Archie Comics Co-CEO Jon Goldwater said in the few hours since the official announcement his voice mail has been overwhelmed with messages - mostly in support of the company's decision.

Freepers react:
-Wow, those faggots are really taking over.
-An extremely marginal and diseased viewpoint.
-Giving the Arabs yet another reason to seek nuclear weapons...
-Maybe the new character will get himself some JugHead.

Sworn To Protect A World That Hates And Fears Them

The New York Times visits a NYC meeting of gay guys who like to dress up as superheroes.

This is Skin Tight U.S.A., the occasional costume-fetish party held at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, which draws a regular group of men (and their admirers) who enjoy a special kind of dress-up. Some wear heroic outfits; some, wrestling gear. The crowd can range from 25 people on an average night to 250 on a spectacular one. The common thread is that the muscle-cuddling garb often leaves little to the imagination. “I was always attracted to the superhero physique,” said Matthew Levine, 31, who helped found the party in 2005 with Andrew Owen, 44, and who was one of the few participants willing to be named. The two become friends as, respectively, the graphic designer and Webmaster for Hard Comixxx, a predecessor of Skin Tight, once held at the Eagle bar in Chelsea. Mr. Levine is a big fan of the X-Men (who have a handful of gay characters) and the Transformers (all of whom seem straight) and has been reading comics since he was 8. “As I got older,” he said, “I realized, ‘Oh, this is why I admire the Grecian ideal of manhood and musculature.’ ”

Skin Tight USA slideshow here.

RELATED: Stan Lee is working on bringing a gay superhero to the big screen after Showtime backed out of their option on the character.

UPDATE: The New York Press is wondering about the bulge in the above photo.

Rise Of The Pink Ninjas

JMG reader Sean McGrath sends us a comic made by him and some friends titled Rise Of The Pink Ninjas (PDF). If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll find comic versions of Rob Tinisai, Pam Spaulding, Dan Choi, and...me! A way too hot and musclebound me, but I'm not complaining about that. Thanks guys! And ooh-wee, what y'all did to Maggie Gallagher!

Captain Picard Proposes

(Via - Comic Alliance)