Tygers in the Damndest Places

--> Literature can encounter us in the damndest places. The preset notion is it  is guaranteed to find us within the confines of a class, a library, maybe the Internet (when we close down Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, etc). My predisposition was that literature is there when I am looking for it. I never thought I would encounter it in the midst of watching cartoons. However, Fox Network proved me very wrong, though I would come to realize it until this week.

          While watching Batman: the Animated Series back in 1992, I encountered a strangely hypnotic poem that held fast in my mind. I can still hear Kevin Conroy, voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the series, saying the opening lines to William Blake’s poem “The Tyger.” I was thirteen at the time and had no idea who William Blake was, but the words: “Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright / in the forest of the night” haunted both my waking and sleeping dreams for years after.

            Twenty-two years later, I can’t tell you much about the episode itself. Those words, however, still give me chills. I have quoted the first couplet countless times over the last two decades and I was pleasantly surprised that the remaining line similarly spellbound me. I read it aloud to my partner several times over the last two days, trying to find the proper way to intone each syllable. I suppose, some part of me hoped that if I did it right, I might encounter a “tyger” of my own, forged wholly by the words set down by Blake 220 years ago (I also can’t help notice the similarities in the years since I first encountered the poem, and when the world first encountered it). Alas, no “tyger” has graced my apartment, or my car, or the hallways and byways I travel during the day. I still haven’t relented in my desire to find the proper method to read this poem. 

            I have to admit, despite my love for the English language and the methods by which it can be used to evoke emotions, images, and experiences that seem to transcend barriers like time and space, I have never held much enthusiasm for poetry. At times, I have found individual poems that will jump out at me and grab on to some part of my mind (or rather my heart or soul) and just resonate with me. And this is one such poem. Not only has it remained firmly engrained in my mind longer than many of my fellow classmates have been alive, it has never ceased to move my and excite my mind, heart and soul.  It reminds me to keep my ear out – whether I am watching a cartoon, surfing the ‘net, or talking with folks, Literature is out there and it will find you in the damndest places.

(Batman: the Animated Series, Episode 42, “Tyger, Tyger.” First aired October 30, 1992)

Holding Out For A Hero

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strong

And he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light

He's gotta be sure

And it's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life

When I was younger, I knew I was different from other kids. As I have shared before, I didn’t know I was gay. Instead, I just understood that there was something inside me that made me different from my friends and family. I thought that meant that I was a wizard, a great knight of old, and for a while I thought it meant I was a vampire.

When I got to be about 10 or so, I started checking out comic books.  Not the Archie comics they sell next to Reader’s Digest. Instead, I was drawn to the colored pages of comics like Uncanny X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Avengers. There was just something about the Marvel comics that captivated me for years. It wasn’t until Spawn #1 that I even strayed from Marvel titles.

Reading stories about mutants, folks that were different from most of Earth's inhabitants, made me happy. Despite a constant sense of depression (discussed in a prior post), these comics brought light into my world of darkness. It made me feel that there was a place for me. I hoped that the feeling of being different might mean that I could develop cool super powers (they never developed damn it). But it gave me something that, at the time, I didn’t understand. But now as an adult, I realize that it made me feel normal.

When I started to identify that I was in fact gay (or the first stages of accepting it), I started to look for gay characters in the media I enjoyed. I was 16 at that point. I had heard about Northstar, the first gay super hero in Marvel’s line. I checked out some Alpha Flight comics. He wasn’t really an appealing character to me. Maybe I just don't understand Canadians? I just never really had any connection to the character.

As time has gone by, more characters within the Marvel universe have come out. Some of my favorite gay characters are Colossus (from the Ultimate Universe), Wiccan and Hulkling. I feel a strong connection with these three characters. Colossus is a Big Guy and just happens to be gay. Wiccan and Hulkling, despite being teenagers, have one of the best relationships I have seen in comic books. Admittedly, my husband and I kind of remind me of these two (sans mutant powers that is).  

My husband also chanced upon the revelation that Rictor and Shatterstar are also queer. The squeal of excitement that he made in the comic store when he saw the kiss still stands out in my mind as a reason why I love him so much.

I am excited about DC's announcement that Green Lantern, Alan Scott, would be reintroduced as a gay man.  In addition, June also sees Northstar marrying his longtime boyfriend Kyle. Good timing, comic book companies, as June is Gay Pride Month.

For a comprehensive list of Queer characters, check out queersupe.com

So who is your favorite gay super hero? Do you think those spandex-clad characters might all be a bit homoerotic? Let me know what you think.