Guest crandamaniac Report post Posted December 12, 2002 NEW YORK - The Rawhide Kid, a longtime Marvel Comics character, is coming out of the closet next year. A new story line will reveal the Kid's keen fashion sense - including a stylish leather outfit - in what one Marvel editor boasted would be ``the first gay Western.'' The Kid's orientation, along with his white gloves and a white cowboy hat fashioned from Canadian beaver pelts, will be unveiled this February in a Marvel Comics adult imprint series called ``Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather.'' Marvel is the home of more old-school comics like Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk. The Kid made his debut in 1955, when comic book sexuality was not an issue and Marvel was looking to cash in on the success of the classic TV show ``Rawhide.'' The times have certainly changed. ``It's not a book solely for a gay readership,'' said Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief at Marvel. ``Who watches `Will and Grace'? Everybody I know. This is the same. If you like a good story and a good laugh, this is for you.'' In keeping with the light theme, the writer will be Ron Zimmerman, a frequent guest on the Howard Stern radio show and a television writer. Artist John Severin, who worked on the original Rawhide Kid, will handle the drawing. The Rawhide character will not walk out of the closet and into a saloon - not that there's anything wrong with that. ``He doesn't come out and say he's gay,'' explained Quesada. ``But it's obvious through his actions and the things he says that his preference is men, not women.'' Part of the comedic slant will come in the Rawhide Kid's asides to the reader after the townsfolk can't quite figure out what makes the gunslinger ... different. In his previous incarnation, the Rawhide Kid was very shy around women. Nothing about that will change in the new version. Among the clues to the Kid's sexuality will include his reaction to other characters from the comic book, including Wild Bill Hickok and The Lone Ranger. ``I think that mask and powder-blue outfit are fantastic,'' he says of the Ranger. ``I can certainly see why that Indian follows him around. This certainly is weird Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest starvenger Report post Posted December 12, 2002 This seems like a win-win situation for Marvel. They'll get a pop in issue 1 sales from the publicity, which is good for the bottom line. And if sales are good, then it's icing on the cake. If it fails, they can write it off as an experiment in trying something slightly off the beaten path. Mind you, if they do something colossally stupid - like have 2 fat Samoans do a run in - then it could hurt them in the long run, but I don't think Marvel is that stupid. Still, anything's possible... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted December 12, 2002 This'll be awful. No one has ever given a shit about the Rawhide Kid, and they're basically playing this like Ambiguously Gay Comic Book Hero. It's retarded. If you're going to do something expressly with the purpose of having a gay lead character, don't make it a stereotype right off the bat or you're going to have a looooong way to go before anyone takes it seriously at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vyce Report post Posted December 12, 2002 Oh God. It's a comedy. If this was an actual dramatic look at beinga homosexual cowboy in the Wild West, than maybe it'd spark my interest But they got Zimmerman writing it, and I just know that it's going to wind up as some sort of sphagetti western version of "Will & Grace". You know, Zimmerman once tried to commit suicide. Pity he failed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest converge241 Report post Posted December 12, 2002 youll know theyll screw it up too anytime someone says "it's our Will and Grace" or something like that, it just degenerates into stereotypes or parody why not a northstar series if they insist on doing this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
