Astonishing X-Men #51 covers

[suzene]

Yes, they're pretty enough that I'm actually stirring myself to make a post.




The standard cover by Dustin Weaver:


The Phil Noto "Create Your Own" variant (which is depressing on so many levels):



And the variant by Marko Djurdjevic:




I may be looking forward to this event just a tad.

Comments

[his_spiffynesss]

So...

Last year, Archie makes news with the introduction of Kevin Keller...

Back in February Archie releases Life with Archie #9 featuring the wedding of Kevin Heller....

A few months ago, Marvel announces the wedding of Northstar, and now we have pictures...

A few days ago DC announces they are going to have one of their major characters come out as gay...

So when exactly did Archie become the cutting edge of the comics industry
?

[suzene]

If it causes the Big Two to actually remember to give their queer characters some exposure beyond the defensive "No, we're very committed to diversity! See how may queer C-listers we have in Limbo" BS, I'll not complain overmuch.

[flidgetjerome]

I wish they'd remember their queer C-listers in Limbo a little more, actually. I can't believe Freedom Ring isn't back from the dead yet.

[suzene]

I sometimes wonder if Marvel's just embarrassed by how that played out. (Which they should be, but damn, they should at least try to make it right.)

[auggie18]

It was a really fun story. I got caught up in it later and really enjoyed it until he died.

Good story, weak, weeeeeak ending.

[suzene]

And at the time, Joe Quesada was touting Freedom Ring as Marvel's great, brand new non-Northstar gay character, isn't that great, see how diverse our stable of characters is --

*splurch!*

...nothing to see here, folks, move along.

[dewinged]

If I remember right, Quesada said that, and the issue where Freedom Ring died came out the next day.

The timing...just...wow.

[suzene]

I'm still not convinced Quesada didn't know it was coming. As EIC, the guy was a professional troll.

[dewinged]

You mean 'Is' not 'Was,' right? ;)

And if he did know it was coming, that makes him look even worse.

[suzene]

He's been (comparatively) quiet since his promotion out of the EIC spot, so I'm sticking with 'was'. ;) Alonso is no less a hype man (comes with the job description), but he's less of an antagonistic ass.

[dewinged]

Which isn't that hard to do, actually. ;)

Though, I really want to say to the big two something like 'Wake me when you bring WiccanHulkling, Obsidian/Damon, and Grace/Thunder back.'

[bruinsfan]

Yeah, it largely requires one to not be Harlan Ellison.

[his_spiffynesss]

Not that I'm complaining, I just find the idea of Marvel and DC having to play catch up with Archie just too damn funny.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

I have no idea, but those "Archie Gets Married" AUs are amazingly-written, Kevin Keller is pretty damn fun to read about (well, for an Archie character), and I wonder when the hell I wandered into the Bizarroverse.