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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 131160
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 1:32am | IP Logged | 1
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Found this in an article about “Marvel’s first Gay superhero”:“Besides men coming in and out of his home, or lingering shirtless in the background of panels, Northstar was coded through the unique perspective of how straight men typically view gay men. As Ben Bolling points out, he was portrayed as vain, sarcastic, and reckless….” Okay, class, what’s missing here? As I have made clear many times in the decades since I created him, Northstar was Gay from “day two”. The character was not homosexual when I first conceived him. That came later, when Alpha Flight got their own series and I was looking for ways to give them depth beyond being able to survive a fight with the X-Men. I decided to make one of them Gay, and by a process of elimination settled on Northstar. Those “cliche” attributes were in place before I’d given any thought to his sexual orientation.
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Brian Morris Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 25 September 2007 Location: United States Posts: 718
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 4:05am | IP Logged | 2
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Mr. Byrne---Was there any editorial push back at the time?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 131160
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 10:58am | IP Logged | 3
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I was told I could make Northstar Gay—but only in my head. I could not state his preference explicitly.
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Craig Earl Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 13 July 2019 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1028
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 12:02pm | IP Logged | 4
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After Puck, Northstar was my favourite member of Alpha Flight. I didn't notice the subtle references at the time but I do recall someone in an AF letters page (I believe it was during JB's tenure), mentioning that Northstar was 'obviously gay'.
Looking back, the signs were there.
I would have loved to have seen your reveal, JB, had you stayed on the book long enough for attitudes to change.
Mainly because the issue that made history, AF 106, was so bloody awful.
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Paul Gibney Byrne Robotics Member.

Joined: 17 April 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1055
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 12:55pm | IP Logged | 5
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The fact that it was mentioned on the letters page is something of a reveal in itself. The letters are selected, not random. If it appears on the letters page, that's a deliberate choice.
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Brian Miller Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 28 July 2004 Location: United States Posts: 30357
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 1:06pm | IP Logged | 6
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Wait. I linger around shirtless in the background sometimes. Do I not know myself as well as I thought I did?
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Ryan Maxwell Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 12897
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 3:34pm | IP Logged | 7
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“Lingering shirtless” male character that just climbed out of the pool to answer Heather’s phone call. Let’s ignore context, not do research, or linger in the 1920’s, huh?
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Rebecca Jansen Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 12 February 2018 Location: Canada Posts: 4107
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 5:51pm | IP Logged | 8
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QUOTE:
I was told I could make Northstar Gay—but only in my head. I could not state his preference explicitly. |
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Regardless of the editorial will being imposed, I tend to think it's a good default setting that characters be open to reader interpretation. Why limit them? Reed Richards and Susan Storm became a couple early on, which led to their marriage and a child as 'events' and markers of real time that could not be undone, and there also should be characters who are most definitely and demonstrably gay as well, but for the most part it's most inclusive (and commercially open to the widest audience) to have them not officially pinned down and open to being whatever the reader wants or sees if they even go there.
My view of Northstar initially was of a Quicksilver 'type'... part of a brother and sister pair and hot-headed, but unlike Quicksilver he did wear an outfit matching his sister. Perhaps in that there was some kind of seed (or was she deigning to dress as him)? I think he is definitely masculine, good looking, and confident, which is to say more a real human being and not any kind of stereotype. His sister in contrast, brought up in a very conservative environment was the one suppressing their fuller self, the 'closet' stereotype, and who eventually 'came out' flamboyantly (if later relapsing).
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Eric Smearman Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 02 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 5743
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Posted: 02 October 2022 at 8:28pm | IP Logged | 9
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I don't recall any mention of Northstar being gay in the AF letter column. I can't imagine Marvel of the time allowing such a comment to be printed. I do remember reading JB in a column or article in COMICS SCENE (I think?) remarking on how female readers were quicker than the guys to pick up on the hints re: Jean-Paul's sexual orientation.
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Brian Price Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 26 June 2012 Posts: 14
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Posted: 03 October 2022 at 12:06am | IP Logged | 10
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QUOTE:
I would have loved to have seen your reveal, JB, had you stayed on the book long enough for attitudes to change. |
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JB, if things had changed enough while you were still on the book that you could get away with a reveal, would you have actually done it?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 131160
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Posted: 03 October 2022 at 12:24am | IP Logged | 11
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Probably not. Since I managed to spread the word despite the editorial injunction, I think it would have worked best as a “shared secret”.
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Craig Earl Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 13 July 2019 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1028
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Posted: 03 October 2022 at 6:31am | IP Logged | 12
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I don't recall any mention of Northstar being gay in the AF letter column. I can't imagine Marvel of the time allowing such a comment to be printed.
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Awww man. You're gonna make me dig this out (I have the entire run but it's all in storage). Anyone else have access to this?
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