Thursday 1 June 2023

THE ART OF THE COMIC-BOOK (5)

[Click images to enlarge]

To mark the beginning of Pride Month, I've chosen Travis Moore & Tamara Bonvillain's variant cover art for Superman: Son of Kal-El Issue #5 (released 9 November 2021) showing Jon Kent (son of Clark Kent, aka Superman, and Lois Lane and currently known as “the Superman of Earth,”) dramatically flying in for a passionate embrace. 

The source of Jon's attraction is a journalist: yes, like father, like son ––– except that, in Jon's case, the journo in question – social activist Jay Nakamura – is male! 

Although Jon Kent, formally presumed to be heterosexual, was not the first comic-book hero to reveal an LGBTQ+ alignment, it caused a minor sensation in the comic world – unsurprising, perhaps, since 'Superman' suddenly identifying as 'bi' was a radical departure from comic historicity. Certainly, I couldn't help pondering how I, as a closeted 10-year-old comic-reading lad, would have reacted in making such a discovery! 

The series – all too short-lived – was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by John Timms who was responsible for the art on the pages shown below, augmented by the work of colorist, Hi-Fi, and letterer, David Sharpe.




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