Soldier Ant 

The Rawhide Kid isn't the first openly gay comic hero. There are a number of openly gay X-Men, and a number of other comics (The Sandman) have featured gay characters.

Over the last few years The Green Lantern has feature a story arc about homosexuality. The character of Terry Berg was introduced as an asistant to the Green Lantern's alter-ego Kyle Rainer, and evolved into a lead character in the series. This past september (issue 154), Terry became the victim of a gay bashing.

Sadly though, the Green Lantern creative team had planned on killing him off after the arc was completed, which would have made Terry a 'token gay' character, only there to be pitied. Thankfully, Terry is being kept on a lead character.

The Rawhide Kid is the first openly gay title character though. It also sounds like fun for us homos to have a hero who will bash the gay-bashers back.

Thanks for the corrections, Jamison. I was aware of the Green Lantern story arc (but, like you, I kind of lumped it into 'timely but token' category -- I'm glad to hear they're keeping Terry on as a regular.) The others are news to me!

My hope is that The Rawhide Kid will not be gay comic, targeted only at a gay audience. But will instead be meant to appeal to a wider audience.

Our best hope for acceptance by society is that straight people read, see, hear, and get to know us queers (queer ussually is meant to mean "not straight", including gay, lesbian, transgender and bixesuals) and learn we aren't any different.

My hope is that the Rawhide Kid will be a fully realised gay character (not like the all too common, token gay characters who never have a boyfriend or girlfriend) and will be read by straight kids, knowing full well that he's gay, and them not caring one way or the other.

That would be a more helpful to us being accepted, then any lecture about tolerance ever could.

Agreed.

But I don't see how the Rawhide Kid will ever find mainstream acceptance. It's too 'fringe' (and I'm not talkin' tassles and rhinestones).

Now, maybe if they called him the Denim and Leather Kid...

or the eXtremely Rad Snowboarder Kid (with his hot rave-buddy friend named Bradley)...

Yeah, I'd be ALL over that that! :-)