Not Just Invisible
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| Phil Jimenez
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Gay artist/writer Phil Jimenez's pen has embellished the pages of many a
comic book. One of the creators of The Invisibles, which includes
transgender witches and other queer folk, Jimenez also wrote the
upcoming Wonder Woman series (November 2000), which features a
love story between two Amazons.
"The second story is narrated by two women," Jimenez said. "Two Amazons
from two different tribes are warring over a holy land. What was
amazing while working on it was realizing it was about two women in
love. It was a neat revelation. That was not the point of it, but the
result
of it."
Jimenez sees a lot of gay characters in the industry, particularly
through DC's Vertigo series. "That's where the issues are handled the
most
respectfully and realistically." (Of course, "realistic" is a relative
term when you're talking about traveling to other dimensions and
tussling in outer space.)
Jimenez is respected in the industry for his growth as an artist, but
after all those years drawing (mostly) human bodies, he's a bit immune
to the eroticism of it all. "I'm one of the few gay people who doesn't
remember reacting sexually to comics. I know a lot of people who do." He
recalls a discussion about the Green Arrow, whose orientation remains
uncertain. "I guess as an adult he's a very sexy character. His action
figure is hot, but I don't react the way my friends do. I guess I was
oblivious. For me it's all
about getting the anatomy right."
When drawing characters like the Authority's gay superheroes, Jimenez is
careful and detailed. "There's a shot of Apollo where you can see quite
frankly that, well, he's a guy. Whenever there's a skintight costume,
I just draw a penis. You can see the shape in the underwear. I do
consider, 'Okay, Nightwing's is smaller than Superman's.' I'd be lying
if I
didn't say that! But hopefully the sum of the work is more important
than Apollo's penis."
| | Phil Jimenez's Wonder Women
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A Public Coming-Out
Born in Southern California in 1970, now living in Manhattan, Jimenez
came out at the age of 22. Shortly after his start in the comics
business, he became
lovers with Neil Pozner, then creative director of DC Comics. Pozner
was HIV-positive and Jimenez turned into a care partner until he died in
1994.
"It was an amazing relationship for me," recalls Jimenez. Jimenez came out in the editorial
column of Tempest, writing
about Pozner. On the final page, he dedicated the series to his lover,
with a discreet red ribbon.
"It got over 150 letters, including the classic letter from the kid in
Iowa: 'I didn't know there was anyone else like me.' That's what
counts. It meant a lot to people."
And while Tempest isn't gay, a sensuality fills the underwater series.
What may be homoerotic is not necessarily homosexual. Jimenez holds
comic art and story ideas to a higher standard than identity politics.
"If it's just gay or just Hispanic, I can't support it. The work has to
be
good."
Jimenez is well known for his artwork on female characters as well. And
in some cases his characters transcend easy classification, as with the
gender-bending transvestite witch Lord Fanny of The Invisibles,
which was nominated for a GLAAD Media
Award.
"During my run I glammed him up a bit, did RuPaul hair in a Patricia
Fields dress. His mother was from a long matriarchal
line of witches, so the boy was raised as a woman. That provided an
interesting perspective."
"If we can do mainstream work and touch people that way, I want to take
advantage of that. DC is a very gay-friendly company. They always have
been." When developing GLBT characters, he says, "editors are resistant,
not out of homophobia, but because they're
terrified of doing a disservice to the gay community."
Jimenez agrees there is a gay subtext to X-Men. "Any gay person
can see it. The Senator Kelly character is out to destroy these people,
simply because they're different. 'Your children could be like this! We
want a normal America!' I think a lot of gay people really respond to
that. I hope [director] Bryan Singer pulls it off."
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