Howdy all. As this is the first post how about a little introduction.

I’m Darren, I’ll be your host for this cruise. Now, you are booked on the Lido Deck, drinks will be at the pool and of course you will be seated at the Captain’s Table tomorrow night. In actuality, I am an Aquarian, a huge comic book fan, and gayer than Christmas.

So, why this blog? There’s only like a gazillion out there. Well, good question. I live my life with my feet firmly in two separate worlds. One in the comic book fandom world where bright and shiny icons of justice fight the good fight against villainy and the other foot firmly in the mundane world where I exist as a gay man in a world that isn’t quite as shiny and has more than it’s share of villainy and a deficit of heroes.

And what does the title of the blog mean anyway?

“Super Friends of Dorothy” is a take off of the phrase “Are you Friends of Dorothy?” which was a phrase used around and after World War II when being gay was illegal. This was a coded way to investigate your intended paramour to see if they were open to more than just having a beer and watching the game. The Dorothy reference is debated as to whom it is, either Dorothy Gale from Wizard of Oz fame played by Gay Icon Ms. Judy Garland or famed writer Ms. Dorothy Parker who has the wit to rival and surpass Oscar Wilde. I will let the academics decide that battle.

For the Super Friends part well, it’s from the 1970s-1980s Hanna Barbera animated show of the same name. Getting up every Saturday morning bright and early, grabbing that cereal bowl (Corn Pops or Lucky Charms) and adding a ton of sugar to it in the bowl, and sitting in front of the tv to watch as the heroes battled the Legion of Doom! A Saturday morning tradition turned into a fervent hobby and ever since I was twelve, I have been collecting comics.

But I’m gay… Gay guys don’t collect comics. Oh Contraire, mon frere! Not only do we collect comics there is a great deal about our lives reflected in comics and even though in the beginning of the online comics community there was not a lot of acceptance, that changed over time and I am proud to be friend to many gay comic book buds and we have a ton of straight allies.

However, it seems regular folks, gay or straight, have a problem with adult men and women reading comics. Or “funny books” as they like to refer to them. What most regular folks are missing out on here are stories of modern myth. These heroes are every bit as great as the legends of old.. Jason, Achilles, Gilgamesh, King Arthur, Aladdin, Paul Bunyan, John Henry.. the list goes on.

So to merge these two opposed universes, the gay man’s world with the comic’s world. Perhaps in discussing comics some straight people will see that gay life isn’t as weird and foreign as they imagine and perhaps while chatting about gay issues, lgbters will observe that comics can be fun and can mean more to them when they read below the surface.

So, that’s the goal. Will I succeed in this never ending battle for truth and justice? Or should I just take the Kryptonite pill now? Time will tell.

I would like to dedicate this blog to my friends… The Super Friends of Dorothy!

And to the web guy for getting this up and running. Danke!!