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Great Bromances in Mainstream Comics History - Part 1 of 3

Some of the best queer relationships ever portrayed in mainstream comics weren’t queer at all.  I’m speaking of course about “bromance,” the non-sexual relationship between heterosexual males with a degree of intimacy one usually associates with relationships between women. 

The world of pop culture is rife with these relationships (e.g., any cop-buddy movie), but a few bromances in comics stand out and demand notice by comic book queers everywhere.  These are the bromances that hover so close to gay relationships that they set my imagination alight and cause my bathing suit area to tingle.  More often than not, reading bromance comics is more gratifying than reading books that include overtly gay relationships, because the intimacy is often a lot more conspicuous than in allegedly queer comic book stories, and there’s this illusion that the primary characters are going to suddenly realize their true feelings and suddenly start making out.  It’s hot.

Let’s talk about Green Lantern and Green Arrow, shall we?

By 1970, the silver-age Green Lantern title had grown stale and irrelevant.  In the context of the social and political upheaval of that era, the notion of an intergalactic cop seemed irrelevant and uninteresting.  Sales had dropped precipitously.  In order to breathe life back into the title, the book was handed over to a hip, young creative team (writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neil Adams), who paired Green Lantern up with Green Arrow.  Green Arrow had been around for twenty-five years at that time, and had recently been transformed from a multi-million-dollar corporate ubermensch into a street-level, politically left-leaning brawler.  Under the direction of the new creative team, Green Arrow’s presence in the Green Lantern book brought the book from campy space opera to unblinking social commentary in no time flat.

Recently, I bought Green Lantern #77, which is the second issue of the series that co-stars Green Arrow.  The raw, unapologetic bromance in this issue beats the reader over the head, and is what prompted me to write this article.  It’s just that gay.

The book opens with Ollie Queen and Hal Jordan driving a pick-up truck up a dangerous mountain pass towards a mining town called “Desolation.”  A pink-skinned, suit-wearing Guardian of the Galaxy inexplicably rides in the back of the truck.  A group of thugs ambushes the truck and opens fire.  Our heroes quickly wrangle up the gun-toting thugs, although Green Lantern’s power ring fails him in the process. 

The captured thugs reveal that they attacked the superheroes because they mistook them for Slapper Soames’s hired killers.  Mr. Soames, they reveal, owns the mines in the town and is above the law, and keeps the mine workers uneducated, disenfranchised, and downtrodden.  The villagers had accepted the status quo for decades until Johnny Walden, a young man in town, “taught hisself to play on the guitar…started singing songs ‘bout us an’ our troubles…and suddenly, we found some self-respect… an’ a whole lotta discontent with the way we been treated.”  They explain that Soames rigged a trial in which Johnny Walden, Folksinger of the People, was sentenced to hang. 

Green Arrow quickly offers to help the townsfolk out, but Green Lantern expresses apprehension.  “Hold on, Green Arrow!  This is none of our business… If this Soames is really in charge…”  Green Arrow argues that established leadership does not imply justice, and cites Hitler, Ghengis Khan and Nero as examples.  Green Lantern defers to the wisdom of the pink, suited Guardian who advises that “the situation certainly bears further investigation.”

Next, there’s an extended scene where we see Johnny Walden in jail, and we learn that Soames is using Nazi war criminals as law enforcement officials in the town of Desolation.  Okay.  Soames is a bad guy.  We get it.

Cut to Green Lantern discretely recharging his power ring in a secluded spot.  After he speaks the Green Lantern oath, we are treated to his inner monologue: “I used to speak that oath with pride…with conviction!  But now…I’m not convinced of anything!  The world isn’t the black-and-white place I thought it to be—Once, I might have fought for Soames!  But Green Arrow has made me think that maybe authority isn’t always right—and I don’t know what is just!”

Soon after, the superheroes walk into the town just as the villagers are storming Soames’s compound.  Green Lantern sees that the innocent townsfolk are running into gunfire and landmines, and rushes in to save them with Green Arrow right behind.  During the battle, Hal’s power ring fails completely, but he fights off Soames’s Nazis with his bare hands.  Green Arrow fights valiantly, but is eventually knocked unconscious and taken into the Soames Capitalist Compound of Oppression. 

Inside the compound, Johnny the Folksinger of the People and Green Arrow are about to be shot by a town cop under Soames’s command.  Just as the cop is about to fire, Green Lantern busts in, destroys the weapon, and frees Green Arrow and Johnny Walden.  Green Arrow, grateful for the rescue, asks Green Lantern how his power ring started working again.  “I’m not sure,” Hal Jordan responds.  “Seems I’m pretty confused these days…about what I should do—and the ring takes TOTAL concentration!  But when I saw you about to be shot… Well, there was no longer any doubt!”

Reading this issue made me want to jump into my truck with a hot guy and drive around the country fighting greed and oppression, pausing occasionally to make out.