CO LO R A D O'S LG B TQ M AGA ZINE | F R E E
c i m Csosue I
CONTENTS MAY 15, 2019 VOL43 NO4
6 FROM THE EDITOR 8 THE TAINTED LEGACY OF STAN LEE 10 JENNIFER CAMPER IS MAKING COMMON SENSE AND SUBGURLZ A THING 12 THE DINKY'S MAKE A NOT-SODINKY IMPACT ON LOCAL COMIC CULTURE 16 YOUR GUIDE TO QUEER AT DENVER POP CULTURE CON 24 DENVER IS A COMIC MECCA: A STOP FOR EVERY SHOPPER 26 GINNY DI GETS GETS CREATIVE WITH COSPLAY 28 CHROME SEOUL PAINTS A QUEER VIEW OF THE FUTURE 32 DENVER'S CHORUSES HONOR STONEWALL 34 FIVE QUEER VIDEO GAMES YOU SHOULDN’T SLEEP ON 36 QUEER ARTISTS AND AUTHORS EMRBACE THE DENVER ZINE SCENE 40 WHY ‘AVENGERS: ENDGAME’ IS AN LGBTQ MOVIE 42 THE QUEERNESS OF COSPLAY 44 BURY YOUR GAYS: HOW 'THE MAGICIANS' FELL INTO THE SAME OLD TRAP 46 HEINZESIGHT: THE MASKS WE WEAR
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SERVING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS SINCE 1976 PHONE 303-477-4000 FAX 303-325-2642 WEB OutFrontMagazine.com FACEBOOK /OutFrontColorado TWITTER @OutFrontCO INSTAGRAM /OutFrontColorado FOUNDER PHIL PRICE 1954-1993 ADMINISTRATION info@outfrontmagazine.com JERRY CUNNINGHAM Publisher J.C. MCDONALD Vice President MAGGIE PHILLIPS Operations Manager JEFF JACKSON SWAIM Chief Strategist EDITORIAL editorial@outfrontmagazine.com ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER Interim Editor VERONICA L. HOLYFIELD Creative Director BRENT HEINZE Senior Columnist INTERNS: Arianna Balderrama, Zach Blue WRITERS: Apollo Blue, Caitlin Galiz-Rowe, Dawn Anderson, Jordan Hanson, Keegan Williams, Kevin Assam, Lonnie M.F. Allen, Mel Griffin ART art@outfrontmagazine.com DESIGN2PRO Graphic Designer COVER ARTIST: Lonnie M.F. Allen CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Charles Broshous MARKETING + SALES marketing@outfrontmagazine.com BENJAMIN YOUNG Director of Sales & Marketing BRENNAN GALLAGHER Marketing Executive QUINCEY ROISUM Marketing Executive KELSEY ELGIE DOMIER Marketing Executive
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COPYRIGHT & LIMIT OF LIABILITY Reproduction of editorial, photographic or advertising content without written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Advertisers are responsible for securing rights to any copyrighted material within their advertisements. Publisher assumes no responsibility for the claims of advertisers and reserves the right to reject any advertising. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising is not to be considered an indication of the sexual orientation or HIV status of such person or organization. Publisher assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of materials submitted. OPINIONS EXPRESSED are not necessarily those of OUT FRONT, its staff, or advertisers.
RESERVATION OF RIGHTS Q Publishing Group, LTD is the owner of all right, title, and interest in the OUT FRONT brand and logo. No person or entity may reproduce or use (or authorize the reproduction or use of) the OUT FRONT brand and logo in any manner other than expressly authorized by Q Publishing Group. Unauthorized use of the OUT FRONT brand and logo is strictly prohibited. OUT FRONT is published by Q Publishing, Ltd., a Colorado corporation and is a member of: the National Equality Publishers Association and Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce.
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FROM THE EDITOR
Queer folks need heroes. We just do. Just like other marginalized groups, we want to see ourselves portrayed not as the underdog or the person who needs saving, but as the bad*ss who saves the day. Everyone deserves the chance to see themselves in the spotlight as the hero, but for too long, the only people seeing themselves portrayed that way were cis, white men, and occassionally, cis, white women. This is why Black Panther coming back to the big screen as a hero was such a big deal for so many people of color. Unfortunately, seeing a black man as the hero of any film still doesn’t happen very often. Now, finally, marginalized folks are stepping into that spotlight. Denver’s Pop Culture Con has tons of queer guests; The Dinky Awards featured a bunch of queer comics, and for the first time, queer naratives are becoming the norm rather than the exception in some stories. Of course, there is still a long way to go. Most of the superheroes and sci-fi stars are still cis, white, straight, and not differently abled. And a big reason why there is so much fierce expression in comics these days is because of our current political climate. Still, everyone needs heroes, and everyone needs to be seen as a hero. It’s not enough anymore to have strong, white men to beat up the bad guys who keep us down. We want to do our own saving. -Addison Herron-Wheeler
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The Tainted Legacy of
Stan Lee By Lonnie M.F. Allen
I
was five years old when I first knew who Stan Lee was. In 1981, I would religiously wake up before my parents did on Saturday mornings to watch Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Stan Lee would voice a preface for each upcoming episode, and I remember knowing that the sound of his voice would mean a quality show was to come. It was doubly so when they would later add the Incredible Hulk to make it a full hour of Marvel characters. The cartoon would direct me to start picking up comics at the local convenience store (I know now that was exactly the intent, to expand Marvel’s brand and sales of comics). Within Marvel’s comics, on the opening splash page, would be labeled “Stan Lee presents,” as well as “Stan’s Soapbox,” which was his editorial that would be promoting some new Marvel series. Stan Lee is, of course, indelibly tied to Marvel comics. As I grew into my teens, I never much thought of Lee besides that of an old, hokey self-promoter. His comics weren’t edgy enough compared to much of the mainstream comics during the late 80s and early 90s (he tried an awful endeavor to reimagine DC characters with a darker slant). However, as I started to become a comic creator myself in my early 20s, I began to read and hear stories of Stan Lee that almost every serious cartoonist knows: Stan Lee f*cked over a lot of people. Most people on the street know Stan Lee’s name, but are also almost entirely unaware of the other comic industry giants who made all of Marvel’s characters possible. People like: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett, and Joe Simon contributed as much, if not more, to many of the beloved and iconic characters we know so well today. Stan Lee usually created narratives in interviews implying he was the sole creator of such characters as Spider-Man, 8 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
Fantastic Four, or Black Panther while the truth was much more complicated. Stan Lee taking full credit for most of the Marvel characters had deep repercussions for many of his co-creators and their families. While the Marvel business empire grew with merchandise and tie-ins which are still ubiquitous today, many, if not all, of the co-creators did/do not see a dime for their creations and have their artwork plastered across t-shirts, lunch-boxes, and toy packaging. It’s only recently that many of the Jack Kirby’s creations go credited to him, while they fill the movie screens across the world raking in billions. But Stan Lee himself was not immune to the machinations of kid-product capitalism. Lee wasn’t the exec at Marvel, but he worked himself to be the face of Marvel, because he probably knew better than many other creators that the assembly line of comics production provided little job security for its creators. When the Marvel movies began, Lee had to sue to receive royalties from his co-creations. Similar to Steve Jobs, who was the face and name of Apple Computers, while only the ardent talked about Steve Wozniak, so too is it the way of Stan Lee. And Stan Lee deserves a lot of credit for both the creations he helped bring to life as well as his penchant for championing racial equality to many young readers. He spoke out against bigotry often in his editorials and storylines. Would Marvel be where it is today if not for Lee’s constant promotion? Undoubtedly not. The hard truth is that the Marvel comics we see today, whether on the page or on screen, would not exist without Stan Lee. He just didn’t do it alone. -Excelsior!
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Jennifer Camper is Making Common Sense and subGURLZ a Thing
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The
y Make a Not-So-Dinky Impact on Local Comic Culture
’s
By Addison Herron-Wheeler
A
ll his life, Michael Prince has been an avid reader of all things, especially comics. Although he’s had to take some breaks from collecting comics because of how pricey it can be, he’s never lost his devotion to the written—and illustrated—word. So, when he was asked to be a part of DiNK Denver, the local comic convention that happens every year, he couldn’t say no.
on the bill at Pop Culture Con, their main focus is on the local talent.
“I was brought on to work with the DiNKY Award’s director, and I was kind of the assistant to him,” he explained. My title varied, but we finally decided on the title of DiNK librarian, since I arranged all the reading parties.”
In addition to providing a strong local voice, DiNK tries to give back to the community as much as possible.
The DiNKY Awards and DiNK comic con, like most local publishing endeavors, are truly a labor of love. They are all about bringing together smaller artists to showcase their work, and pretty much run on the volunteer hours of those willing to read and judge comics and organize the annual events. This year’s event took place April 11-12 and featured a lot of awesome works, including a lot of queer comics. “The DiNKY’s have kind of naturally become very queeroriented and inclusive of the LGBT community because of the people involved and freinds getting friends into it,” he explained. One comic artist who accepted an award last year said the DiNK’s get gayer every year, so that’s kind of been something we have all been trying to uphold and improve on. We usually have a lot of queer people involved behind the scenes and entering their comics.” Another major point of pride for DiNK is how they prioritize local comics. While they appreciate some of the bigger names
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“I think the local aspect is one of the most important things we have,” he said. “You have so many great artists here in Denver who live and work and do projects, and I think this is really good for them. And I think it gets other local people to get involved and keep creating.”
“We work with a few different charities,” he explained. “We work with Camp Comic Book, a group that works with kids, and we also work with a group who gives books to kids on a local reservation. I think that kind of stuff is really important as a way to give back to the community. This year, for the first time, we also partnered with City of Denver as well.” Of course, this legacy of helping out is nothing new for the world of comics. From the beginning, whether it succeeded or not, the idea has been to tell stories that stand up for the downtrodden. “I think that comics are a fantastic medium, because they are a little less examined by the powers that be. So people get away with heavier metaphors and saying exactly what they mean, unlike with TV or mainstream movies. I think comics have kind of had this rebellious core from the beginning. Even though the heroes might throw the cape on now and then, they get the point across.” Stay tuned for info about DiNK 2020, and follow them to learn a lot more about comics.
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By Addison He
er v n e D t a r e e to Qu on C e r u t l u C p Po
Denver Pop Culture Con is almost here, but is it queer? The answer is a resounding “yes.” There is so much cool inclusion at this year’s event, from folks who write theatre comics to sci-fi authors and cosplayers. Since the event is so big and you only have so much time, we’ve laid out a few of the folks you absolutely need to try and see.
ANDY MIENTUS If you were lucky enough to catchy the new rendition of beloved musical Tommy when it was in Denver, you’ve already been up close and personal with Andy Mientus. He played Tommy with such raw emotion that we were all sure we had fallen into a rock opera timevortex and were going to be pinball styles. It turns out, singing and acting aren’t the only things Mientus can do. He will be at Pop Culture Con this year for his youth comic series, The Backstagers. The books follow the adventures of high school theatre kids as they navigate the pitfalls of theatre and growing up. “All of the characters have something that sets them apart as far as sexuality or gender identity goes, or being intersectional in some other way,” he explained. But none of the stories hinge on those things. The stories are about friendship and adventure and what makes theatre magical rather than being about trauma, coming our, or not being accepted, which are often the kind of stories we are used to seeing in queer literature. The stories touch on young love, life in theatre, and even a character who is trans and switches from an all-boys school to an all-girls school, but the focus is always on positive representation. Stop by to see Mientus and grab some of his wholesome youth literature.
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e d i Gu ZAN CHRISTENSEN
Zan Christensen runs Northwest Press, one of the only queer-focused comic publishers out there. He has also made a name for himself publishing work that focuses on issues of LGBTQ bullying and inclusion. Today, he would just like to see other artists getting to express their queer creativity the same way. “I feel like in a lot of ways, my job is not to make the art but to make a really nice frame, to curate, to provide a space for people to tell their stories. It makes me feel good to help people, because most of the folks who are doing comics are not established, high-powered, blockbuster names. There are always going to people who need help to get their stories off the ground and to reach their audiences. I want people to be heard, and any excuse to make comics is worthwhile in my opinion.” Christensen will mostly be at Pop Culture Con to promote newer work out with Northwest Press, but is will always be thought of as a groundbreaking queer comic artist.
ANDY MANGELS Some people have been fighting the good fight for a while, to borrow a superhero analogy, and Andy Mangels is one of those people. He’s been writing science fiction and comics for most of his life, and he has always advocated for his queer fam and other marginalized folks along the way. “Comics gave me a way to escape and a way to imagine how it could be for people to be something other than what they were,” he explained. “Especially with superheros, it wasn’t just wish fulfillment; it was a way of being better.”
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Mengals saw the actions of the heroes he admired and thought about how to put those same skills towards helping those were marginalized. “Activism just kind of came naturally to me,” he explained. My parents really raised me to be involved in the community and try to make things better for people, and so once I got into comics and also came out, it just made sense. I was always looking at how I could put a person of color in a role, or a queer person in a role, or someone who is differently abled or has different religious beliefs. I was always actively looking as a writer for ways to create, and I don’t know why someone would want to create something that is just white and male.”
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ADAM ELLIS First making his name through Tumblr meme cartoon culture and a role with Buzzfeed, Adam Ellis has the art of telling everyday stories and making them exciting down to a science. He was so successful, in fact, that he eventually left Buzzfeed to pursue freelance opportunities and have more creative freedom. “I write about things that are funny and things that I enjoy,” he said. "I have never really seen it as adding queer themes into my comics, because I think that my comics are queer just by nature of me being queer. So, I don’t have to do anything to make that happen; I feel like it comes naturally. I try to make my comics as diverse as possible whenever there’s an option to do that, because I know how important it is for people to see themselves reflected in the media that they consume. I know I have a lot of younger readers, and it’s cool to get messages from kids who are inspired by my comics.”
GAIL CARRIGER “I like to think of what I write as queer comfort food,” comic artist Gail Carriger explained to OUT FRONT. “I always have queer characters, although they aren't always the main characters. Since I write primarily comedy in various genres, my stuff tends to be more silly and gentle then most—books that are hugs. Lots of found family, heroine's journeys, happy ever afters, honest (if snarky) communication. I know, I know, how wholesome. But also kinky and charming and lots of fun. Sometimes super sexy, too.” As a humorist, Carriger may traffic in comic writing, but she has not shied away from any of the hard-hitting issues facing the queer community, from trans rights and the different ways reltionshops can look to the issues our community faces. “There are tons of amazing writers doing fantastic work to push boundaries in queer spaces, many with justified anger and suffering,” she said. “It's powerful and necessary. But, as a comic writer, I'm more inclined to be insidious. The great advantage of writing fluff is, people don't take you seriously, and then you can wiggle your way into changing their minds despite themselves.. At it's heart, my new book, The 5th Gender, is a light, romantic, cozy mystery; it just happens to feature the cutest, snarkiest alien ever who also happens to be a member of a species with five genders. I can hope that this book may trick readers into thinking about how they define gender to themselves, and why a black-and-white perspective is damaging, not to mention the dangers in associating gender with biological sexual characteristics and codified social norms. Perhaps they will even chat about such things with others. I could go into my academic thoughts on the implicit, culture-wide danger of any biologically deterministic approach to dictating human behavior, but mostly, I want people to read my book, smile, be happy, and think about their role in ensuring the happiness of others. 1 8 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
MOLLY LEE Although she identifies as an ally and not a direct part of the queer community, Molly Lee has a definite queer agenda when it comes to what she writes. Her mission is to write feminist stories about women who excel in the world of tech, a field that is still very male-dominated. “Ask Me Anything is going to release May 7, and I’m really, really excited about it, because it features a young girl coder and really shows the double-standards between boys and girls in that area. She creates this anonymous blog where anybody can write in, and it’s supposed to be about sex advice, but it quickly evolvves into peers writing in for help dealing with identity issues, instances of abuse, things like that. It gives these kids a safe place to talk about what their school is trying to squash out of them.” In order to make sure she is portraying queer characters accurately, Lee always does her research. “I never want to presume to write something that I don’t know about, so I’m always going to dig in and do the research,” she said. “There was a good year of research that went into this book, and I always want to be super inclusive. I want to do the culture justice, whatever culture I am featuring.”
K.B. WAGERS Sci-fi has long been a place where ideas about rebellion, strength, and opposition to the status quo can be sewed, and K.B. Wagers is holding to that tradition. “Opening ourselves up to the spirit of exploration and the incredible diversity available to us is going to be the only thing that saves the human race,” they said. “Science fiction and fantasty writers and reviewers are already doing such amazing things with the likes of N.K. Jemison, Nnedi Okorafor, Tasha Suri, and Dr. Liz Bourke leading the charge with bright new worlds rather than the same old themes we’ve all seen time and again.” Her novels focus on a queer, female warrior transversing the stars, and she believes that science fiction should be a place where everyone can find comfort and express who they are. “I think it’s on us SFF writers to write the worlds we want to see come to life, and for science fiction especially, we’re writing about the worlds we believe are possible. I want a world where people are safe no matter who they love or how they identify. “ OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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YVES NAVANT Yves Navant is creating a queer legacy with his comic 13: The Astonishing Lives of the Neuromantics. Set in a bleak future where the rich can purchase body parts from the poor and queer folks are shut out of society, 13 tells the story of a man questing to get his identity back. “It’s kind of a semi-autobiographical story centered around a society of privilege and the underclass,” he explained. “I am the youngest member of a European family who immigrated to american in the late 20th century, and we didn’t always have much. I was a creative and just kind of an outcast, and I identify as a gay man, so, for white, suburban America, I kind of checked all the boxes of someone who would be ostracized or bullied to be an outcast. And to add to that, the idea that I grew up wanting to draw pictures more than kick around a soccer ball on the playground or talk about girls really made me an outcast.” 13 is a story full of dark, powerful imagery and difficult situations that are all-too-similar to the actual society we live in. “These feelings of ostracization and being an outcast and the political climate mirrors what we’re experiencing now in 21st Century America regarding gender expression, sexuality, faith, and spirituality, and the haves and have-nots. I think life and the environment we are existing in right now is kind of what compelled me to tell the story.”
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DENVER IS A COMIC MECCA A STOP FOR EVERY SHOPPER Words and Photo by Veronica L. Holyfield
I
n the era of online shopping and web streaming, the culture of consumerism has been changing dramatically. However, there is one area of consumer culture which has remained relatively unchanged: the comic book connoisseurs. For some, going to a comic book store means more than picking up the latest issue of a favorite Marvel character or dropping a pretty dime on the newest DC action figure. For others, it means buying an underground, cult classic. Whatever you prefer, it means being embraced by a culture that feels as exciting as it is reflective. So, for whatever genre or taste fulfills your preferred niche, there is sure to be a shop right here in Denver that has exactly what you are looking for.
The Megastore Advocates: Mile High Comics Ask any comic book fan, from die-hard to dabbler alike, where to get the best selection of new and old comics, and they will tell you Mile High Comics. The first-stop mega store just north of the Highlands neighborhood in Denver is an expansive warehouse that contains more than five million titles with countless more on their online store. Home not only to a massive comic inventory, they
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are also known for their advocacy work with the LGBTQ community. “I'm doing a lot of advocacy and outreach to our transgender kids in particular, but gay kids across the board in terms of anybody who wants to perform in drag,” Chuck Rozanski, president of Mile High Drag, said. Known by many as Bettie Pages, Rozanski is a Princess of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountains and sees a very fine distinction between comics, cosplay, and drag communities. Recently, he has partnered with local drag star Jessica L’Whor to create an all-ages drag experience hosted inside the massive warehouse. “We do our monthly drag shows here for the kids, and they've been incredibly popular,” he said. “Jessica is organizing the shows, and then I built the stage, and I provide about 3000 square feet of performance area." Seating roughly 300 people, the experience is designed to provide a space for underage performers to explore drag expression. “It's my most important thing that I do in a month; it's more important than running my company, more important than anything, putting on these monthly drag shows for the kids.” The major success of the Jason Street location has placed Rozanski as a well-known, worldwide leader in the comic collector and distribution scene.
Additionally, Rozanski and his team are continuing to work on the online archive and are striving to be number-one in regard to bibliographical archiving and comic documentation. With intentions to continue to expand the existing space of the warehouse and broaden the online selection, Mile High Comics is proceeding with a singular focus: thriving in customer connections and fostering a community of inclusive collectors, right here in Denver and beyond.
Hang Out A While: Mutiny Information Cafe One can’t make a list of Denver’s best comic shops without including Mutiny Information Cafe. Not only is this space a carrier of the beloved comic and zine, they are a holder of the creative and artistic. “This is like a total space for freaks, weirdos, nerds; I think it attracts different people across the economic spectrum,” Bree Davies, musician, writer, and born-and-raised Denver bad*ss, said. Davies has been wellimmersed in the local creative scene and specifically chose to host and record her podcast, Hello, Denver? Are You Still There, inside Mutiny for a reason. “It's like a great equalizer: it's centrally
located; it's physically accessible for folks who use wheelchairs. If you got some money, spend it; if you don’t, just be respectful,” she said. Mutiny is more than a store; it is a creative space for any and every kind of artist. The tables fill nightly with folks sketching the beginnings of a new art piece or drawing up a poster advertising their band’s next gig. Many are on laptops doing homework or busting out their 1,000 words to make deadline. The back room is open to the community for things like Davies’ podcast recording, nights with viewings of throwback cartoons on the jumbo screen, or even underground noise shows by local musicians at midnight. The space is weird, unique, and queerly comfortable. “I can't speak as a queer person, but I can say, based on the folks that come in here, they feel comfortable, no bullsh*t; there aren’t those unspoken barriers that keep people out of spaces,” she added. Representing a Denver that many feel is quickly fading, the corner spot on S. Broadway and Ellsworth Ave provides nostalgia, a curated selection, and a safe space for punks, outsiders, and the diverse community of comic consumer.
Where Worlds Collide: Vision Comics and Oddities “I worked in comics retail off and on for many years before opening my own store,” Chris Lanham said. He owns and is the sole-employee of Vision Comics and Oddities in Englewood. “I just wanted to do something a little different, because I felt like times are changing, and stores were not changing with it.” Lanham is of the mindset that it’s no longer like when he was a kid; comic books and collecting aren’t just for geeks and nerds anymore. It has become a part of mainstream, popular culture, and therefore, shops need to embrace the change and move with it. “I don't feel like other shops really adapted to that change; I just felt like it could be a lot more entertaining than that.” So, entertain he does with the weekly events that Vision Comics and Oddities
host. From lessons in different art skills, to cosplay karaoke, and even to punk rock and heavy metal shows, the shop is crafting a community of intersecting interests. Each event offers space for local artists to showcase their work and sell items, and Lanham even works with theatre groups and sideshow performers. One of the major differences between this store and any other in town is that there is a heavy focus on the horror genre and fantastically abnormal fascinations, truly a place that has to be witnessed firsthand. “There's a whole different realm of comic shops that I’ve seen mostly take to the formula that Marvel and DC throw out there, and I don't really push that. I feel like they've already done the marketing on that; people are already familiar. I try to give them a different environment.” His passion for comics and art reaches beyond the actual articles and creations, however, as he really has a love for the community as a whole. “I see a lot of very introverted people, and it’s nice to see people drop their guard,” he said. “The outside world kind of takes its toll; I watch people come in all the time, looking stiff and like they've been running hard. So, to see them come in, nerd out on some toy or comics that they've been looking for, and see all that edginess kind of fade away, it makes them turn into children right before your eyes; that's probably my favorite aspect.”
Figure This, Friends: Hero Headquarters If toys and action figures are your preferred pick, then look no further, because Hero Headquarters is going to be your new favorite spot. The Westminster gem has collectibles, figurines, and toys in abundance, as it splits its inventory 50/50 between comic books and collectibles. “The first thing you see when you walk in the front door are these life-sized, really intricate statues of different comic book heroes and characters,” Anneliese Rix said. “You’re immediately placed
into that mythical world just from the very beginning.” Rix is a longtime and frequent customer of Hero Headquarters, and like many customers, she looks for a shop that not only has the products she is looking for, but also brings with it a sense of comfort and belonging every time she visits. “The people are just so nice. I mean, really, the staff is so friendly, and everybody seems genuinely happy. I don't think I've ever been there when any of the employees are having a bad day,” she said. Consistently, the staff is noted as being the most helpful and willing to go above and beyond, in addition to being incredibly knowledgeable, embracing the “geekdom” of each comic enthusiast. At times when budgets can be tight and pocketbooks may be a bit thin, Rix says that she feels comfortable just popping in to take a look at the new inventory of toys and collectibles, even if she isn’t planning on making a purchase that day. “In addition to the nice people, the amazing collectibles, and the good comics, it’s ADA accessible,” said Rix. “When I was first discovered the store hero headquarters, at that time in my life, I was using a mobility device, a walker actually. Something that is so fun about comic book stores, or vintage and antique stores, is it’s like a treasure hunt experience and they tend to be very labyrinthian. So, it was really important to me to be able to go into a store that I can actually maneuver that huge mobility device around in.” Hero Headquarters really taps into the idea of comics as a culture rather than simply a commodity, and Rix appreciates how the shop embraces diversity. “When I was growing up, comic book shops lived squarely inside a certain stereotype, with a lot of gatekeeping, and they were very male-centric,” she said. “Discovering Hero Headquarters was a really different comic book experience; they have girls and guys on staff, which might seem like a really tiny thing, but it’s kind of a big deal, because I just didn’t see that growing up. I’m really glad that’s the way it is now for kids growing up who are going to these places.” OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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Ginny
DiGets Creative with Cosplay By Caitlin Galiz-Rowe
Y
ou’d think that someone who does cosplay as their full-time job would have been into the hobby for most of their life. But that wasn’t the case for Ginny Di.
This year, she’s super excited to be involved with Denver’s Pop Culture Con. She’s been invited to a lot of cons in the past, and knows what to expect from this one.
“I had never heard of cosplay until I went to my first convention,” she explained. “I was working at the local Renaissance Faire, which was my first real adventure into geek culture, and some of my friends from Faire invited me to come to Starfest, a local science fiction and fantasy convention.”
“I've been doing convention guesting as a featured cosplay guest for three or four years now, and what that entails can be different at any given convention.” Di said. “At most cons, a cosplay guest will provide programming like panels or workshops, meet attendees and take photos, and often will judge the costume contest. They'll also generally be expected to promote the convention and help drive traffic and ticket sales.”
“I already enjoyed making costumes for Halloween and for the Faire, so once I realized that people could just make costumes whenever they wanted and wear them whenever they wanted, I was instantly hooked. I put together my first costume out of my closet and my childhood dress-up box for the next day of the convention, and the following year, I wore my first fully homemade cosplay to that same convention.” 2 6 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
Her first cosplay was “Codex” from the TV show The Guild. But that was just the beginning. Since then, Di has created multiple, intricate costumes and gained enough notoriety and audience to do cosplay full time. This is partly due to Di’s ingenuity in combining her love of music with her cosplay products.
“During the years that I was getting interested in cosplay, I was also doing a lot of organized singing in choirs and jazz groups in college and working at the Renaissance Festival as part of a madrigal quartet,” Di said. “I put together a geek-themed parody at one point as a joke, and it went kind of small-time viral, so I started making more geek-themed music with a few friends.” Her combination of music and cosplay has done a lot to set her apart in the cosplay landscape. The music videos she’s made over the past three years have garnered thousands and thousands of views, and her YouTube channel is currently sitting at almost 40,000 subscribers. She also cosplays as Jester, a character from the podcast Critical Role, which has gained her a lot of popularity. “I have a few [nerd media properties] that I've loved for many years—Disney, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones—but right now, Critical Role owns my heart! I haven't felt so strongly emotionally connected to a narrative in many, many years, and I'm so grateful to have found not just the talented, kind, hilariously funny cast that makes it, but also the incredibly loving and warm community of fans that consume it.” Cosplay and online content creation have been Di’s full-time job for a little over two years now. It can be confusing to understand how someone makes money through content creation online, but the short answer is: it’s piecemeal. Di makes money from the sale of photo prints, merchandise, sales, and streaming of her music singles on iTunes and Spotify, respectively, ad revenue from her aforementioned YouTube channel, appearances at conventions, ghost writing for blogs and newsletters as a safety net, and, like many other online content creators, Patreon, a subscription platform many creatives use to fund their work. Still, despite the positivity Di feels towards her fan community, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. Between the parasocial relationships that can develop between online creators and their fans and the general toxicity that arises in online spaces, Di, like many other creators, has a lot of negativity on her plate. “It can be extremely difficult to be dehumanized online, even (or especially) by those who claim to be fans of my work. It's very uncomfortable to have followers make assumptions about very personal things and voice those assumptions publicly,” Di said in regards to the behavior of some fans of her work. “I've had people speculate on my health, on my relationships, on my upcoming wedding, on my weight, etc. It's also difficult to handle people who truly believe that we have a personal connection and should be close friends.”
even those considered to be ‘successful,’ aren’t rich. Most are lucky to be comfortable. “Second, be aware that you will be founding and running a small business. Treat it as such! You can get yourself into hot water financially and legally if you fail to think of your creative work as a business from the get-go.” “And finally,” Di added, “I have a bit of a ‘tough love’ reminder that I give to both aspiring pros and myself: You aren't entitled to anyone's attention.” To Di, the goal is to entertain, move emotionally, educate, her audience. That means keeping track of what’s going to elicit the desired response and tuning your work accordingly.
Doing this kind of work is clearly more difficult than many give credit for. So, what should those who aspire to do creative work full-time online be keeping in mind? Di has three tips she gives to anyone who asks.
“If they don't like what you're doing, you will not be successful. Nobody owes you likes, views, or sales. This lesson can be very hard to stomach, but it's absolutely essential to learn if you want to succeed in this business.”
“First, make sure you love it. Some people see pro cosplay or being a YouTuber as being an easy route to fame and riches which is frankly laughable.” Most who do work in this field,
To see more of the results of Di’s own hard work, check her out at ginnydi.com, and catch her at this year’s Denver Pop Culture Con. OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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By Addison Herron-Wheeler All art by Lonnie M.F. Allen
Chrome Seoul
Paints a Queer View of the Future
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I
n a future where North and South Korea are once again joined, people use gene-editing technology to slip between genders and change their appearance, all set to the background of a gorgeous, neon, dystopian landscape. At least, that’s what the future looks like in the mind of Lonnie M.F. Allen and in the pages of his latest comic book creation, Chrome Seoul. “I'm a huge cyberpunk fan, and I’ve been doing comics for a while,” he explained. “A lot of my work has been more slice-of-life kind of stuff, and then I decided I wanted to do a cyberpunk comic. In a lot of famous cyberpunk, like Blade Runner, there are a lot of supporting Asian characters and an Asian aesthetic, but almost always with a straight, white, male protagonist. So I thought, wouldn’t it be cooler if the hero was actually Asian?” You may recognize Allen’s work from the cover of OUT FRONT’s recent cannabis issue, from the pages of Suspect Press, where he works as a designer, or from a myriad of other local publications. Allen has already made quite a name for himself as a cartoonist, but now he’s going to touch on his cultural identity in a big way, and also on two hot topics: North and South Korea and gene editing. “I did a lot of research on gene editing, and recently I've been hearing the stories about how they're using gene modification to help with cancer and other diseases. That's the way it always starts, whether it's the internet or any type of technology. It always starts with engineers thinking about how to improve the world, but I think, as a writer, how's the street going to use it?” Not everything is negative or grim in the story, though. In addition to having a female protagonist of color, the book includes trans characters and the idea that people in the future could use gene editing for gender expression. Since Allen isn’t trans, he plans to pay a trans consultant to help him with those parts of the book, and has already gotten input from a trans person on the concept.
OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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“The first thing I asked them was, as a non-trans person, do I have the right to tell that story?” he explained. “And they've been supportive. They said everyone has the right to tell any story, but it’s about how you do it. Then they pointed out a few areas where I was wrong or didn’t get things right. It was great.” Allen thinks that the future is queer, and that science fiction should accurately reflect that. “I think that so much science fiction is just kind of straight and straightgendered, and that doesn’t really make sense, because we are talking about the future. I think the future is going to be this melting pot, and we are going to be seeing gender and sexuality become more and more fluid.” “Comic books are an accessible form of storytelling that can be inclusive of the other, celebrations of the weird, and showcasing of the subversive due to affordability and ease of entry” Vince Kadlubek, CEO of Meow Wolf, who is standing behind the prjoect, added. “This medium is a way for communications to happen between subcultures with an underlying encouragement of collaboration. They rule.” Chrome Seoul is going to be available this June via Meow Wolf, who are helping to fund the project, and Suspect Press. Look out for it if you’re into representation and dark, sci-fi realness.
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Denver's Choruses
Honor Stonewall By Veronica L. Holyfield ewer things can evoke such strong emotions as music. From a single line or lyric, a mountain of feelings can build and take listeners down a unique journey of thought and self-exploration. Often, it is through the soulful sound of voices blending with a melody so sweet that barriers are broken and hearts open. The Rocky Mountain Arts Association (RMAA) knows exactly this, and are arranging a musical experience unlike any other before.
F
The RMAA has curated a powerful, musical celebration of historical proportion with the combination of the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus (DGMC) and the Denver Women’s Chorus (DWC) performance honoring the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The combined choruses are excitedly anticipating the Denver premiere of “Quiet No More: A Choral Commemoration of Stonewall” on June 7 and 8 at the King Center Concert Hall as part of their Pride Concert celebration of World Pride 2019. “This piece was commissioned by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and the Los Angeles Gay Men’s chorus, and choruses across the country have been co-commissioned to perform this piece all over the country,” James Knapp, DGMC’s artistic director, said. “It’s really exciting and really kind of historical.” Six composers created “Quiet No More,” a 40-minute piece of cohesive music which provides a framework that explores the elements of Stonewall in ways that haven’t been visited before. In a historical paradigm, the piece begins with a glimpse into the life of an LGBTQ person in the 1960s and the hostility, harassment, and tension of the time. It then travels through eight movements of the composition, transporting the listener from era to era and through the events of the riots. It finally delivers the 3 2 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
audience to present day, the challenges of the current political climate, and serves as a reminder that the work still is yet to be complete. “The goal of it is to create a really passionate, original, music celebration of the unheard voices of Stonewall,” said Knapp. “It’s a nice range of queer and other minority perspectives, and it promises to be really groundbreaking work. The relevancy of what happened 50 years ago is as important today as it was then. We have made remarkable progress, but the work is not done.” Coming from six different composers, the full piece truly embraces different stories as well as music styles: from classical foundations to pop elements and even weaving in musical theatre tempos. As well as making this piece accessible for choirs across the country to perform, the composers really wanted to ensure that it was approachable for audiences of all age ranges and historical context to follow. “One of the things that has been really exciting for me, and challenging too, is making Stonewall relevant for our younger members,” said Knapp. “We have a lot of influx of younger singers in the Denver Gay Men's Chorus, and a lot of them were not even not even born yet (during the riots), so it's been a really wonderful opportunity for us to share what Stonewall really means.” RMAA executive director Michael Sattler agreed that often he encounters people who aren’t even familiar with Stonewall at all, and that’s why a show like Quiet No More is so important. “I think the first thing that’s important is to be able to tell people the story of what happened,” said Sattler. “What is Stonewall? It’s a bar; it’s something
very common in ordinary life, but for the life of a gay man in New York in 1969, it was a place where you could get arrested. Just the fact that you could get arrested for dancing with a person of the same sex, I don’t think we should ever forget that. The people who stood up had nothing to lose; transgender people and drag queens, they had the courage to say ‘Enough is enough. We’re human, and we deserve respect as much as anybody else.” Music has that ability to really transport you to another place that bears your emotions and lets you feel the passion, the pain, and the joy of what was happening.” “Even though it is definitely an LGBTQdriven history and perspective, it also reaches out further to a social justice issues,” said Knapp. Through the music, the Stonewall spirit of community comes through and serves as an emotive reminder of how difficult the trail was to blaze during the early years of the LGBTQ equality movement. In addition to the two performances honoring Stonewall in June, members of the Denver combined choruses have been invited to join the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 27, the day before the anniversary of the riots. “I am nothing short of thrilled that RMAA is part of this project,” said Knapp. “This is not an easy piece of music, but it has a beautiful story to it. It’s scrumptious, beautiful, and dramatic and will be a wonderful journey for the audience.” Visit rmarts.org to buy tickets.
and
WORLD Pride 2019 50 Years
featuring the Rocky Mountain regional premiere of:
Also featuring works from the musicals Hello Dolly and Next to Normal, composers Holly Near, Mark Hayes and more!
May 18 7:30 PM
First United Methodist Church
Join us for the OFFICIAL Kickoff of Denver PrideFest! TICKETS & INFO
Golden
DGMC.ORG or DENVERWOMENSCHORUS.ORG #DWC5280 #DGMC5280 #QuietNoMoreDenver
June 1 7:30 PM
Broomfield Auditorium
Broomfield
June 7 & 8 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
King Center Concert Hall Auraria Higher Education Center
Denver
Five Queer Video Games You Shouldn’t Sleep On By Caitlin Galiz-Rowe
For hardcore gamers who are also queer, there’s often a struggle to find LGBTQ-affirming games. If that’s what you’re after, look no further than this list for some of the most fabulous queer games out there.
Heaven Will Be Mine Worst Girl Games’ newest release is a funny, painful, and probably too online (in all the best ways) visual novel about three mech pilots trying to find their place in their factions and the world at large in an alternate reality where space travel has become the least of our worries. You can choose between three characters: the rebellious, flirty Saturn; the weathered, twice-traitorous Terra Luna; or the compassionate and terrifyingly powerful Pluto. Pilot their respective mechs and take on missions to help (or hinder) your faction’s ends and discover what the people in charge really want from each. Fight, flirt, and explore what it means to fall in love, have a body, and to be human.
Tusks Tusks is a visual novel following a group of queer orc men (and one human) as they embark on a traditional annual journey together. Set in a semi-mystical Scotland, Tusks draws from the mythology of this area, using it to differentiate different types of orcs. This game shines in its willingness to explore bodies and sexuality in a way that other games, and other mainstream media formats, just don’t. There are so many frank conversations surrounding boundaries, kinks, and desires. Body diversity is also a clear focus, as each orc’s body is unique and presented as good and desirable regardless of weight, scars, or anatomy. A very real sense of family, warmth, and compassion emanates from this game, and it’s a much-needed departure from the usual depictions and realities we often see.
Secret Little Haven Secret Little Haven’s charm lies in its incredible ability to capture the essence of 90s internet culture. I felt nostalgic for it while playing, and I didn’t even really experience that era. You play as a character named Alex, though you never see her physically. Instead, you navigate your way around her computer using an actual operating system created in Unity by developer Victoria Dominowski, sending IMs to internet friends, scrolling through the Pretty Magical Girl (a Sailor Moon equivalent) forums, writing fan ficition, and more. The game does have a content warning for parental conflict and gaslighting, but if you can get past these elements, there’s a really wonderful story of self-discovery and the positive ways the internet age has helped facilitate and nurture queer communities.
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The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories Full disclosure, The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories is an absolutely brutal experience. To advance, your character, JJ, has to solve puzzles and traverse platforming sections by literally tearing herself apart. The sound design in these sequences can be extremely rough at times as it supplements the more subdued art style. But this, in combination with some shockingly insightful narrative choices, made it a heartbreaking but ultimately empowering narrative about queer experience and chosen family.
Butterfly Soup Butterfly Soup focuses on four AsianAmerican high school girls. Dia is Indian-American, deaf in one ear, and socially anxious to a degree that’s almost painful. Min-seo is a Korean-American tomboy who’s small but (overly) fierce. Noelle is ChineseAmerican and a bit of a stickler for the rules and getting good grades. Arkarsha, my personal favorite, is Indian-American and uses her weird, sh*t-posting sense of humor to cover up the immense pressure she feels to be successful. Theirs is a sweet coming-of-age story told through the unexpected lens of baseball. Don’t worry, Butterfly Soup isn’t a sports game, mechanically. You don’t have to know anything about baseball to understand what’s going on. Most of the characters don’t, either. Instead, baseball is used as a narrative device to ground the previous relationship of two characters and to later incorporate everyone into a team dynamic.
OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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D N A S T S I T R QUEER A MRBACE AUTHORS E
R E V N E THE D E N E C ZINE S By Keegan Williams
T
oday, many LGBTQ artists and authors embrace self-publishing and zines, and our city make it easy with the Denver Zine Library, founded in 2003, home to more than 15,000 zines and helping to elevate the scene in Colorado. OUT FRONT got to chat with four queer zine-fiends about self-publishing in 2019.
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These creators and many more will be at Denver Zine Fest on Sunday, June 23 at the McNichols Civic Center Building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. For more on the Denver Zine Fest and the Denver Zine Library, visit denverzinelibrary.org.
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Why ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is an
LGBTQ Movie
by Jordan Hanson
A
vengers: Endgame—and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, for that matter—has spurred a lot of discussion in recent years about its supposed lack of apparent diversity. Many of these remarks are valid; these movies could certainly have done more to put queer characters front and center. I don’t want to spoil too much of the movie for anyone who hasn’t already seen it by the time this article runs. (And if this is you, put down this column and come back to me when you have. I promise it’s worth your time and money.) But, for all its shortcomings, like Vision said in Avengers: Age of Ultron, "There is grace in their failings.” The Marvel cinematic universe spans 22 movies in a little more than 11 years; they’ve had to average two a year. In those years, we started with Iron Man in 2008, and finished this year with Endgame. The most recent movie is the capstone blockbuster rounding out over a decade of cinematic thrill rides. And really, it’s that legacy of storytelling that makes the MCU a queer story hub in my eyes. Before you fire off a tweet blasting my opinion, let me explain. To me, the Marvel Universe has always been about making monsters lovable. At its center are a bunch of characters whom the rest of society might deem freaks, or, in Hulk’s case, literal monsters. Iron Man himself is a warmonger/arms manufacturerturned-peace-loving defender of all humanity. Thor is, again, a callous, warmongering hulk of muscle who sees the light of peace in the wake of his younger brother’s quest for vengeance. Black Widow is a Russian assassin. Captain America is a scrawny boy from Brooklyn who becomes a juiced-up super soldier. Sure, Marvel could have included more queer characters front-and-center along the way. But in a way, to me it feels like they already did. As we know, as queer people, we aren’t always in control of our own stories and narratives. As a trans woman, I am intimately aware of the ways other people make monsters out of women like me and the violent responses that often accompany that familiar horror story. 4 0 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
But the Marvel movies aren’t about what these people are, or even who they were. We aren’t focused, in any of the movies, on romantic relationships or sexual orientations; these are consistently window-dressings for the main event. To me, the Marvel Cinematic Universe represents the possibility of any one person telling their own story, of looking destiny in the face and, as Thor remarks at one point in Endgame, choosing to be the best version of who we are, instead of consistently failing at who or what we thought we were supposed to be. The best argument against shoehorning diversity in like it’s a new Disney movie-making quota comes from Endgame itself. One of the Russo brothers,the film’s directors, playing the role of a gay man dating in the world that exists after Thanos’ snap, delivers a ham-fisted monologue that buries the lede like some sort of dramatic reveal; gay people survived the snap, too! it seems to scream. It is, bar none, the most cringe-inducing moment of the three hours I sat in the theater. If that’s what Marvel means by its new focus on diversity, I’d rather stick with the legacy of movies that came before: stories about the impossible becoming possible, if only through the sheer wit and will of the characters before us trying their hardest to succeed. Even in queer spaces, surrounded by other queer folks, I’m used to transgender stories taking a backseat to gay, lesbian, and even bisexual stories. To make do, so to speak, with the stories that are told already and reading myself in between the lines of dialogue delivered in every scene. That’s the world I’m used to, and I think it might be better in some ways than what we’ve seen so far. We don’t want token queers on the silver screen; we want to see ourselves played for who we’ve fought so hard to become, to mirror the actual struggles we faced in getting to that point. The real Avengers, the original six, match that definition so much more than the one queer scene we got in 22 films. And Endgame is a demonstration about why you can’t judge a character by one moment; there’s more to that journey than just one film. That’s a queer movie to me, in the end.
OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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The Queern ess
O
of Cosplay
ne thing the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum agrees on is how amazing it feels to be able to match your outside appearance to what you feel on the inside. And one great place to start is through character cosplay. Gender is performed in its most conscious, geeky way at genre conventions all around the world in the form of cosplay, a portmanteau of “costume play” that features attendees dressing up as and adopting the signature mannerisms of their favorite characters. That makes it sound simple, but cosplay is much more than finding the perfect tunic for your Star Trek costume. For its participants, it’s a chance to explore their gender expression in an outsized way that doesn’t feel safe or practical in their day-to-day lives. This is especially true for cosplayers who identify as queer.
Denver-based cosplayer Gage Gerardi said he was bullied a lot in school as he was trying to figure out his gender identify. When he was in late middle school and early high school, a friend first got him hooked on the anime series Naruto, then convinced him to dress up and go to a convention with him. “He said I’d be the odd one out if I didn’t dress up.” Gerardi said, “So I thought, sure, why not?” Gerardi pulled together a Kiba Inuzuka costume from pieces he found at Goodwill and entered a world that accepted him for who he wanted to be. The genderfluid, transmasculine cosplayer has been obsessed ever since. “I personally love it, especially as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, because I get to actually physically be who I see myself as,” he said. Throughout the 1940s, cosplaying gained steam and participants as the conventions themselves became more open to demographics (like women) who had previously been scarce. The next decades saw formalization of 4 2 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
By Mel Griffin
cosplay group activities like masked balls and costume contests, which solidified cosplay’s legitimacy as official convention events and traditions. When tabletop, role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons swept the scene in the 1970s, participants found a new level of engagement. It became common to not only dress like your favorite characters, but to create your own and embody them fully. The rapid growth of mass media like comic books, television, and movies gave cosplayers fuller ideas of what their favorite characters looked and acted like, thereby giving them more to play with. The actual term “cosplay” wasn’t coined until 1984. Japanese writer and director Nobuyuki Takahashi used it to describe the dressed-up fans he saw at that year’s WorldCon in New York. The term stuck and spread across the fandom world. Within Denver, Starfest has been a standout event since it was first staged in 1977. Co-founder and current event coordinator for the con KathE Walker started the event with her sister after going to a Star Trek convention in New York the previous year. The cosplay aspect was something built into their own fandoms, and they made that an integral aspect of StarFest from the beginning. Walker said in her forty years of experience, the science fiction scene has always been very accepting.
1960s and 70s. This has been especially noticeable in the rise of male-to-female crossplayers who use their cosplay to perform feats of hyperfemininity in otherwise masculine, heterosexual lives. Through case studies of live and online examples, Leng found crossplay used as a deliberate way to exaggerate gender roles as comments on both fandom and society, much like drag performances. However, unlike drag, crossplay is exclusive to a performer’s fandom life and is not meant to comment on their self-identity outside their favorite characters. Leng sees this as another way cosplay helps fans express themselves in ways that would otherwise be closed off to them. The cosplay community itself has gained a reputation of radical acceptance and safety for anyone who wants to join, and after incidents of harassment or trouble, cosplayers rush to protect their own through immediate actions like the “Cosplay is Not Consent: Colorado” petition that started after the incident at this year’s StarFest.
Although the beginnings of cosplay were decisively heteronormative, its history shows that it’s always made space for those who aren’t. There’s even a specific term for those whose cosplay involves dressing up as the opposite of the gender they present: crossplay.
Katz said she never really felt the need to officially come out about her queerness because she felt like it was obvious enough. Her discovery of cosplay coincided with her budding sense of queerness, and the two naturally complimented each other as she gained more experienced with both. And to Katz, the chance to show how much she enjoys certain science fiction and fantasy stories puts her in the middle of people who love story and character just as much as she does.
According to a Duke University study by Rachel Leng on gender, sexuality, and cosplay, crossplay has experienced rapid growth since Western audiences started viewing anime from Japan in the
“I figured out that I don’t want to date people who are not nerds,” she said. “What goes on in your head if you’re not constantly obsessing over a character?”
“Over the years, I’ve found that people have become more comfortable with who they are, no matter what their preference,” she said.
When you fill prescriptions at CARES Pharmacy, you’re supporting services for all of our patients and clients.
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RMC2019_OutFront_FourthPG.indd 5 2/25/19 It’s April! The best day of the year is this month... Tax Day! April Fools, it’s 4/20!
OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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Bury Your Gays
How 'The Magicians' Fell Into the Same Old Trap
By Apollo Blue
A
s a young, gay man, I crave positive representation in media. I want to see happy, queer people like me on television more than anything. I really thought SyFy's The Magicians could do that for me. It looked like they were setting up a queer relationship between two main characters. Two of the show’s feature characters, Eliot and Quentin, had fallen in love in a timeline that didn't actually happen, but they remembered it (sounds confusing I know, but if you’re a fan of the show, you get it.) The show gave us a taste of a happy, queer relationship. They showed Quentin asking Eliot out after they remembered their history, and Eliot rejecting him. But they also showed that Eliot regretted that and wanted to rectify his choice. The writers and showrunners were promoting the couple, and fans were excited. Unfortunately, Eliot spent almost all of season four possessed by a monster. He got one scene with Quentin in the whole season. When the finale aired, I had a lot of hope. I was so sure Quentin and Eliot would reunite, maybe even kiss. What I ended up getting was the worst-case scenario; a mentally ill, bisexual man's death used as a cheap shock. The showrunners made the choice to kill Quentin seemingly without thought about their queer fans. They took this character, one who both mentally ill and queer fans could relate to, from us. They gave us hope of seeing a happy, healthy queer relationship between two main characters on mainstream television and squashed it like a bug. I have never been so angry at a TV show. I feel betrayed by the writers and showrunners. I had heard rumors that the finale was sad, and we knew someone would die but, I didn't think my favorite show would resort to the tired old 'bury your gays' trope. I almost feel dumb fo hoping, but it was fueled by the showrunners promoting this couple. The showrunners
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were cruel without without realizing it when they hyped up this couple. The worst part is, they think they were being “subversive” in the choice to kill Quentin. They wanted a show where even the white male wasn't safe, but failed to grasp that Quentin was a representation for both queer and mentally ill fans, and that, in fact, killing a queer, mentally ill character is one of the least subversive tropes out there. I have seen it happen far too many times, and every time is more upsetting. The fact they made us think Eliot and Quentin would get a happy ending together was careless. They didnt think about the way this kind of death effects fans, especially fans who finally got to see someone like themselves on TV. In the upcoming season, I worry about Eliot. I don't know how he will cope. In the past, losing someone he loved left him broken. I almost don't want to see how much worse it is with someone he lived 50 years with. I see myself in him more than any character in the past. I want to see him happy, because it makes me feel like I have a chance of being happy. Seeing him lose someone he loved hurts me a lot. Quentin meant so much to me as a queer viewer. He represented the fact that you could be a mentally ill, queer person and still have a full life. The prospect of Eliot and Quentin having a relationship is what got me into this show. The Magicians could have had something rarely seen on television, but they ended up with an old trope seen far too often. I am beyond tired of seeing this trope. You never think your favorite show will resort to bury your gays for shock value. It's extremely disappointing when they do. I don't know if I will watch season five after this heartbreaking finale.
OUTREACH
QUEER-FRIENDLY HEALTHCARE
FOR INFO ON PLACING AN OUTREACH AD CALL 303.477.4000
In the early years of queer culture, bars were the only
are other ways to meet people. It starts with you! Drag
place to meet other LGBTQ people. Queer culture has
your friends on a hike in the mountains, play a sport,
become almost synonymous with bar culture. While meeting people in bars in itself is not the problem, substance abuse runs rampant within our community.
volunteer your time. If you are a GBTQ male between ages 18-29, Denver Element has a program called Denver
It’s hard to turn down a drink when all your friends are
Pique that puts on fun, safe, and sober activities weekly.
drinking around you, then one turns in to six. Going out
The events are constantly changing, and there is always
to bars is embedded in our culture. The infamous words
something to pique your interest.
at the Stonewall Riots were even “Out of the bars and into the streets!” So how do we change this? How do we make sober activities cool? Now that it is 2018, there
Geoffrey Gutierrez, MBA Program Coordinator – Denver Pique
OUTFRONTMAGAZINE.COM
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HEINZESIGHT
THE MASKS
WE WEAR By Brent Heinze
W
e all dress up for a variety of activities and reasons. Some have a dress code at work. Many of us go for comfortable clothes when we are relaxing on a weekend where we just want to kick back and chill out. We may choose to put on sleeveless shirts during summer and bundle up in scarfs and wool hats when it’s cold outside.
not. In environments where the fantasy element is celebrated, such as comic conventions, people can create fictitious presentations of themselves. In the real world, some people may also create an impression of themselves to cover up parts of them that they may feel insecure or embarrassed about. They many also simply just like wearing what makes them feel awesome.
Many times, how we present ourselves to others may be dictated by our environment, but we also have a significant amount of personal choice in what we wear and what those selections mean for us. It can be much more than simply putting on some random combination of clothes. These choices may have a significant impact on us emotionally or socially as well.
Finding that perfect outfit can feel elusive and may take multiple attempts to create the magical combination. At the end of the process, you may have pulled out many articles of clothing from closets and drawers, leaving them strewn across the bed or piled on the floor.
There are a variety of terms that can describe what we wear to embellish our outward appearance, and I don’t think it matters much which one you use. Maybe it is important to consider the purpose of how you want to present yourself before choosing what word to use. “Outfit” sounds like something your mother would use to describe what you would wear to church or Macy’s on a Saturday afternoon shopping trip. The word “Getup” may seem amusing, since it can be used in a critical or confused way, especially when saying something like, “look at their getup.” The term “costume” may seem like we are putting on a false image by dressing up as something that we are 4 6 \\ M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 9
Sometimes the selection of our outfit may be motivated by a desire to fit in and not stand out in the crowd. Other times it is about being as loud as possible to steal the spotlight. It is important to determine what your overall purpose is when choosing how you will present yourself in a public place. Take some time to figure out what you want your clothes to say about you to other people. Your appearance is most likely the first thing people will notice, and they will use these impressions to begin making assessments about you.
This explosion of creative coordination may produce that outfit that makes you feel amazing about the way you look, give you an increased sense of confidence, and motivate you to get excited about getting out into the world to show yourself off. It’s all about getting fired up about what you choose to wear and making the selections that support your own personal confidence.
Unless you’re a vampire who does not cast a reflection, you can stand in front of a mirror, review your appearance, and make personal judgements about how you look. It is important to consider who will be potentially interacting with us. If you are preparing for a job interview or a court appearance, you may want to ensure that you are dressed in a manner that expresses confidence, integrity, and shows a respect for the process you are about to engage in.
Certain subcultures may also come with a pre-existing set of fashion standards. It doesn’t matter if you are into being preppy, kinky, spooky, country, or clubby. There are often common threads between what many people in these communities choose to wear, but be careful about needing to feel that you must play by particular style rules. Hopefully, you have selected clothes that make you feel fantastic.
When going out for a night on the town, you also want to show confidence, but there may be additional expressions of a playful attitude, sexiness, or being on the prowl that you want to also include in your look. Your appearance can give onlookers some important information about you and increase your chances of getting the outcomes you want. Put some time and effort into your choices.
S*park S*pring Fling
By Veronica L. Holyfield OUT FRONT, along with S*Park, RiNo's sustainable living community, and Denver's Queer Business Alliance, presented an evening of LGBTQ local fine art, acoustic mood music, delicious food, and lively libations on April 24. A beautiful night on the rooftop terrace, which overlooks the River North Art District, served as a perfect location to showcase artwork, listen to one of Denver's indie-pop bands, and gather the incredible queer community.
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Imperial Court Coronation 46
By Charles Broshous The Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire hosted Coronation 46 at the Renaissance Hotel on April 20. The Tale as Old as Time, A Disney Affair gala, bid farewell to Emperor 45, Terry Blood, and Empress 45 Lala J. Shearz and welcomed Emperor 46, Karl Wesley, and Empress 46, R.C. Michaels.
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BAR TAB | THE HOTTEST COLORADO NIGHTLIFE
BOYZTOWN
117 Broadway St. Denver (303) 722-7373 boyztowndenver.com
CHARLIE'S® NIGHTCLUB
900 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 839-8890 charliesdenver.com MON - SAT: Happy Hour 11 a.m.-7 p.m. FRI: Neon Fridays SUN: $7 Beer Bust 4-8 p.m.
CLUB Q
3430 N. Academy Blvd. Colo. Springs (719) 570-1429 clubqonline.com
CLOCKTOWER CABARET
16th St. Mall @ Arapahoe, Denver (303) 293-0075 clocktowercabaret.com
DADDY’S BAR & GRILL
1120 E. 6th Ave. Denver (303) 993-6365 daddysdenver.com
EL POTRERO
R&R LOUNGE
TRACKS
3500 Walnut St. Denver (303) 863-7326 tracksdenver.com
THE TRIANGLE BAR
STONEY'S UPTOWN JOINT
1035 E. 17th Ave. Denver (720) 485-5503 Stoneysuptown.com WED: All You Can Eat Wings & Team Trivia THU: $1 Tacos & Tequila Specials FRI: Feud Trivia @8pm SAT/SUN – Brunch, Bottomless Mimosas ’til 2 p.m. HAPPY HOURS: M-F 4-7 p.m.
A
T.
U LN
CLOCKTOWER 16 T
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ST .M
AL
K
PRIDE & SWAGGER
A AP
AV E
TRIANGLE 17TH AVE.
L
COLFAX AVE.
PA R
. ST
T
E HO
.W
ES
. ST
31ST AVE.
T
HAMBURGER MARY’S
STONEY'S XBAR
R VD BL .
11TH AVE.
1ST AVE. LI’L DEVILS
OGDEN ST.
COMPOUND BOYZTOWN
BROADWAY
GLADYS TRADE
PENNSYLVANIA
6TH AVE.
CLARKSON ST.
8TH AVE.
WASHINGTON ST.
VYBE
DADDY’S BAR & GRILL
R+R DENVER
CHARLIE’S BLUSH & BLU
EE
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1027 N. Broadway St. Denver (720) 608-8923 vybe303.com
ES
AR
SP
LIPSTICK DISCOTHEQUE
5660 W. Colfax Ave. Denver (720) 669-3470
VYBE
W
SANTA FE DR. KALAMATH ST.
LIL’ DEVILS
X BAR
B
K LA
MILLERS & ROSSI
TRACKS
COLORADO BLVD.
TRADE
629 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 832-2687 xbardenver.com
255 S. Broadway St. Denver (303) 733-1156 lildevilslounge.com
3542 Walnut Street, Denver
2036 N. Broadway St. , Denver (303) 658-0913 triangledenver.com
HAMBURGER MARY’S
1336 E. 17th Ave. Denver (303) 993-5812 hamburgermarys.com/denver
CONTEMPORARY ART SPEAKEASY
4958 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 320-9337
475 Santa Fe Dr. Denver (720) 627-5905 THU: Skivvy Stripdown SAT: Beer Bust 3 - 7 p.m. SUN: Beer Bust 3 - 7 p.m.
500 Santa Fe Dr. Denver (303) 893-6112
MILLERS & ROSSI
YORK ST.
GLADYS: THE NOSY NEIGHBOR
PRIDE & SWAGGER 450 E.17th Ave. #110 Denver (720) 476-6360
BROADWAY
4501 E. Virginia Ave. Glendale (303) 388-8889 Facebook - Elpotrero.180
MILLERS & ROSSI
Contemporary Art Speakeasy 3542 Walnut St, Denver 720-257-5342 Mention OUT FRONT for $2 off all specialty cocktails
DOWNING ST.
BLUSH & BLU
1526 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 484-8548 blushbludenver.com
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Mountain Location 1221 County Rd 308 Off Exit 234 on I-70 Dumont, CO (720) 242-8692