I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I first started reading Superman comic books.
It was 1960 or ’61 — which would make me 10 or 11 — and comic books were still a dime. They had quarterly episodes. I think they cost 25 cents, but it might have been 50 cents.
At some point in ’61 or maybe ’62, prices went up from a dime to 12 cents. That might sound trivial in an era where 12 cents won’t buy anything, but imagine things you purchased regularly increasing by 20 percent all at once.
It wasn’t trivial.
But boy, have times changed.
I’m pretty sure Superman of what is now known as the Silver Age never had sex. Heck, even though Lana Lang was Superboy’s girlfriend and Lois Lane Superman’s gal pal, they were never even shown kissing in the comic books.
It wouldn’t have meant much to me anyway. This might sound a little on the crazy side, but it was a different world 60 years ago. I’m pretty sure I was 12 years old — in 1962 — before I learned the mechanics of sex and how babies were created.
Gay sex or bisexuality?
I wouldn’t even have believed they were possible for average people let alone superheroes.
Now folks on the right are shocked that the new Superman will be bisexual. It’s actually the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The original Supe is pretty much the same bright blue boy scout he always was.
The bi-Supe is actually Superman Jr.
And the audience isn’t 10- and 11-year-olds anymore. Even if that were true, kids that age are much more worldly than I was at that age.
But having a gay superhero, particularly one from the Superman line, plays right into the whole right-wing “cancel culture” thing.
And these days, it matters more to them to have an issue they can ride through elections than to actually be right or wrong.
More of what’s wrong with our world.