Spandex: The World’s First Gay Superhero Team
Launched in November 2009, the comic Spandex stars the world’s first gay superhero team. Now on its third issue which just hit shelves on the 20th of last month, the comic has been nominated for an Eagle Award for Best British comic and has gained national radio, television and newspaper coverage. Starring a team of eight gay superheroes Spandex is an exciting, funny and touching comic journey. It’s fascinating and intriguing characters mixed with creator Martin Eden’s bold artwork make an excellent and unique reading experience.
Although Spandex often has its tongue firmly planted in cheek, it also takes on some key issues. Tackling gay issues head on, Eden makes sure that he gives support for the topics that arise in the comics. In Issue 3, depression and anxiety are discussed and there is an excellent section of his website full of support and advice.
We had a chat with the lovely Mr Eden himself to find out exactly what makes Spandex one of a kind.
Name: Martin Eden
Age: 36
Favourite Colour: Magenta
Favourite Movie: Alien
Firstly, what made you want to create the world’s first gay superhero team?
The decision to do a comic about a gay superteam just evolved naturally for me. Spandex were supporting characters in my previous comic, a super-soap called ‘The O Men’, and I decided to develop them and have fun with them. I thought a gay superteam was something that hadn’t been done before, and I am always keen to pursue ideas that are new and innovative.
I wanted to have a comic about gay characters and for that aspect of it not be a big deal. I wanted the characters to just be accepted, for the fact that they are gay not to matter, and for it to be a case of, ‘right, let’s just get on with the stories’.
I feel that a lot of gay comics or TV shows are still in a bit of a niche – even things like Queer As Folk. Look at how most gay characters in EastEnders eventually get written out, because the writers don’t know what to do with them. Spandex is a straight-forward story, the characters face things that any comic characters would face, but they just happen to be gay.
I wanted to also explore sexuality, because this is something you don’t see much of in comics. Several of the characters are in same-sex relationships. Also, there’s a story where a gay character and a lesbian character get very ‘heated’ in the middle of a fight, and they share a passionate kiss. So what’s all that about? Where does that story go? It’s something that’s actually happened with friends of mine. I want to explore it. I also think it’s something you don’t necessarily expect to see in a gay comic. I want to keep the readers on their toes!
The comic is all a big experiment for me. I may well fall flat on my face with it, but I enjoy the challenge.
What are your favourite comics and what do you take inspiration from?
I was a big fan of Marvel Comics when I was growing up. All the X-Men titles and, well, just about everything that Marvel did – Alpha Flight, New Defenders, Power Pack, The Avengers… As I grew up, I started to move towards more ‘mature’ comics like Love and Rockets – Jaime Hernandez is probably the best comic artist in the world today. I also love Grant Morrison’s comics – his imagination is stunning. In Doom Patrol, he gave us Crazy Jane, a multiple personality superhero, with each of the 64 personalities having a different power, and his Invisibles series was mind-blowing.
I get inspiration from anything – for example, a spine-tingling moment in a movie, where the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I like to listen to music that’s quite dramatic or sounds like it’s a soundtrack to something – music by Tori Amos, A Fine Frenzy, Bjork, PJ Harvey, people like that. It all propels my comic stories.
Of all your characters, who is your personal favourite? They are all very unique with a strong sense of identity, did you base them on anyone you know?
It’s so hard to pick a favourite, because they all appeal to me (I couldn’t write about them if they didn’t interest me), and they all do different things at different times that I like. I have a soft spot for Butch, because she’s so interesting to write. She is very quiet and brooding, so it’s a lot of fun to come up with ways to get people to like her. How do you convey the personality of someone who is so guarded, and how do you make them likeable?
Liberty, the transvestite superhero, is fun because she’s very witty and she does some very unpredictable things. Prowler is a little bit based on me, with his cheerful outlook on life, so I enjoy writing him. Indigo is a very complex character, and I like drawing sexy ladies too (I don’t know why, but I prefer drawing women to men – maybe I’m on the turn). I’m enjoying writing Pussy at the moment – the team’s main villain. She’s a little bit unstable and dangerous, but she’s not unredeemable. None of my characters are.
I don’t specifically base them on anyone I know, although some of the names are taken from friends. The characters just pop into my head, and naturally evolve there. I base the characters more on the vibe of people I know. People I hang out with, who just like to have fun, go to the pub and have a laugh, etc.
If you could describe Spandex in one word, what would it be?
Unpredictable.
Spandex tackles a myriad of gay issues ( I particularly enjoyed the ‘that fight was gay’ argument on the plane to Japan in Issue 2). How important is it to you to depicted real life as well as fantasy?
It’s definitely very important to me. I will write big, epic fight scenes, but what’s most important to me is the human reaction. Issue One encapsulates my aim with Spandex, really. You have the first 15 pages, where the team fight the ’50-Foot Lesbian’, which is cool and introduces the characters, but what I like more is the second half of that issue, where you follow the team to their homes and find out their little secrets and what makes them tick.
It’s the human moments that I enjoy writing. Issue Three is about an alien who turns the world into mindless zombies, but I enjoy writing about Indigo’s struggle to mentally deal with it, or Glitter’s ‘reunion’ with the father who threw him out of his house.
I don’t want to use Spandex as a soapbox though. I think that would put people off. I say certain things that I want to say and I put it out there, but I don’t lecture or force my views on the reader.
Finally, where can people get their hands on Spandex?
I mainly sell Spandex through my website (with Paypal), which is spandexcomic.com. Some comic shops sell it too – most of the ones in London, plus Dave’s Comics in Brighton, OK Comics in Leeds, Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham, most of the Forbidden Planets in the UK, and Gay’s the Word bookshop in London too. There’s a ‘Spandex Comic’ Facebook page, and I’m a Facebook addict, so I use it a lot and do lots of fun stuff on there. Come and join me!
Leave a Reply