Over the weekend Teen Titan artist Brett Booth confirmed that Bunker, a new character in the relaunched Teen Titans written by Scott Lobdell (and drawn by Booth) is gay.  He may not be the first gay Teen Titans character (there were rumors about Jericho), but he is certainly the most flamboyant, openly gay character in the group’s history.  Bunker appears in the background on the cover to Teen Titans #1, which is due to hit retail on September 28th, and makes his full debut appearance in issue #3, which hits retail in November.

 

On his blog, Booth reprinted Lobdell’s thumbnail bio of the character: “His real name is Miguel Jose Barragan.  He was raised in a small Mexican village called El Chilar.  He was very loved by his family and the village as well—and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were of his superpowers when they first manifested.  To that end he grew up in an angst free environment.  He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life.”

 

Booth goes on to describe the approach that he and Lobdell have taken in creating the openly gay Bunker character: “We wanted to show an interesting character whose homosexuality is part of him, not something that's hidden.  Sure they are gay people who you wouldn't know are gay right off the bat, but there are others who are more flamboyant, and we thought it would be nice to actually see them portrayed in comics.  Did we go over the top, I don't think so.  I wanted you to know he might be gay as soon as you see him… Will he be more effeminate than what we've seen before, the 'typical' gay male comic character, yes.  Does it scare the s**t out of me that I might inadvertently piss off the group I want to reflect in a positive way, you're damn straight (pun intended!).”

 

Bunker, who has also been referred to as “The Wall,” has abilities that include the power to create miniature force fields that look like bricks.  He may need those abilities to ward off potential criticism from some quarters, though it’s hard not appreciate Lobdell and Booth’s strategy for the character, which the artist summarized succinctly, “I don’t think that we even mention that he’s gay.  You see him.  You know it.  No need to harp on about it.”  That sounds like progress.