Let's be gay, let's make some whoopee

 In honour of pride month, let's celebrate a great superhero of the past!

He's not gay in THAT sense, of course. This was 1941, and the first issue of Sensation Comics, from DC. The headline star of that comic was a controversial and radical piece of diversity and inclusion - Wonder Woman, the FEMALE superhero! DC probably would never have dreamed of allowing that kind of thing as a lead feature without the insistence of the illustrious Dr William Moulton Marston that it was a good and acceptable thing to do. They printed endorsements from heavyweight boxers Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey in the first two issues of Sensation, just to show how it's okay and manly to read Wonder Woman.

The Gay Ghost was one of the five backup features who filled out the monthly anthology comic - another was The Black Pirate, who of course wasn't black in THAT sense. It was decades before DC, always slow to move with the times, dared to introduce an African-American superhero, and even more decades after that before they finally gave us a homosexual one! Little Boy Blue wasn't blue, either, and nor was Wildcat a cat. Mister Terrific was the only other hero of Sensation who came close to living up to his adjective, and some have suggested Mister Mediocre would make a better description of his adventures (I've always liked him myself...)

But that adjective has really hurt The Gay Ghost over the years. In the eighties, DC's Who's Who wanted to include him, but saw fit to rename him The Grim Ghost to avoid all the giggling and innuendo. It's a ridiculous thing to call him - the Ghost was entirely gay, in the sense the creators understood it at the time, and not at all grim!

His love interest, Debbie Wallace, has to win the title of 'stupidest superhero girlfriend', though. The Gay Ghost's setup is that when playboy Charles Collins was killed, the ghost of Keith Everett took over his body and identity (and girlfriend, without her noticing). To go into action against crooks and fifth-columnists, the ghost leaves Charles's body, which drops down dead, and flies into action as a spirit. Debbie thinks it strange that Charles has suddenly started acting completely differently and displaying ignorance of any technological developments since 1700, and is surprised by his new habit of 'falling asleep' on the spot at any moment when the Gay Ghost arrives to save the day, but never makes the connection in her mind. Mr Terrific, meanwhile, has a girlfriend Wanda Wilson who breaks all the superhero rules and immediately recognises Terry Sloane in superhero costume, even though he wears a mask over the top half of his face! Lois Lane could learn a lesson or two from her!

So go out and enjoy life! Be gay!