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    "Midnighter" Is The Gay Comic Book You've Been Waiting For

    Openly gay superhero Midnighter uses Grindr and saves the world at the same time.

    The first issue of DC's new superhero comic Midnighter debuted last week.

    It stars Midnighter, a former member of the superhero team the Authority. The character was originally created in 1998 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch. He's also a gay superhero.

    Midnighter is the hero's latest solo series since the original was canceled in 2008. This new version is scripted by queer writer Steve Orlando and aims to update Midnighter for a modern audience.

    "Thirteen-year-old Steve read [the original Midnighter], and it broke my conceptions of what you could be like back when you didn’t have a lot of role models in mainstream media. He led his life differently, with zero fucks to give about what anyone else thought. One could say thatMidnighter created me," Orlando told BuzzFeed.

    Gay media has inspired Orlando and he's excited to bring more to the table:

    "Arliss Howard in [the now-canceled AMC series] Rubicon was a beautifully integrated gay character, and I really loved Weekend [a film by Andrew Haigh, creator of HBO's Looking], which I thought was wonderfully subdued and bucked a lot of trends. I love to see things that integrate gay themes and characters without highlighting them as different."

    Just like other gay men today, Midnighter uses dating apps.

    One of the best part's of @thesteveorlando's Midnighter #1 was peeking the hero's grindr/scruff profile.

    Orlando told BuzzFeed that his approach is "not fetishizing or making taboo things about the queer community — doing an action book that stars a gay male lead, and not a gay book that has some action it. The narrative has to be true to the characters. If you have a book that’s overly highlighting things, you’re saying it needs to be pointed out and it's not natural."

    Midnighter also has an active sex life.

    All the while saving the world from supervillains.

    And reader response has been positive:

    Midnighter is the only thing I care about in DC Comics right now. I NEED.

    Midnighter 1 is a fantastic first issue. Great introduction to the character from @thesteveorlando and gorgeous artwork from ACO and Fajardo

    totally freaking out that everything is happening for @thesteveorlando. Midnighter #1 is out today, it's getting great reviews, you go grl.

    Midnighter #1 is now available in stores.