The Gay League is one of the first and largest groups in the world for LGBT comics fans.
The group had its start in the summer of 1997 after a man enigmatically referred to as “Ulu Vakk” (that’s Color Kid from the Legion of Substitute Heroes) attended Andy Mangels’ “Gays In Comics” panel at San Diego Comic Con. The panel served as inspiration for bringing LGBTQ+ fans together online. It seemed the perfect solution to the few people who were posting campy and very gay remarks on the old DC Comics message board (that was then a part of AOL at the time), and soon a very informal e-mail list was born.
That initial list grew and grew and KEPT growing, until it became too big to contain in just e-mails. Anton Kawasaki, one of the original founding members, proposed the idea of a making a website where we could take the list (and the group as a whole) public. Anton enlisted the help of Drew Moore for graphics, and later “Zan” Christensen made the site even cooler! Joe Palmer took over as administrator, and the Gay League grew to hundreds, then thousands of members. Local Gay League groups began to meet up in cities, and there were even a few “Gay League Convergences” in NYC where members traveled from all over to meet.
And then…the website was the target of a rather nasty hack, and most of the content was taken down. While the website continued on throughout the years, it was never quite the same — with most of the social stuff unfortunately removed. You can’t keep gays and their comics down, however — as the Gay League was later reinvented as a very active group on Facebook. Joe eventually added Patricia Jeres and Steven Leitman as co-administrators.
Anton decided to bring back the website to its former glory with redesigns in 2015 and 2025 — and the Gay League site is once again THE social site for LGBTQ+ comics fans!
An early “Gay League Convergence” (early 2000’s?) — outside The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.
“Why a website for LGBT comics fans?”
As mentioned above, the Gay League has been around in some form or another since 1997, with a few LGBTQ+ individuals finding and connecting with each other. Most people who have read comics all of their life know that being a comics fan can sometimes get them treated like a pariah. That attitude’s changed in recent years — thank goodness — with the growth of “geek” culture, and the popularity of superhero films, Comic-Con, and genre TV. But it wasn’t always that easy, and comics fans often sought each other out.
When you add LGBTQ+ on top of that, you fit into an even SMALLER circle of people, and sometimes it’s hard to connect with other comics fans who don’t share the same experiences/point of view as you. That’s why we created the Gay League in the first place, so LGBTQ+ fans could have a group they can more easily connect with. Is the world becoming a more accepting place for LGBTQ+ individuals? Absolutely! (Although it still has a long way to go). Some people may think a group like this is completely unnecessary in today’s world, but we still think the LGBTQ+ comics fan experience is unique, and we want to create a safe place for those fans to congregate.
(P.S. — Yes, we really are inclusive off all genders and orientations despite the name “Gay League.” We weren’t very forward thinking before registering the domain name over two decades ago).
ADMINISTRATION
JOE PALMER
Administrator
Joe took over as the web owner and main moderator of the Gay League in early 2000, and eventually expanded the group through the formation of a popular Facebook group. He has been the main contributor to the Gay League site, overing reviews, news and more.
PATRICIA JERES
Co-Administrator
Patty once edited much of the work of cult cartoonist Matt Howarth (Those Annoying Post Bros), but she is perhaps best known as the former Director – Marketing Communications at DC Comics. She also served on Prism Comic’s Board as Talent and Industry Relations Chair.
ANTON KAWASAKI
Web Designer
Anton worked in the comics industry for a dozen years — first as a comics store owner, and then as a Marketing Writer and Collected Editions Editor for DC Comics in NYC. He now lives in Barcelona and works for This Way! games. Visit his website to discover more.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
Candise Branum
Ronald Byrd
Elizabeth Fernandez
Patricia Jeres
Taylor Johnson
Anton Kawasaki
Patrick Lagua
Melony Mazur
Mike McDermott
Terence W. Ng
Joe Palmer
Sylvan Valentine
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS
John M. Eagen
Frank Gembeck
Martin Gray
Dale Lazarov
MikiShawn
Eric N
Sidney Osinga
François Peneaud
Vitoria Rae
Bill Reid
Bill Walko