Multiple stories from Marvel's Empyre event are being celebrated as this year's Outstanding Comic Book for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. This ceremony acts as a yearly opportunity for the organization to raise funds, spread awareness, and provide more visibility to the LGBTQ+ community at large.
The stories from the event which are being honored by GLAAD this year include Empyre, Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling, and Empyre: Aftermath Avengers. This isn't the first time Marvel has been chosen for this specific distinction either. Just last year, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra was acknowledged for its accurate and respectful representation of the openly lesbian character. The GLAAD Media Awards have been around for more than three decades now, with the first event having been held in 1990. It wasn't until 1992 that this specific category was added, though; and since then, comics from Supergirl, to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Black Panther have all received the honorable accolade.
For those comic book enthusiasts who missed the event and haven't been keeping up with Marvel lately: the newly anointed Emperor Hulkling and Scarlet Witch's de-facto son Wiccan finally made their relationship official in a small Vegas wedding ceremony before all havoc broke loose on Earth in Empyre. Once they'd come out the other side of the invasion victorious, they held an extravagant Jewish space wedding to celebrate their union properly. This had been a long time coming for fans who had been following the two Young Avengers since they started their relationship over a decade ago in Avengers: The Children's Crusade - Young Avengers #1. Since then, the two have been fighting side by side with a stronger connection than ever before, protecting each other and their space empire. Teddy and Billy's love is a potent one, so potent that even GLAAD had to recognize the beautiful relationship Marvel has fostered and spotlighted.
The list of other books nominated for this year's award span from fellow Marvel comics, to other mainstream and indie titles including Far Sector, Guardians of the Galaxy, Juliet Takes a Breath, Lois Lane, The Magic Fish, Suicide Squad, Wynd, X-Factor, and You Brought Me the Ocean. To even be nominated means that GLAAD recognizes these comics as "fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community and the issues that affect their lives."
Writers Al Ewing, Anthony Oliveira, and Dan Slott accepted this year's award virtually, and in doing so expressed their gratitude to the whole creative team behind Empyre, the people of GLAAD, as well as the two characters' original creators, Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. Oliveira, who is an openly queer writer with his own set of accolades, specifically thanked the readers who found a piece of themselves in these stories and reminded them "we can be heroes. too."
Now more than ever, big publishers like Marvel and DC are proving that statement to be true. Come this June, DC will be devoting Pride Month to a sweeping initiative that will celebrate its LGBTQIA+ heroes with variant covers, special miniseries, graphic novels, and more. It's exciting and liberating to finally see such a huge push for more diversity and inclusion in comics, especially from powerhouses like Marvel and DC. And to now have such a poignant and moving story like Hulkling and Wiccan's not only get proper coverage in Marvel's Empyre, but also the recognition it deserves from an organization like GLAAD, is undeniably powerful.
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