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Hope you like seafood, comic fans, cuz Marvel is about to serve you up some fish!
There's a new mutant in the Marvel universe's Iceman spin-off. She can teleport, and she holds a whole other dimension inside the handheld folding fan she carries.
Her name is Shade, and she's a drag queen super hero, henny!
The new character comes from openly queer writer Sina Grace. Some first looks recently showed up on Twitter, and fans have been going wild!
There's a Drag Queen mutant now and I am here for it. Iceman #4 @SinaGrace https://t.co/S6vZ9Hhpeu— Best of Marvel/DC (@Best of Marvel/DC) 1545332851.0
Grace himself also shared some early concept sketches of the character.
Here’s my original design for Shade. @StockmanNate did a great job interpreting my chicken scratch, and I’m really… https://t.co/Ox5BOVvCJp— Sina Grace (@Sina Grace) 1545271362.0
Iceman is the only Marvel series to feature a queer main character, Bobby Drake, Iceman's alter ego who is an openly gay man. So it's a fitting home for a character like Shade.
Grace was also the writer of a 2017 Iceman series that centered on Iceman wrestling with his identity. Despite wide acclaim from organizations like GLAAD, the series was canceled after 11 issues because of low sales.
But the something very uncommon happened: trade paperback compilations of the original 11 issues far outsold the original run. So Marvel asked Grace back to pick up the story, whereupon she added Shade to the mix.
In an interview with The Advocate, Grace explained that what inspired the fabulous drag hero was a desire to widen the representation of queer identities in comics.
"I really wanted this series to push readers to new and better stories about the whole queer experience and how it applies to being both a mutant and a superhero. There's a million different queer perspectives and we're only scratching the surface."
And so far, fans have responded with a resounding, "Yes queen!", flooding Grace's Twitter with elated reviews:
OH MY GOD https://t.co/ISwJjb2sk1— Odasha (@Odasha) 1545448141.0
The gays keep gaining power https://t.co/NXqSQxfQtX— Luis M. Garcia (@Luis M. Garcia) 1545440941.0
WE FUCKING STAAAAN YAAAAS QUEEEEEN https://t.co/JiBgk7Qqww— ✨AmlodiQueen™✨ (@✨AmlodiQueen™✨) 1545495271.0
@BestOfComiics @SinaGrace SHE STEPS ONTO THE STAGE OUT OF A FAN MADE OF SHADOWS!— A Drift of Spiders (@A Drift of Spiders) 1545442364.0
Oh my stars! A mutant drag queen! This is spectacular! ♥♥♥ https://t.co/aJetFRY9x6— Steven Edenfield (@Steven Edenfield) 1545418427.0
@BestOfComiics @SinaGrace Can we talk about her entrance for a second? We Stan.— Alex 🕊💫 (@Alex 🕊💫) 1545430141.0
Bish, she teleported straight outta fan. I'm cackling. Also, them pockets bitch. All them pockets placed across h… https://t.co/HulbU9LTG4— ₩ł₮₵ⱧɎ ฿Øł ₱Ø₱ (@₩ł₮₵ⱧɎ ฿Øł ₱Ø₱) 1545415962.0
@BestOfComiics @SinaGrace YAAASSSS WERK!!! DEFINITELY A FAN pun intended https://t.co/Y0UHjWyu3b— 💕T'ay Aubriie💕 (@💕T'ay Aubriie💕) 1547129683.0
her name's #Shade and she teleports through her shadow fan i am gagging 🖤 https://t.co/Ov9Z87un2s— Vince Liban 🌈 (@Vince Liban 🌈) 1546917760.0
@BestOfComiics @SinaGrace The proportions drawn for women in a comic book are accurate this time lololol. This is awesome!!— Aerzuki (@Aerzuki) 1545426991.0
Even a certain very famous drag queen had to weigh in:
@BestOfComiics @SinaGrace 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/fbeWumgpvr— Trixie Mattel (@Trixie Mattel) 1545423402.0
The latest issue is on newsstands now. But with the way drag culture keeps mainstreaming and taking over popular culture, perhaps we'll be seeing Shade on more than just paper in the near future. Category is: World Domination Realness!