X-MEN COMIC TACKLES GAY TEEN SUICIDE

The latest issue of the X-Men Generation Hope comic book has broken new ground by addressing the issue of suicides by gay teenagers.

Generation Hope writer Kieron Gillen told iFanboy.com that issue nine of the X-Men title was “directly inspired by the conversation around the very public gay suicide stories”.

He went on to explain: “It’s not the type of story that fits in any other major superhero book. It’s simply not what those books are about. But the X-Men? X-Men is a book about mutants, used as a metaphor about prejudice.

“With the metaphor in place, you cannot just do a story about it – I dare say you should tell a story about it. In a real way, it’s the sort of story Generation Hope exists to tell. If we can’t tell this story and tell it as well as we can, the book may as well not exist,” he said.

Last month, one of the writers of the film X-Men: First Class, confirmed that the film was purposefully written, at least in part, as a metaphor for the struggles of the LGBT community.

Marvel Comics’ Generation Hope issue nine was released in the US this week.