Adam Lambert, assassin?

[fajrdrako]

Jennifer Smith's "Fantastic Fangirls: Comics and Culture", has a piece on Daken Akihiro, For Your Entertainment, comparing Daken to Adam Lambert:

My new appreciation for Daken stems directly from my realization that he is the Adam Lambert of comics. Though maybe not always progressive, or always appropriate (or, frankly, always deserving of attention), Daken challenges fans’ expectations and makes them uncomfortable in a good way. In their quest to buy everything X-Men-related, or Dark Reign-related, or Wolverine-related, conservative fanboys have been confronted with a book starring a man who is actively seducing Bullseye, flirting with male H.A.M.M.E.R. employees, and accusing Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm of a gay affair. And this man is the son of Wolverine, Marvel’s very portrait of gruff hyper-masculinity. Daken has gone from cliched to subversive, and I largely credit Marjorie Liu — author of X-Men tie-in novel Dark Mirror, which is subversive itself in its use of a gender-swapping plot device — with the transition.

Nice to know I'm not the only fangirl who's appreciating Daken! Now, I agree with her about the "depraved bisexual type", but Daken - so far at least - seems to be more than a vehicle for shock appeal. Like her, I'm curious to see where this will lead.

And with regard to the canonical Daken/Bullseye kiss, I was amused to see Bullseye's journal entry on the subject. (The second item on the page.) No more teams!

Another commentary on the kiss says, "That’s Bullseye there, dressed as Hawkeye (if you’re not reading Dark Reign/Siege, don’t ask). Bullseye, with the ability to turn anything into a deadly weapon. Apart from his tongue, it seems."