#I'm taking my teen years between 2001 and 2004

[missanthropicprinciple]

hey quick question, do developers fully comprehend that AI has made web search bars unusable?

[eleonkraken]

There is definitely a shitload more of them now and it really feels like we've come into a new generation of queer media in the past 3-5 years.

And yes, this kind of variety in characters is incredible and hilarious and unprecedented (which I suspect is mostly your point).

But come on. I really take issue with "Merlin was the gayest show we had". Merlin aired between 2008-2012.

If you just want teen appropriate, I mean, Skins started airing in 2007, Glee started airing in 2009. The first (?) major gay character on Degrassi was definitely in the 00's (I'm thinking of Marco but I'm sure there were others). Off the top of my head, I'm also thinking of some of the main and/or major side characters in Dawson's Creek (1998), Ugly Betty (2006), and Greek (2007).

And personally, I watched everything regardless of target audience so I also watched Queer as Folk (US), which started airing in 2000. Torchwood started in 2006. There were also a number of other ensemble shows with one or two queer main characters, like Six Feet Under (2001), Brothers & Sisters (2006), and Shameless (UK was 2004, US 2011).

I have to admit I haven't watched The L Word (2004) but obviously that exists as well.

And then you have the more obscure ones like Fisica o Quimica (which I watched subtitbled on youtube), Raw, Sinchronicity, Bob and Rose, and the like.

And that's not even touching on the soap operas.

Look, I was 14 in 2010. And maybe I was just particularly ravenously searching for queer media at that time, which is why I was able to find these things (most of which did not air on the actual tv channels I had access to), but the gayest show I had was definitely not Merlin.

There weren't a lot of shows in the 00s purely dedicated to queer characters, not like Heartstopper or Young Royals or OFMD, but there were a couple of them. And there were certainly many shows that had decent-to-good explicit queer rep (which Merlin did not have).

Just thinking about how like, when I was a teenager, the gayest show we had was Merlin, which was somehow super gay and also incredibly homophobic.

But now y’all teens have your pick of queer characters. Soft gay teenagers? Check. Gay royalty? Check. Gay pirates? Check. Gay vampires? Check. Gay angels and demons? Check.

It’s a damn LGBT smorgasbord out there.

[swordofazrael1992]

Hi what are your favorite green lantern comics? Or even dc in general. I'm kind of new to comic books and I'm looking for recommendations

ooh you're in luck because i have SEVERAL recommendations

my first recommendations for people looking to get into new characters, families, or dc in general is usually going to be the 80th anniversary specials. all of them are about 100 pages each, featuring multiple new storylines for each character. in addition, each story will usually correlate to a specific era for those characters, often inviting back writers and artists who were prominent or influential to the character during those times. my favorite specials are the green lantern and green arrow specials, although there are also some for robin, aquaman, catwoman, wonder woman, and... unfortunately the joker (derogatory)

i really really like these specials because they give you the opportunity to find out what parts/eras /characters you like and read from there. for example, the green lantern special covers alan scott, hal jordan, guy gardner & kilowog, john stewart, sinestro, the four corpsmen (hal, john, guy, kyle), the hard traveling heroes, jessica cruz, kyle rayner, and simon baz. it's a really good way to get into comics, because honestly? the best way to start reading comics is to find a character you like, find the comics they appear in, and read.

some specific series recommendations for the gl's are...

green lantern 1990 (my personal favorite)

green lantern: rebirth (2004) and green lantern (2005) (nowhere close to my favorites, but important to understanding modern gl worldbuilding)

convergence: green lantern/parallax (a two issue mini, basically a little bit of a redo on events in the 1990 series in line with the rest of the convergence story)

green lantern/flash: faster friends (two issue mini focusing on the meaning of legacy heroes and one of my favorite dynamics: wally and kyle)

flash & green lantern: the brave and the bold (six issue mini focusing on the friendship between barry allen and hal jordan)

hal jordan & the green lantern corps (i have my problems with this run, but it is overall an entertaining read)

far sector (i haven't gotten around to reading this yet, but i have heard very good things)

next, here are some general recommendations for the overall dcu

batman: the long halloween

robin 1993, batman & robin 2011, robin: son of batman, and robin 2021

batgirl 2000, batgirl 2009

batman & the signal

batwoman: elegy

birds of prey 1998

flash 1987 (specifically mark waid's run, which becomes continues at about issue #61, but he and messner-loeb alternated a lot before that)

impulse 1995

the flash 2016 (i haven't been able to make it all the way through this, but it has some storylines that i enjoy). at issue #768, wally wests 2nd flash run begins, and i am LOVING it so far. definitely recommend it

green arrow: year one (seven issue mini, covers oliver queen's time on the island)

green lantern and green arrow: hard traveling heroes (covers green lantern 1960 #76-87)

green arrow: the longbow hunters (another mini, this one three issues)

green arrow 1998 (if you want to read for ollie, read the first 100ish issues, if you want to read for connor, read the issues after that)

green arrow 2001 (however... i would recommend taking the winnick part of this run with a grain of salt if you do read it. it is. not the best characterization)

green arrow 2016 (i had to consciously forget that this was technically new52 ollie in order to get through it, but i did enjoy it. worth reading for emiko and dinahollie, at least)

i also enjoy team books with younger heroes, such as young justice 1998 and teen titans/titans runs

naomi 2019, and naomi: season two

these recommendations are very biased towards batfam, flash, and ga, because that is what i read the most, so if anybody who is a fan of different characters has recommendations feel free to add on!! i have also compiled an entire seperate, far more comprehensive rec list on the batfamily before, if anyone is interested in that

[northoftheroad]

Hi! I'm really sorry to bother you! But I was wondering if you could give us a list of recommended stories with dick after his Robin days. Like after bruce fired him and he became nightwing? All up to the time he had to become batman? I really love your content by the way ☺️!!!

Gosh, this turned out to be even more tricky than the Robin list, and it's frightfully long!

One reason is that storytelling has changed since Dick was Robin. Back in the Golden and Silver age, with very few exceptions, comics were stand-alone short stories. In later decades, it's usually arcs that span at least a couple of issues. Some themes can run for a very long time. For instance, Dick was brainwashed by Brother Blood in New Teen Titans vol 1  # 22 (in 1982), and that would have consequences until The New Teen Titans vol 2 #31 (1987). 

There are also a looot of stories – apart from guest appearances, Nightwing is a regular/lead character in several books named New Teen Titans/Titans and suchlike, 1980-1996 and 1999-2009; Outsiders vol 3 (2003-2007); Nightwing vol 1 (1995) and vol 2 (1996–2007). In team titles, several characters compete for attention. Also, I have read and know the Nightwing books more than his team titles, so they will be more prominent on my list. 

There are a bunch of stories where Dick has a pretty small role and won't be in a lot of panels, but those panels can be "important" and often quoted when it comes to Dick. For instance, Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive, Hush, Under the Hood... 

So, you'll have to take this for what it is. A very personal list, with stories I like (and remember), or have some fun panels, or are "important". Because certain stories are essential to the character's history, regardless if you like them or not. (And if you want more of Dick with Kory/Starfire, read the New Teen Titans titles.) If you'd like to see a synopsis before you commit to reading – because did I mention it is a very long list indeed? – the dc.fandom.com wiki page will often provide. 

(Or you could do the sensible thing, and see this as more of "the complete history of pre-Batman Nightwing, and ask somebody else for recommendations...) 

The Judas contract (when Dick becomes Nightwing). The New Teen Titans # 39-40, Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44, Annual #3. (1984) 

Trivial Pursuits. NewTeen Titans vol 2 # 32. (A nice breather, when the Titans try just to relax together. It goes as well as can be expected.) (1987)

Batman # 416. (First post-Crisis meeting with Jason Todd) (1988)

The Cheshire Contract. Action Comics Weekly # 613-618 (Dick helps Roy find his daughter.) (1988)

The New Titans # 55. (Dick learns about Jason's death when the Titans return to Earth after a long period in space. He goes to Bruce to talk and what follows is the infamous scene when Bruce hits Dick, says he should never have had a partner and tells Dick to leave and leave the keys with Alfred.) (1989)

Batman year Three. Batman # 436–439. (Flashbacks with a retelling of Dick's origin, during Bruce's third year as Batman. In the "now", Dick tries to reach out to Bruce and Dick's parents' murderer is about to be set free.)  (1989)

A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman # 440-442, New Titans # 60-61. (1990)

The New Titans # 65. (Tim turns up at Dick's place to learn what it is to be Batman's partner.) (1990)

Total Chaos. (In issues of Deathstroke the Terminator, New Titans and Team Titans.) (Mirage, a woman from an alternate future and who has illusion casting powers, takes the form of Starfire and sleeps with Dick, who is shamed by his team members for being unfaithful to Kory, even though this is rape. So, an important fact to know but not something I would recommend to read.) (1992)

Knightfall Prodigal (Dick's first longer stint as Batman. And he takes care of Tim and the Manor on his own!) In Batman #512-514 and three other titles. (1994-1995)

Nightwing Alfred's Return (Kind of fun, when Dick seeks out Alfred, who left Bruce's service because Bruce wasn't taking care of himself, in London.) (1995)

Nightwing vol 1 # 1-4. (I don't love this, but it is a milestone in that it's the first Nightwing solo series, Dick momentarily decides to leave the hero business, and gets his by now classic fingerstripe suit.) #1-4 (1995)

Like Riding a Bike. (Donna checks up on Dick.) The Batman Chronicles # 7. (1996)

(Nightwing vol 2 began in 1996.)

Nightwing vol 2 # 6. (Tim and Dick talk and fight crooks.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 12-16. (Batman pays a visit and Dick makes his custom made car.) (1997) 

The Flash plus Nightwing. (Dick and Wally on vacation.) (1997)

Then & Now. Teen Titans vol 2 #12-15. (The original four Titan boys find themselves fighting their past selves.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 25. (Tim and Dick talk and ride on train roofs. Dick has decided to become a cop.) (1998)

Detective Comics # 725 (A heart-to-heart between Bruce and Dick.) (1998)

The Technis Imperative. JLA/Titans #1-3. (1998-1999)

The Titans (1999) # 2. (The start of a new Titans team, Dick tells Superman to give them some room.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 32–34. (Dick at the Police Academy.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 35–39. (On a mission from Batman: To take control of Blackgate Prison. Afterwards, he recuperates at Barbara's when her place is attacked.) (1999-2000)

The Titans (1999) #15–16. (The original five Titans try to work out some difficulties.) 2000.

Transference. Batman: Gotham Knights #8-11. (2000)

Nightwing vol 2 # 45-46. (The Hunt for Oracle.) (2000)

Action Comics # 771. (Nightwing and Superman hang out and work together – what's not to like!) 2000

Gods of Gotham. Wonder Woman # 164-167. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 54-58. (Blockbuster, Nightwing's main adversary in Blüdhaven, hires an old enemy of Dick's to deal with the vigilante: Shrike. A character from Robin Year One.) (2001)

Matatoa. Batman: Gotham Knights # 16-17. (Bruce adopts Dick.) (2001)

Who Is Troia? The Titans (1999) # 23-25. (A visit from the Titan's children from the Kingdom Come universe.). (2001)

Retribution. Batman: Gotham Knights # 20-21. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 64. (Nightwing as Santa's elf.) (2001)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (in several titles). (Dick refuses to believe that Bruce can be a murderer and it causes friction with for instance Tim. Also, a big fight between Dick and Bruce when the latter says he is going to abandon his Bruce identity.) (2002)

Nightwing vol 2 # 75. (Flashback's to Dick's early years with Bruce. Plus the first appearance of Tarantula (Catalina Flores; a controversial figure in Dick's history, she straddled the line between vigilante and villain.)) (2002)

Hush. Batman # 608–619. (# 615 for Dick, but it might be confusing only to read one issue.) (2002-2003)

The Obsidian Age. JLA vol 1 # 68-75. (The Justice League members disappear, Dick leads a new team for a few issues. In # 73, Bruce is quoted:" The only time I ever feel pride is when I look at Nightwing. Sometimes I think he's the only thing I ever did right."). (2002-2003)

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day # 1-3 (Donna is killed. Dick is devastated and declares that the Titans are finished.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 80-83. (Deathstroke is in Blüdhaven to kill someone close to Dick. Bruce asks when he will quit the force, Dick wants to stay as a cop, but when he saves Amy Rohrbach, she recognizes that Dick is Nightwing and fires him.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 86. (Dick, forced to rest after being injured, solves crimes on America's Most Wanted and drives Barbara up the wall.) (2003)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 1 (Roy talks Dick, who dissolved the Titans after Donna's death, into leading a new team, promising they will not be a family.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 87-100. (Definitely one of the darkest periods points in Dick's life pre-Flashpoint. Tarantula breaks up him and Barbara. Blockbuster destroys his circus, his home and kills people just for talking to Dick. Tarantula kills Blockbuster and Nightwing is too exhausted to prevent it, and afterwards, she rapes him (# 93). Not necessarily an arc I would recommend to read, but fans discuss it a lot.) (2003-2004)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 11 (Roy is angsting about going back to the hero business after narrowly surviving being shot, sparring and heart-to-heart with Dick follows.) (2004)

Under the Hood. Batman # 635-641, 645-650, Annual # 25. (2004-2006)

Nightwing Year One. Nightwing vol 2 # 101-106. (I honestly don't care much for this story, but it's good to know that it's one of several retellings of how Dick became Nightwing.) (2005)

Supergirl (2005) # 3 (Supergirl has a huuuge crush on Nightwing... ) (2005)

Silent partner. The Outsiders vol 3 # 21-23. (Dick goes ballistic when he realizes Batman has been funding the Outsiders, Roy admits Batman has been feeding him information. Only it wasn't Batman – it was Deathstroke in disguise.) (2005)

DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy  # 1-4. (2005)

Nightwing vol 2 # 107–117. (Dick leaves Nightwing, starts working for the mob and trains Deathstroke's daughter. I think the author has some kind of resolution to the crisis Dick had gone through the last years in mind, but Infinite Crisis got in the way. Blüdhaven is destroyed in a nuclear explosion.) 

Infinite Crisis. (DC had planned to let Dick die, he is central to the story even if he's not very visible.) (2005-2006)

Targets. Nightwing vol 2 # 125-128. (Dick hunts for a day job in New York and gets buried alive, which leads to some retrospection on his behalf. There's also fights with a guy with a weaponized armour.) (2007)

The Brave and the Bold # 15. Nightwing and Hawkman. (Deadman, inside Hawkman, says that Dick Grayson is the one guy that every crimefighter trusts.) (2007)

Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Nightwing/Boomerang. (It ends with Batman telling Dick: "Go back to the good fight, Dick. Leave the bad fight to us.") (2007)

Wrath Child. (A story from when Dick was fairly new as Nightwing.) Batman Confidential # 13-16. (2008)

Freefall. Nightwing vol 2 # 140–146. (Dick starts freefalling as a new hobby; Bruce is not pleased. And he gets a new daytime job, as a museum curator. Oh, and there's Talia al Ghul, too.) (2008)

Robin # 175. (Some fun panels with flashbacks with Dick and Tim.) (2008)

The Great Leap. Nightwing vol 2 # 147–151. (Two-Face wants Nightwing to save a life.) (2008-2009)

Titans (2008) # 10. (Dick leaves the Titans because he needs to go back to Gotham and "take care of my other family." (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 152-153. (That time when Ra's al Ghul called Dick detective. And Dick packed up and left New York to move back to Gotham.) (2009)

Batman # 682. (Just for the line about how Dick made colour come into their monochrome lives ;-) ) (2009)

Detective Comics # 85, Batman # 684 (Dick mourning Bruce) (2009) 

The Secret Six # 9. (Some of the members of the Secret Six feel they should be the new Batman.) (2009)

Battle for the Cowl # 1-3. (2009)