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The last few weeks, I've covered Halloween topics — vampires and werewolves because it's October. However, October is not just a month of ghouls and goblins. October is also LGBT (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender) History month, notable for National Coming Out Day.

Comics have always tended to be socially progressive. Look at X-Men — debuting in the 1960s, the comic mirrored race tensions, modeling Martin Luther King Jr. as Professor X and Malcolm X as Magneto. Today, as seen in films like X-Men 3: The Last Stand, the mutant "otherness" has been shifted to stand for homosexuality — being born a certain way and subsequently ostracized for it. And whether you disagree with/tolerate/support the LGBT community, comic books do, and several super heroes have Hulk-smashed out of the closet.

Apollo & Midnighter (DC Comics/Wildstorm)

Hailing from the Wildstorm Universe, a reality where the DC Comics imprint Wildstorm's comics take place, these two characters have not just come out of the closet — they've married. Apollo, based on Superman, and Midnighter, based on Batman, were created by Warren Ellis (Nextwave, Thunderbolts) and further developed by Mark Millar (Superman: Red Son, Civil War). Comic readers and members of the LGBT community alike have praised this couple and their portrayal in The Authority, the series where the two characters are main characters. Currently, this dynamic duo can be found in The Authority: Prime and the Midnighter has his own series, aptly named Midnighter.

Northstar (Marvel Comics)

In 1992, Canadian mutant Northstar was the first comic book character to come out as gay. He and his sister Aurora were members of the Canadian super team Alpha Flight, and it was during his tenure with the team in Alpha Flight that Northstar confirmed his sexuality. Armed with flight, super speed and strength, Northstar is currently with the X-Men and one of the 198 mutants not to loose their mutant abilities following House of M.

Batwoman & The Question (DC Comics)

Kate Kane is the current Batwoman, and as we see in 52, she is a lesbian. I remember this news generating some media buzz and while readers know her sexuality, as a debutante socialite, Batwoman hides her sexuality and identity behind the mask. Renee Montoya was originally a character for Batman: The Animated Series. A Gotham cop, Montoya struggles with alcohol until she is pulled into an interplanetary arms operation by the Question, the detective without a face. Montoya soon becomes the new Question. Kane and Montoya had been involved in the past and at the end of 52, it seems like they were back together —at least to fight crime. They appeared side by side in Countdown and will be featured in Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood, which debuts next week.

Also, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by the Illini Union Bookstore —on the second floor, by the Author's corner, there is a display of some of the books I have talked about in Capes and Cowls.