by MATTHEW HAYS

Phil Jimenez still recalls the first time he was ever awestruck by the power of Wonder Woman. Then a mere six years old, living in L.A. with his single mom, Jimenez read the comic book cover to cover. Soon after, a schoolmate showed him a copy of X-Men. Jimenez recalls being fascinated with the characters and started drawing them himself.

"Those were fantastic stories," Jimenez recalls. "I really found myself sold on comic books."

As anyone following the current comic book scene will tell you, Jimenez's primal comic book experiences turned out to be entirely prophetic. Now 34, Jimenez has risen to the top of the comic book artist A-list, drawing and imagining new storylines for many of the form's major superheroes, from Wonder Woman to Justice League of America to Robin to Aquaman. So associated with the newer, bolder branding of DC Comics, Jimenez has co-authored The DC Comics Encyclopedia (DC, hardcover, $35), an exhaustive documentation of every hero and villain in the comic chain's history. "Doing that project was incredibly exciting and fun," Jimenez says. "It was a lot of work, but what a chance to delve into DC's rich history." Though his main passion is for the DC universe, Jimenez has Marvel connections too; his hands were used as stand-ins for Tobey Maguire's hands in the first Spider-Man movie.

Men in tights

But fans of Jimenez (and he does have a fan club) will recognize him for another aspect of his character: Jimenez is also out and loud, one of the highest-profile gays working in the comic book medium. He was hired by openly gay DC Comics editor Neil Pozner in 1991, and later the two would become romantically involved. (Sadly, Pozner succumbed to AIDS in 1994.)

At first glance, the connection between superheroes - who, after all, jump around in brightly coloured tights much of the time - and gays might not seem like such a leap. But though Jimenez says he's encountered very little homophobia in the comic book milieu, he also indicates that it's still a primarily straight business, aimed at a primarily straight demographic.

"I get the question a lot, about how I look at the superhero characters," Jimenez confirms. "But I don't sexualize the characters when I look at them the way that some older gay men have. I grew up in L.A. in the '80s, at a time when it was much more safe and acceptable to be gay.

"Sure, I'd look at Wolverine sometimes and think he was hot. But I think for me there was less need for a role model in that way. I didn't fantasize about them sexually - I was more interested in them saving the planet."

It's an outsider thing

If Jimenez does see a queer connection, it ties in with a larger comic book readership stereotype. Comic book fans, straight or gay, often see themselves as outsiders, Jimenez argues.

"The X-Men, in particular, are a group of mutant outsiders. They have to hide who they are while also fitting in somehow. Superheroes and gays have a lot in common - there's the need to burst out of that closet or that phone booth and still be respected for who you are, for what your secret identity is. And besides the fantasy of good always conquering evil, there's the incredible fabulousness of those costumes."

And talking to Jimenez about some of the superheroes that make up his portfolio, it's clear the artist is not interested in following any party line - straight or gay. He guided DC's monthly Wonder Woman series throughout 2000-2001, for example, where he developed supporting lesbian players on the superheroine's place of origin, Paradise Island. But despite her status as a lesbian icon, Jimenez says he's certain Wonder Woman is straight.

"I say that mostly because of my sense of her function as a character. That would be counter to the way I see Wonder Woman as someone who would bring the genders together. I see her as rather sexless, actually. Like a Buddhist missionary. Sex would be a curiosity for her, but not a priority. And she's a virgin, without a doubt."

Wonder Woman? A virgin?!

"Absolutely. There was some talk around DC of having Wonder Woman getting romantically involved with Batman, which I thought was hilarious, but I don't know what's going on with that idea now."

While there are rumours surrounding Green Lantern, none of the traditional DC stars are gay, says Jimenez. He points out that, while comic books have come a long way in terms of minority representations, the format's main readership demographic remains straight and white. And that, like the action-movie fan base, means conservative.

"This is probably the most homophobic thing I'll ever say, but when Tom Cruise had that lawsuit that pointed out that an openly gay actor couldn't really make it as an action-movie star, he was right. Straight male audiences won't really go for it."

Batman or Bi-man?

But Jimenez adds that he has some trouble with the idea that superheroes necessarily have to be sexualized in such a way. "Comic books are in a real catch-22 right now. When these heroes became big in the '40s and then in the '60s, they were about personal responsibility and superheroic acts and they were written for children. Now many of those readers have become adults, but still read the comic books. So they want the characters to deal with adult dilemmas - including political and sexual stuff. But those ideas defy why they were created.

"Why isn't Batman bi? This is part of a constant need by people in their 30s and 40s to apply complex sexual and emotional ideas upon these characters. Batman was not designed to talk about man/boy love, he was designed to beat up bad guys. There have been some wonderful adult comic book treatments of these ideas, but I would ask how much further we need to deconstruct these characters. What needs are we fulfilling when we mix childhood fantasy with real-world concerns? Anyway, so long as Time-Warner owns them, we will never see Batman go down on Robin."

In the strange world of comic book imagination, however, Jimenez is only too aware that fantasy and reality can collide. It was in August and September of 2001 that Jimenez was working on the storyline for his ongoing Wonder Woman monthly comic. The plot involved Joker, who had managed to orchestrate a horrific crime that involved a plane flying into Times Square and killing many people. Superman was guesting in the series, but he was on the side of evil as he had been hypnotized. Wonder Woman managed to beat back the Joker, but only after the plane had crashed and many people had been killed. Finally, she releases Superman from his hypnosis, using her magic lasso. But Superman, overwhelmed by the large numbers of dead, collapses in Wonder Woman's arms and weeps, lamenting that he was not able to stop the carnage.

Reality intrudes

And then, of course, two planes sliced into the World Trade Center, a mere few blocks away from the DC offices. The storyline had to be hastily redone and, as Jimenez recalls, the Twin Towers, which appeared damaged but not destroyed in the comic, were digitally removed from the comic at the last minute.

One of Jimenez's new projects will allow him to deal with loftier ideas through metaphor. His new comic book, Otherworld, is slated for a March release under DC's adult label Vertigo. "It's about a group of college students in L.A. who are kidnapped and taken into another dimension, where they're forced to fight a border war. I'm dealing with the ways in which capitalism, religious fanaticism and tribalism are bad for democracy. There will be a lot of swords and sorcery, and themes that I think will please adult readers. It's been very gratifying."

And though he definitely thinks Batman is straight, Jimenez can't resist commenting on that Bat-package. Something quite large lurks beneath the famous utility belt, opines the artist. "I'm sure Batman is very well hung. I think he's very thick. Bigger than Superman even. I mean, I'm sure Superman is hung too, but Batman is bigger, by far."

Phil Jimenez will be appearing throughout Con*Cept 2004, Montreal'S Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, which runs this weekend, Nov. 13-14, at Days Inn (1005 Guy). Weekend pass: $40. Info: www.conceptsff.ca