DC Comics superhero Green Lantern is ready to make history as the highest-profile openly gay hero in the comic book universe.
The development will be revealed in the second issue of "Earth 2," which hits stores Wednesday.
Given the complicated world of comic story lines, a little clarifying is necessary. The Green Lantern of this series isn't Hal Jordan, the longtime Green Lantern who's a member of the Justice League and was the subject of the recent "Green Lantern" movie.
This Green Lantern is a parallel-Earth version named Alan Scott. The Scott character was reimagined and made younger for "Earth 2." For a while before DC's much-hyped relaunch of all its titles last year, Alan Scott was older and was the father of son who was gay.
James Robinson, who writes the new series, told the Associated Press that Scott's being gay isn't part of a wider story line meant to be exploited or undone down the road.
"He doesn't come out. He's gay when we see him in Issue 2," said Robinson. "He's fearless and he's honest to the point where he realized he was gay and he said, 'I'm gay.' "
Recently, many comic books have been featuring gay and lesbian characters more prominently. In Archie Comics, Riverdale High student Kevin Keller is gay. In May, Marvel said that the character named Northstar will marry his boyfriend in "Astonishing X-Men."
Robinson described the Alan Scott of "Earth 2" as a character with many aspects: "This guy, he's a media mogul, a hero, a dynamic type-A personality and he's gay. He's a complex character."
'X Factor' stirs some gossip
As buzz spread about new "X Factor" judge Britney Spears and her behavior at auditions, Us Weekly has found an insider who says the show's kingpin, Simon Cowell, is getting concerned.
"He wonders if hiring her was a mistake," the source spills.
Gossip has swirled about the May 24 auditions in Austin, where Spears was AWOL for several auditions. The singer later posted on Twitter that she was just taking a break.
There's also the matter of whether Spears is being too positive with her critiques, as compared to Cowell, L.A. Reid and fellow new hire Demi Lovato.
But yet another insider tells the magazine that Cowell doesn't regret bringing Spears on board and that she had "strong opinions."
Sounds like somebody over at Fox knows how to stir up some excellent publicity for "The X Factor."
Clooney as Clinton?
Bill Clinton, the movie?
The casting for such an as-yet-nonexistent movie came up Thursday on CNN's " Piers Morgan Tonight" talkfest, when the conversation turned to which actors might play the former president, who was that evening's guest.
The Huffington Post reports that when fill-in host Harvey Weinstein dropped a few suggestions, Clinton seemed happy at the thought of George Clooney in the role, even joking that the actor could "put bulbous things on his nose" to make the resemblance more realistic.
But Clooney's pal Brad Pitt was deemed "too good-looking" for the part by Clinton.
And what was Clinton's pick to portray his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Meryl Streep, who just won an Oscar for playing another world leader, Margaret Thatcher, in "The Iron Lady."
Hunter readies book
A memoir from Rielle Hunter will be out June 26, reports People magazine.
The former mistress of John Edwards -- and the mother of their 4-year-old daughter, Quinn -- will tell her side of the story in "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me."
On Thursday, the campaign finance fraud case involving Edwards concluded in a mistrial. The jury acquitted him of one out of six charges, but wasn't able to decide whether he improperly used money from two donors to hide his pregnant mistress while he ran for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency.
"We are delighted to publish Rielle Hunter's memoir. A lot has been said. But no one has heard the truth of what really happened until now," Glenn Yeffeth, publisher of BenBella Books, told www.people.com.
COMPILED BY JULIE HINDS, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER.
More Details: Fast takes
1. Zolciak goes wigless
Atlanta real housewife Kim Zolciak, right, showed the world what she looks like without one of her trademark wigs on Thursday night's episode of her new Bravo series, "Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding." And the big reveal was ... her perfectly fine real hair.
2. Mann going to Venice
Director Michael Mann will helm the Venice Film Festival's main jury, according to Variety. The producer-director, who's famous for the TV series "Miami Vice" and movies like "The Last of the Mohicans," was described by the festival as "a total filmmaker."
3. The queen's singers ready
Paul McCartney is one of the performers who'll be at Monday's big concert in England to salute Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. Some of the other big names, says www.people.com, are Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Kylie Minogue and the band Madness.
More Details: Group hug
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