The Gay Ghost (later renamed the Grim Ghost, not to be confused with Grim Ghost) is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

in the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

whose

first appearance In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

was in ''

Sensation Comics ''Sensation Comics'' is the title of an American comic book comics anthology, anthology series published by DC Comics that ran for 109 issues from 1942 to 1952. For most of its run, the lead feature was Wonder Woman, a character which had been int ...

'' #1 (January 1942), published by one DC's predecessor companies,

All-American Publications All-American Publications, Inc.The name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to fo ...

. He was created by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and artist

Howard Purcell Howard Purcell (November 10, 1918 – April 24, 1981)Howard Purcell
at the Social S ...

Publication history

The Gay Ghost appeared in ''Sensation Comics'' #1–13, 15–33, and 38, his last appearance until ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' (vol. 2) #42 (July 1989). Most recently, he appeared in ''

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" t ...

'' #25 (July 1990). In 18th-century

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Keith Everet, the Earl of Strethmere, is killed by footpads as he is on his way to propose to his beloved Deborah Wallace. The Earl's three killers were swiftly caught, and hanged on the spot. But Deborah died of a broken heart shortly afterward. After his death, he encounters his ancestors, who return him to life in return for a vow to fight for justice. There is one catch: he has to wait for Deborah Wallace to return to Ireland (after emigrating to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) before he can return. Everet's spirit haunts his castle until 1941, when the last remaining descendant of Deborah Wallace, who shares her name, returns to Ireland together with Charles Collins, her would-be

fiance An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

. They come to the castle at the same time as some

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

saboteurs and Collins is killed. Seeing his beloved Deborah in danger, Everet takes over Collins' body, deals with the saboteurs, and returns to America with Deborah. In America, Everet would leave the body of "Charles" in order to fight crime. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', the Gay Ghost's enemies include "the Nazi mad scientist Dr. Vozak, the one-armed, torch-handed Flaming Hand, the heat-ray-wielding Japanese spy Togio, and the immortal Mexican El Espada". The Gay Ghost's afterlife has been somewhat troubled. The meaning of the word "

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

" changed quite a bit after his Golden Age appearances. In reprints, DC has changed the name to "Grim Ghost", a moniker that the character never used in the 1940s.

Limbo

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

's run on ''

'' conjectures that all characters which were once published by DC Comics but are no longer active are sent to a dimension called "

Limbo The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...

", where they remain until they are revived by returning to active publication. Characters never remember being in Limbo. In ''Animal Man'' #25, Animal Man becomes the first character to visit Limbo while still "current" and encounters a large number of old Golden Age and Silver Age DC comic book characters. The Gay Ghost is among them, but he says that he does not want to be "brought back", since the colloquial meaning of the word

has changed since the character was created in the 1940s, and he is not himself a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

. During ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

: Superman Beyond 3D'' #1-2 (October 2008) the Gay Ghost and other inhabitants of Limbo are rescued by

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, who they assist in fighting a cosmic threat. Other inhabitants of Limbo include (but are not limited to) Merryman, Ace the Bat-Hound and Hardhat.''Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D'' #1–2 (October 2008)

Powers and abilities

The Gay Ghost is able to leave Collins' body at will and can also materialise/dematerialise at will. Apart from that, he is a keen swordsman and hand-to-hand fighter.

References

Sources

* ''

'' Volume 2, #42, story and textpage {{Ghosts Golden Age superheroes All-American Publications characters Comics characters introduced in 1942 DC Comics superheroes DC Comics undead characters Fictional ghosts Fictional swordfighters in comics Irish superheroes Undead superheroes Fictional characters from the 18th century Fictional earls