Bobby Drake, aka Ice-Man, has been a staple of Marvel's line-up since he was introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men #1 back in 1963.
In recent years, Drake was re-imagined as a gay character as part of the comics giant's push for "diversity" in its titles.
But the new Ice-Man has been iced....he's not the only one. Via Gizmodo:
"Every year, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD recognizes and awards a selection of television shows, films, and books that feature powerful portrayals of queer people. This year, a number of Marvel's comics were recognized for the contributions they've made to queer culture, but those nominations were bittersweet for one incredibly disappointing reason: They've all been canceled."
In addition to "Iceman," recently discontinued Marvel titles include "America," about a queer Latina student, and "Black Panther: World of Wakanda," which was canceled after only six issues. The latter prominently featured LGBTQ characters and was spearheaded by Roxane Gay, an acclaimed feminist essayist and scholar.
The reason for the cancellations? Poor sales.
According to The Daily Caller, "Iceman" only sold about 15,000 copies when it debuted in 2017; by the end of the year, those numbers had plummeted 30 percent. None of the three canceled titles, which had all won a GLAAD 2018 "Outstanding Comic Book" nod, managed to break the top 100 in sales.
The cancellations come amidst increasing unrest among some readers and comic retailers over perceived prioritization of left-wing politics over character and story consistency at Marvel.