Christian Cooper
Cooper in 2021
Born1963 (age 60–61)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, editor
Pseudonym(s)C F Cooper
Notable works
Songs of the Metamythos

Christian Cooper (born 1963) is an American science writer and editor, and also a comics writer and editor. He is based in New York City. In 2023, Random House published Cooper's memoir, Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World.[1]

Career

Cooper is currently a senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications.[2] On May 16, 2022, National Geographic announced Cooper would host a show on their American TV channel called Extraordinary Birder, following showing species of bird around the world.[3] The show premiered on June 17, 2023.[4]

Comics

Cooper was Marvel's first openly gay writer and editor.[5] He introduced the first gay male character in Star Trek, Yoshi Mishima, in the Starfleet Academy series,[5] which was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 1999.[6] He also introduced the first openly lesbian character for Marvel, Victoria Montesi[5][7] and created and authored Queer Nation: The Online Gay Comic.[8] Cooper was also an associate editor for Alpha Flight #106 in which the character Northstar came out as gay.[5][9]

Cooper has written stories for Marvel Comics Presents, which often feature characters such as Ghost Rider and Vengeance. He has also edited a number of X-Men collections,[10] and the final two issues of the Marvel Swimsuit Special.[11]

Personal life

Born in 1963 to parents who were both teachers, Cooper found his interest in birds while reading a birdwatching book during a roadtrip from his Long Island childhood home to California.[12] In the 1980s, he was president of the Harvard Ornithological Club, and is currently on the Board of Directors for NYC Audubon.[13] Cooper has a long history of LGBT activism including being the co-chair of the board of directors of GLAAD in the 1980s.[14][15]

On May 25, 2020, Cooper was involved in the Central Park birdwatching incident,[16] which led to the creation of Black Birders Week.[17] The incident is also the basis for his online comic book about racism, illustrated by Alitha Martinez and published by DC Comics, called "It's a Bird".[18]

Bibliography


References

  1. ^ "Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World". Publisher's Weekly. March 29, 2023. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Fink, Jenni (May 26, 2020). "Amy Cooper, White Woman Who Called Cops on Black Man in Central Park, Fired From Job at Franklin Templeton". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Ibrahim, Samantha (May 19, 2022). "'Central Park Karen' birdwatcher Christian Cooper lands new TV series". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper - Nat Geo Wild Reality Series". TV Insider. January 16, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Weiss, Josh (June 6, 2020). "Christian Cooper, Central Park birder with roots at Marvel, looks back on pioneering LGBTQ comics". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "GLAAD". June 28, 2001. Archived from the original on June 28, 2001. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Christian Cooper, victim in racist Central Park video, is a trailblazing gay editor". Metro Weekly. May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "'Black Gay Icon': Christian Cooper's Long History Of Activism Before Central Park Incident". NewsOne. May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Astonishing X-Men (2004) #51 | Comic Issues | Marvel". Marvel Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  10. ^ Maurice, Emma Powys (May 26, 2020). "White woman lied to police that an innocent Black man was threatening her. He just so happens to be a queer comic hero". PinkNews. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Johnson, Rich (June 7, 2020). "Warren Ellis Remembers When Marvel Illustrated Swimsuit Went Gay". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "Christian Cooper hopes America can change. Because he's not going to". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Board of Directors". www.nycaudubon.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  14. ^ Dunmore, Royce (May 27, 2020). "'Black Gay Icon': Christian Cooper's Long History Of Activism Before Central Park Incident". NewsOne. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Milton, Josh (May 27, 2020). "The gay Black man targeted by a 'Central Park Karen' doesn't know if her 'racist actions' make her a racist person". PinkNews. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "White Woman in Viral Central Park Video Issues Apology". NBC New York. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Willingham, AJ (June 3, 2020). "These Black nature lovers are busting stereotypes, one cool bird at a time". CNN. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. ^ Nir, Sarah Maslin (September 9, 2020). "Central Park Birder Turns Clash Into Graphic Novel About Racism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.

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