
Treatment GuideJust DiagnosedSex & DatingAfrican AmericanStigmaAsk the HIV DocPrEP En EspañolNewsVoicesPrint IssueVideoOut 100
CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The O+Men comic book series features the HIV-positive superheroes Nightcry, a white gay guy ('an edgy Batman'); Burn, a lesbian; K-oss, a black bisexual jock; Precious ('a Paris Hilton type'); Goth, a former drug user; Agony, a black ballerina; Eros, a male model; Slumber, a Dominican man ('a Freddy Krueger type'); and Memory, an Asian female punk rocker. After working for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, creator Robert Walker launched his own company, which premiered O+Men in May 2007. On the eve of the second issue's debut, scheduled to be published in February, HIV Plus spoke with Walker about his characters and work. Where did your concept come from? I created O+Men because I wanted to do something that used my talents to raise awareness of HIV--especially among young adults, who have such a high new infection rate--as well as to educate myself more about it. Who are the O+Men? They represent the diversity of people with HIV--but I didn't want to glamorize them. They're not invincible, and they have problems. Some may die, but still, they're heroes. They have a lot to offer the world. What does the title mean? I picked the name O+Men for a few reasons. It was a bad omen that the U.S. government didn't pay attention to the disease early on. I added the plus sign to the name for being HIV-positive but to also add a positive sense to the word, and I wanted to highlight the team members [by setting off the Men]. Why did you become an activist? When AIDS came on the scene in the 1980s, I lived in Jacksonville, Fla. I was really young. My brother died, but no one said what he died from. Looking back, I realize that he had been looking sicker and thinner for a long time. My mother and father knew my brother was HIV-positive, but it was something they kept hush-hush. Coming to New York City when I was 18, I also started to meet a lot of people with AIDS. People have mixed up ideas of how you get HIV. I had a 40-year-old gay friend who didn't know that HIV was found in semen. There's still a lot of na'vet' about the disease. Tips+Tools Visit CyberDelete.com for more about future issues of O+Men. You can e-mail Robert Walker directly at robert@cyberdelete.com with comments and suggestions. [Editorial Note: Because of a production error, the credit for the photograph of Robert Walker was omitted from the Ask & Tell layout for this issue. Walker was photographed by Joseph Moran.HIV Plus regrets the oversight.]
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Lexi Love comes out as HIV+ after Trump deletes federal resources
January 23 2025 11:23 AM
Ricky Martin delivers showstopping performance for 2024 World AIDS Day
December 05 2024 12:08 PM
Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources
January 31 2025 5:29 PM
Meet ​our Health Hero of the Year, Armonté Butler
October 21 2024 12:53 PM
California confirms first case of even more deadly mpox strain
November 18 2024 3:02 PM
This long-term HIV survivor says testosterone therapy helped save his life.
December 16 2024 8:00 PM
Plus: Featured Video
Latest Stories
Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes
April 03 2025 7:15 PM
The Talk Season 5 premieres this spring with HIV guidance for the newly diagnosed
March 26 2025 1:00 PM
Discover the power of Wellness in your life
March 26 2025 12:41 PM
Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring
March 26 2025 12:20 PM
Jess King is here to help you live your happiest, healthiest life yet
March 24 2025 4:35 PM
BREAKING NEWS: Trump admin moves to end federal HIV prevention programs
March 18 2025 6:10 PM
Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times
March 11 2025 3:38 PM
Celebrating Black History Month with our annual African American issue
February 01 2025 3:28 PM
Tyler TerMeer vows to continue to fight for health care for all
January 28 2025 3:00 PM
Plus nominated for 2025 GLAAD Media Award
January 22 2025 12:42 PM
A camp for HIV-positive kids is for sale. Here's why its founder is celebrating
January 02 2025 12:21 PM
'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Trinity K Bonet quietly comes out trans
December 15 2024 6:27 PM
AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed at White House for the first time
December 02 2024 1:21 PM
Decades of progress, uniting to fight HIV/AIDS
December 01 2024 12:30 PM
Hollywood must do better on HIV representation
December 01 2024 9:00 AM
Climate change is disrupting access to HIV treatment
November 25 2024 11:05 AM
Post-election blues? Some advice from mental health experts
November 08 2024 12:36 PM
Check out our 2024 year-end issue!
October 28 2024 2:08 PM
AIDS/LifeCycle is ending after more than 30 years
October 17 2024 12:40 PM
Twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir, an HIV-prevention drug, reduces risk by 96%
October 15 2024 5:03 PM