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Justice League – Cry For Justice #7

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Martin Gray

This review appears by the graciousness of Martin Gray. When not being a missive maven on GLA’s email list, Martin frequently pens comics reviews on his blog, Too Dangerous For A Girl, where this piece first appears. Please stop by to visit him there.

I like a big stupid blockbuster as much as the next person. Massive disasters, bombastic dialogue, it’s all good . . . except when the story can’t get from point A to point B without characters who are Too Stupid Too Live.

And that sums up every hero in this book. Green Lantern, the Atom, Green Arrow, all these and more are here unable to use their skills and powers, their brains and experience, to foil the schemes of one man. Yes, the destruction of Star City is well underway as this finale issue begins, but the perpetrator, Prometheus, is in League custody. Available to end the destruction are heroes with magic rings, super strength, ultra-speed, and yet not a single building is seen to be saved. Green Lantern doesn’t so much as throw up a few supports. Firestorm carries people on lumps of pavement rather than throwing his incredible power set at the big picture. That sort of thing.

With the threat of similar destruction across the world via cunningly planted bombs, the heroes have no choice but to let Prometheus go free in exchange for deactivation codes. Because he can counter any attempt to force him to give up the information – knock out a mental maven via psychic feedback, stop magical attacks – anything. So what if Prometheus is neither magical nor telepathic, he’s The Man With the Plan and in the DC Universe (see Batman, Deathstroke etc) a bit of forward thinking always wins the day.

Burying a bomb under a river but want to keep speedsters at bay? No problem, simply arrange it so that unless the ‘exact cubic tonnage’ of water surrounds the explosive, it goes off. And so on. It’s silly, and not in a good way. Prometheus is so brilliant, and the heroes so rubbish, that when it comes down to ‘free the guy and get the codes, or let millions die’, the good guys are utterly paralysed with indecision in a laughable two-page spread. A decision has to be made and the JLA and chums decide to have a conference call. ‘What do we do?’ ‘No! No way he walks!’ ‘We’re loosing (sic)’ ‘I don’t know what to say.’

This really is excruciating stuff from writer James Robinson; it might work on TV, with quick cuts and split second flashes of dialogue, but laid out on the page it’s corny and unconvincing. And the internal monologue given to the blue Starman as he’s meant to be helping people would disgrace an afternoon soap: ‘Tony . . . can you believe it? It all came down to this? You died because of this. I feel so alone.’

Which is weird, because sometimes you can read a James Robinson comic – such as the recent Starman: Blackest Night – and be thrilled by the subtlety and smarts of the script.

Not here, where you’re more likely to laugh at the words given to poor Freddy Freeman, his lips sewn together to prevent him summoning his Marvel-powered form: ‘Yeath. Juth get m’to the dewiseth! Matgic of Shaztham!’ After a few lines of this I was expecting two magic words: ‘Thufferin thuccotash!’

The big emotional moment is the death of Lian, Roy Harper’s cute little daughter, crushed by a building. Allegedly 90,000 people perish as Star City falls but poor old Lian – whose demise was cleverly hinted at in the set-after-this Titans #21 a couple of months back – is the only corpse in the book. It sucks to be a superhero’s kid, but the tragedies are necessary for the upcoming adventures of Grim Arrow and Stumpy. Super.

The close of this story sees said Ollie Queen finally finds a target – Prometheus’ stupid helmet and the brain matter behind. As it’s the end of the mini, suddenly there is something Prometheus hasn’t planned for, while a hero is allowed to remember his skill set. The contrivances are a bit rich but nevertheless the death of Prometheus provides the most satisfactory moment of the series.

Mauro Cascioli, Scott Clark and Ibraim Roberson handle the pencils and, backed by a veritable league of inkers and colourists, produce mostly attractive, effective work. While some of the emotional beats called for by the script are a tad OTT, the artists capture them just fine. And someone had a very good time drawing Starfire’s cosmic bottom trying to escape her hips – an honourable DC tradition.

So it’s over. Seven issues, most of them annoying, and yet I bought the things so more fool me. I nearly dropped the book once or twice but my faith in James Robinson, along with the saddo aspect of having to know how the story ends, kept bringing me back. Of course, the story isn’t ending, as the plights of Ollie Queen and Roy Harper lead into a JLA special, Arsenal mini and an arc in Green Arrow’s book. We’re promised falls, rises . . . maybe some people will eat this up, but it’s not for me. I’ll stick with James’ current run on the regular JLA book, which is already proving more to my taste than Cry For Justice. I should have cried off after the first issue.

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Wuvable Oaf #2

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

wuvableoaf2Ed Luce
Goteblüd Comics
$3.95

Having read the previous three Wuvable Oaf comics (zero, one, and a special titled Money Shot) and fallen in love with Luce’s comic vision I’m pleased to report that his latest issue continues to delightfully entertain with humor, fun, and totally lovable characters. Add in playful and witty dialog and a restrained use of innuendo and you’ve got another winning story. Luce is clearly in love with his characters, making Wuvable Oaf one of the best comics this year, and well worth any wait between issues.

Luce opens the issue with a peek at the bizarre and frightening world as seen by Pavel, one of the many pussies that let Oaf share the apartment. It’s only a quick diversion for Luce before picking up the story of Oaf’s quest to meet the current object of his affection, the diminuitve and scowly-faced Eiffel, lead singer of Ejaculoid. The adventure begins at a local club where Eiffel’s band has a gig. One of Luce’s appreciable talents is his attention to details, whether it involves incidental characters in a crowd scene or visual flourishes embellished in his drawings. It’s used to great effect here as Oaf wanders through the crowd of club goers killing time for Ejaculoid to take the stage. Little bits like the guy with the emo weave, the trio dressed as Zod, Non, and Ursa, the Wasp Women singing “So fuck you, you queen!”, the reactions of a tatted muscle daddy couple have to a trio of women when the band launches into the sonic assault anthem Fearce (Luce even had an mp3 recorded of it) all add to the good natured screwball ambience.

Alas, Oaf isn’t the only one enamored of Eiffel and bandmates Udaho, Olaph, and Izeed. A throng of shirtless bears  create a sweaty, hairy barricade between Oafie and Eiffel as they rush the stage during Ejaculoid’s last song. Fear not for Oaf. Not yet, anyway. He’s got a plan and gets a message to Eiffel thanks to a couple friends in a nicely done scene that I won’t spoil it. Singing isn’t the only thing Eiffel is fierce at. We get to see him at his, let’s just say, very physically demanding day job which provides an amusing counterpoint for Oaf’s voice mail and their subsequent phone chat.

But the moment after Oafie scores Luce throws Oaf’s happiness into jeopardy with the introduction of celebrity chef Hammond Reed (who has a penchant for knives and apparently denuding bonsai trees) who is still hot to possess his former lover Eiffel, and will stop at nothing to get him back. The stage for our hero’s potentially worst date ever is set when Eiffel accepts Hammond’s devious offer to comp dinner for their little rendezvous. What’s worse is seeing the ominous Reed cradling a little, yippy-looking dog in his lap, making him Oafie’s Lex Luthor. How far will Reed go to get Eiffel back? Will our underdog’s (can I say that when Oafie is clearly a cat person?) heart be crushed? It’s sure to be an engaging story no matter what happens and I’ll definitely be there for it!

Rounding out the issue are a couple of one paged “Worst Dates Ever” strips (one funny and a sad, very relatable one) and a pair of pinups by guest artists Linas Garsys and Chase Bowman.

Wuvable Oaf is available online from wuvableoaf.com, and also Isotope and Comic Relief shops and the Goteblüd outpost at 766 Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission. Open weekends from 12 – 5.

A scene you will never see in a mainstream comic

A scene you will never see in a mainstream comic

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Dolltopia

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

dolltopiaAbby Denson
Green Candy Press
$15 (Less at Amazon)

Dolltopia is indy comics artist Abby Denson’s second graphic novel. Where Tough Love, her first work, recounted the sweet love of two teenaged boys and the obstacles they faced, Dolltopia’s themes of non-conformity and self-expression are issues that any LGBT person has or will at some point be faced to deal with. What better choice to explore these issues than using stamped and molded dolls assembled on factory lines whose smiling faces are frozen atop bodies with restricted mobility with more often than not nothing more than the clothes on their backs?

And so the quest for Dolltopia starts for one Kitty Ballerina doll as she asks herself the basic existentialist questions during her assembly line birth, and the realization that there must be more to her life than simply being paired with a Soccer Scotty doll as her new little girl owner has done. Kitty wastes no time making her break and once free she runs into Army Jim, a fellow renegade (he hates to fight like the other Army Jim’s), on his quest to reach Dolltopia, a place where dolls can be free to make their own choices. Dolltopia seems like exactly what a lot of us are hoping for and working towards.

Denson explores the notion of chosen families as Kitty and Jim survey this new world they meet other dolls such as Candy X and Candy O, a pair of former Darling Candy dolls that may or may not be girlfriends depending on your reading, who welcome them and amiably act as guides and mentors with their clothing boutique Jigsaw acting as an unofficial meeting place since labeling anything “official” smacks of conformity. In short order they’re settling in and meeting new dolls like the Doctor who specializes in plastic surgery and Kewpie, the androgynous manager of the Toybox hostel where Kitty and Jim are staying.

Telling a story through dolls may seem a questionable choice, but I would beg to differ. Consider how entrenched dolls are, not just for toy crazed American kids, but across the world. They may be toys, but they’re also tools for teaching socially accepted standards whether good or bad. Kenneth and Mamie Clark were African American psychologists who published three major papers in 1939 and 1940. The purpose of their research was to learn and document how children’s self-perception related to their race. Children attending segregated schools in Washington DC and integrated schools in New York were their subjects. The Clarks learned that African American children often preferred white dolls and these children assigned positive virtues to the color white (good, pretty, nice) while thinking of “black” in negative terms (bad, ugly).

The Clarks would later testify in several school desegregation cases, including Briggs v. Elliot that would become part of the famous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case of 1954 that found segregation unconstitutional. More recently in 2006 young filmmaker Kiri Davis decided to revisit the Clarks’ research, making it the subject of “A Girl Like Me“. Sadly, her results clearly mirror the findings of the Clarks.

On a personal and exponentially smaller note, turning through the first few pages recalled a memory from first grade long ago. A girl (her name was Janice Radcliffe) from my class had invited me over and we were in her back yard. she had Barbi and Ken dolls. Ken was thrust into my hand and Janice enthusiastically made known her expectation that we were going to play house. Shy kid that I was, the only thing to do was give in, even though I thought two boy dolls would make playing house a lot more fun! Even a 6 year old me knew not to tell Janice that, let alone anyone else. Conform, little boy!

Unlike the findings of Clarks’ research and Ms. Davis’ film, Denson’s script stays on the upbeat, its underlying message one of hope and action, thanks primarily to an optimistic, determined, and empowered Kitty aided by Jim with his unconditional support, while addressing several  difficult topics. The opposing paradigms of gay liberation versus gay assimilation come to the forefront when the Candies, Kitty, and Jim see conformist Ben and Mandie dolls (who brought their Fantasy Home to Dolltopia) during their outing to Dancemania. Mimicking humans is insulting to the Candies. It’s no surprise then that they’ve devised a plan to make a complete break from all human influence by striking at the doll factory itself. When the outcome is unexpected it comes down to how to choose to look at life’s challenges and obstacles: either you can become angry and depressed or stay positive and remain true to your ideals in spite of setbacks.

That message becomes a painful badge of honor when Soccer Scotty experiences a similar epiphany to Kitty and escapes from his Fantasy Home prison to find Dolltopia and suffers a dog mauling (Step out of your place and you’ll have to deal with the consequences!). What Scotty finds in Dolltopia after his rescue by Mr. M is friendship and admiration, and perhaps the love of Sailor Sammie. All their personal struggles pale when Dolltopia’s very existence comes into dire jeopardy. Imperiled by discovery from humans, the entire community takes its biggest gamble and prove that anything worth living for is worth fighting for.

Denson’s Tough Love is perhaps best appreciated by teens who are coming out, Dolltopia will speak to anyone questioning gender roles and trying to find their place in the world.

Dolltopia is available from Amazon.

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Rick Stone

Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Art by John Paul Leon

Art by John Paul Leon

Rick Stone is one of Virgil Hawkins’ (Static) close friends. We see him throughout the series, usually briefly in his role as a supporting cast member. In other issues which will be highlighted here, he figures more prominently. In issue one, he’s on the receiving end of a gay taunt from a “friend” about his performance at a school assembly the day before. He replies with: “I don’t have to listen to your limp dick gags.” Another student tells Rick to lighten up; it was just a joke.

Skip ahead to issue #5 when Rick, Virgil, and friends Chuck, and Felix are playing an intense superhero roleplaying game. Virgil gets a lucky role and an exasperated Rick says, “I wish I could get rolls like that with Airburst.” Chuck jumps in an exclaims Airburst is “so gay.” The tension escalates a little before Rick diffuses it by throwing an empty plastic soda bottle at Chuck.

Another gay taunt happens at school (issue #11). Chuck has insulted Rick by calling his shirt “fruit-flavored.” Once again, Chuck excuses himself by labeling his rude comment as a joke. Rick’s patience is reaching a limit though, and Virgil and best friend Frieda have to keep the two boys separate.

The boys are hanging out at one of their houses, talking about action movie heroes (issue #15). Virgil brings up “Captain Thunder.” Chuck proclaims, “He’s so gay, man!” Virgil questions Chuck because Thunder is strong enough to punch through mountains, and tries to enlist Rick in his argument. Instead of getting involved, this time Rick states, “he is kind of a Boy Scout” and walks away. Rick apologizes to Virgil for not sticking up with him the next day at school.

Yet again the boys are together when for no apparent reason Chuck calls Rick “Richard the Pink, Knight of the Tutu.” Again, Rick blows up, but his point is completely diffused when Chuck makes another joke, and he, Felix, Larry, and Virgil laugh. Virgil has remained silent and non-supportive of Rick. Later, Static is on patrol when he comes across some skinheads attacking others on the street. They start to run off with Static in pursuit when one of the figures calls out for help.

It’s Rick, who’s kneeling next to an unconscious boy. Static is shocked that the boy who shouted out is Rick (he’s unaware that Static is his friend Virgil). Static asks what prompted the attack and Rick confesses it was a gay bashing (issue #16). Static flies the boys to a hospital. In transit Rick says he’s gone to a gay teen support group, and implies that he was attracted to the other boy. The skinheads attacked them when they left the meeting. Meanwhile, Static is secretly freaking out over the news is friend really is gay. The two boys are admitted, and Static flies away. Virgil is shocked to learn that

Frieda is aware of Rick’s sexuality when he brings the incident up to her. Virgil decides to act as if nothing has changed (for now). At the end of the chapter, Rick, face bruised and bandaged returns to school. When questioned by his friends, Rick confesses he was gay bashed, and for the first time, puts Chuck in his place. Rick talks about a plan to organize a teen group for the school and asks his friends for support. (Issue #17)

The scene continues with the next issue with Rick angrily walking away from Chuck who’s still trying to turn it all into a joke. Later, Rick is sorely disappointed with Virgil when he protests that everyone is looking at the two of them, and telling Rick he should’ve kept the secret to himself. Virgil finds out that Frieda is angry at him for this when he calls her and a recorded answering machine greeting instructs him to see his “phony, homophobic buddies.” (Issue #18)

Rick discovers some students don’t think he’s a pariah when Frieda, Daisy (a girl that is dating Virgil) , and a new boy have lunch with him the next day (issue #19). They make plans to go to a gay rally after school that afternoon. Daisy confesses her mother is a lesbian and will go with the kids. The tension at the rally is already high between gay activists and homophobes when the kids arrive. Violence erupts when members of the Sons of Odin, apparently led by a mutant named Hotstreak, initiates intimidating actions against the gay protesters. Static appears just as things get out of control. The requisite fight involving Static and Hotstreak follows. The police take care of the other Sons of Odin and Static stops Hotstreak. With the mutant handcuffed in a police wagon, Static leaves the scene, assuming everything will be fine. However, a Son of Odin member has infiltrated the police force and creates an accident scenario that frees Hotstreak. The mutant grabs Frieda out of the crowd, and from atop a light pole threatens to harm her unless Static returns. He has unintentionally made himself a good target. It isn’t the police who shoot him though; it’s Rick from the sidelines. It isn’t elaborated where the gun comes from, but the implication is it came from Ducky, the new student. (Issue #20)

Rick is feeling guilt and remorse over the shooting as he and the rest of the gang take a subway trip to see a movie playing at a theater on the somewhat seedy Paris Island. (Issue #21) The feelings worsen after he’s realized someone will figure out he’s responsible for the shooting, and as these things work out, two police officers visit his home as he returns from walking the dog. One officer instructs the other to help kindly Mrs. Stone bring some more cookies from kitchen as a diversion to speak with Rick alone. He has a talk with Rick, and reveals that he’s figured out Rick shot Hotstreak. But he’s a compassionate, if not completely by the book, officer because he’s devised a story that will satisfy the investigation and end any attention to Rick, who quietly agrees to comply. Later in the story, Virgil comes to visit Rick. The two boys go for a walk, and Virgil awkwardly apologizes for his homophobic behavior, ending by saying: “Good. Then we could, like, be like it never happened, right? Still friends?” Rick doesn’t want to let him off so easily and replies, “As long as you remember that it did happen, sure…why not?” (Issue #22)

It’s interesting to note that Rick’s gay-bashing and coming out story happened eight years before Terry Berg’s gay bashing story written by Judd Winick in Green Lantern. Winick’s story caused a media controversy whereas as far as I know, this earlier story caused barely a ripple outside of its readership as noted by letter writers. In 1994 Bill Clinton has been in the White House since January of 1993 and with the later story, Bush has been in office for approximately the same length of time. In those eight years the Internet became pervasive and conservative and evangelical elements in this country came to the forefront.

The last development of any kind with Rick happens in issue #27 when he gets a part time job working a hot dog cart. Rick and Virgil remain friends through the series (it ended with #44) and has a cameo appearance in #1 of the Static Shock mini series of 2001.

Rick first appeared in Static #1 and is confirmed gay in Static #16. The character transitioned to the Static Shock animated series. Thanks to Xrstoryteller for the reminder about this character. Both Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III wrote Static and each presumably had a hand in crafting Rick.

© and ® Milestone Media. Used without permission.

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Anonymous Fashion Guys

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

This pair of men appear for all of six panels in the truly strange and fun story in Inferior Five #8 written by E. Nelson Bridwell and published in the spring of 1968. The plot in a nutshell is the streets of Megalopolis are threatened by an ever rising pile of junk. Among the disrupted businesses towering higher and higher into the sky is Herman’s Diner, run by Herman Cramer, the alter ego of the Blimp. Cramer frantically calls the rest of the Inferior Five to enlist their help.

Inexplicable hijinks ensue as the merry misfits climb bounding heap of garbage. They encounter these women’s clothing boutique owners whose fashion show is disrupted because their models haven’t shown, thanks to the pesky situation. Dumb Bunny is totally distracted by the clothing and the desperate pair dress Bunny up in their haute couture version of Mammy Yokum’s clothes.

Art by Win Mortimer

Art by Win Mortimer

I suppose one can argue that these men aren’t gay (just flamboyant) and were just an off hand bit of social commentary on changing trends of the 1960s. They don’t necessarily stand out from the other visual eccentricities of the Inferior Five or the story’s other background characters. Then again, I don’t know of another Silver Age comic with men wearing frilly sleeved shirts, bell bottmed slacks making mincing hand gestures while dancing around and calling each other “crazy cute” after giddily dressing a woman up in a ridiculous outfit.

© and ® DC Comics. Used without permission.

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Nightlife

Friday, November 6th, 2009

nightlifeDale Lazarov
Bastian Jonsson
Yann Duminil colorist
$33.99 ($22.43 at Amazon as of 11/5/2009)
Bruno Gmünder publisher

Erotic writer Dale Lazarov returns for another romp with a trio of gay themed stories, this time with artist Bastian Jonsson and Yann Duminil showing his coloring talent. As with previous work (Manly with artist Amy Colburn) and Sticky (with Steve MacIssac), Lazarov concentrates on creating detailed scripts without dialog while placing full faith in the artist to bring his characters, scenes, and situations to life, both on the four color page and in the reader’s mind. Lazarov has a discerning eye when choosing his artistic collaborators otherwise the successful realization of his creative vision would be hobbled.

Like Manly and Sticky before it, Nightlife is a collection of three stories pairing men in a variety of situations. In the first, Hard Cases, two bears are caught up in the creative energy of an open mic night at the Tailpiece Bar and everyone is rocking to the music (I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the guy dancing in his jock). Music may be in their hearts, but their minds are fixed on enjoying each other’s bodies. Not a second is wasted starting their sensual celebration once they’ve arrived at the first singer’s apartment. Bad weather cancels a number of late night flights in Layover, providing the impetus for two strangers to forsake the loneliness of an airport bar for a late dinner followed by sex, sex, and more hot sex and a few hours of “hold him close” sleep. A closing image of the men in trunks walking along a beach shows us something sparked between them. Now if only layovers in my life were like this. The one I had in Dallas after Comic Con was a mass of people milling through the airport, scarfing some Quarter-pounder, and curling up with Sina Grace’s Dial M For magic (perfectly worth reading y the way) in a hotel room that I gladly took as a “distressed traveler.” Closing Time, the last of the trio, as the title implies begins in a bar. A young punk hooks up with a goth guy about the same age and are making out in an alley way when three straight guys start to bash them. A knight in shining armor, wearing the guise of the silver fox muscle daddy doorman threatens the would be bashers with a baseball bat, earning the gratitude of our little punk who’d flipped off the doorman not long before. A hug, a smile, a little chat, they all lead back to the punk’s tres cluttered studio. Jonsson perfectly renders an “oh how do I get out of this” expression on the older man’s face before succumbing to the younger man’s surprise charming manner and a little leather dress up. Yes, there’s more hot sex that follows, and there’s a very clever trick that shows this mismatched pair pursue and make a relationship together. Actually, all three stories end with imagery using time and motion (or lack of it) to underscore the differences of each pairing. The first is a one night fling, ending with one guy sitting on a speeding subway. In the second one, the pair of men slowly walk together along a beach, but they’ll walk off the panel, their romance lasting for a time. The last couple are happily planted in a sunny kitchen going through early morning rituals together.

Jonsson’s very capable of drawing sexy and sensual (and hairy) men in and out of clothes, whether standing around, cruising, or exploring each other’s bodies with joy and abandon. Most critical is his wondrous skill of conveying emotions and body language. These men smile and laugh while reveling in carnal celebration, surely a rare occurrence in erotica. Not only will you believe these men could exist, you’ll wish you’d run into one some day.

If you have read either Sticky or Manly then it will come as no surprise to you that Nightlife is also free of dialog and text. This word-free choice emancipates the artist, here the talented Jonsson, to use the entire panel without concern for word balloon and text box placement. As I noted in reviewing Manly the wordless stories make projecting oneself into the fantasy easier, or as this reviewer asserts, makes the work more interpretative by readers. And whose decision was it to censor that cover? Gosh. In my particular case I disagree with his assertion that Nightlife appeals more to the visually oriented person than the verbal. I’m a visual oriented person (having graduated from Chicago’s School of the Art Institute) and I appreciate these stories for their art and direction. Perhaps it’s due in part to my newly re-awakened libido (already much too much information) that I’d like very much to know what these men are saying to one another beyond the dead banter typical of porn, which I think is the last thing Lazarov wants his readers to consider his work being. At least I believe the work to be a celebration of sensuality and life. The other factor that plays to my desire for dialog is the finesse shining in Lazarov’s scripts. He makes me want more from his characters. Lazarov has talked about writing word-free stories, especially in regard to production choices with his German publisher. You can listen to this Deconstructing Comics podcast interview in which he discusses the challenges of writing both erotic and dialog free comics.

This is Lazarov’s third book from German publisher Gmünder. From a production standpoint its books are high quality and speaking a bit of a bookmaking geek, are objects of lust in themselves. Nightlife will be no different and will look beautiful on bookshelves for decades.

You may also like to read this review and a short-ish interview,  both of which are NSFW, but then neither is this page so close this window, read it from home, and hope you don’t get busted.

This book is available for pre-order at Amazon. Lazarov tells me it should be in stock soon.

nightlife2

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From Headrack to Claude

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

headracktoclaude“Collected Gay Comix”
Howard Cruse
Nifty Kitsch Press
$19

Consider the current state of comics and LGBT characters and stories. The big four publishers have cautiously swam in the shallow side of the pool occasionally showing off or taking a dive in the deep part while an increasing number of queer artists and writers have not only left the pool for the beach, they’re riding a wave. That wave is certainly built on creativity and ambition and fueled by the desire to tell stories, just as it owes an enormous debt to the creative people who first jumped into the waters decades ago. Among those first cartoonists was a young man from Alabama named Howard Cruse.

Cruse is perhaps best known for his graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby that tells the coming of age story of a gay man during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Before the graphic novel Cruse created a number of cartoons and strips, notably Wendel, his other masterpiece that recounted the everyday adventures of a gay man and his friends in the pages of The Advocate. Cruse gave up editing Gay Comix in order to work on the strip. The Wendel strips were published in a collection in 2001 and others in the out of print Dancin’ Nekkid With The Angels. Other work was problematic in tracking down. The slightly oversized From Headrack To Claude gathers between its covers some of the difficult to find strips along with the cream of Dancin’ Nekkid along with a couple recent pieces from the Young Bottoms In Love and Boy Trouble 2 anthologies.

The world was changing in 1969 when Cruse first arrived in New York City. While I was too young to know on my eleventh birthday that  gay people (whom it seemed so outlandish an idea that there could be another person like me) rioted that June night in the Village, Cruse was just coming into adulthood in this transformative time when gays finally said no more and began to decide for themselves what life would be like rather than live by dictate and fear of retribution. Cruse was the right talent at the right time and place to capture the burgeoning, uncloseted gay subculture as it tried to define itself, defend against homophobia, and worst of all, dealing with the nascent AIDS epidemic. Somehow Cruse distilled these heady forces to show the human condition of the everyday gay man, and so much the better when the hypocritical and self-centered folks get exposed along the way.

As these strips are records of their time, one might think their relevance is diminished, but this is not the case. Granted, great strides have been made since Stonewall, but while reading through this volume I was consistently reminded of the old adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. Take the deeply closeted minister Jerry Mac, a man who as a teenager was beaten by the father of his best friend for an affectionate kiss or closeted celebrities and politicos lampooned in His Closet. Cruse had the foresight to insert backstories to help put the works and some in story references into context.

Homoeroticism Blues that crystallized the importance of Cruse. The artist quoted language added by the homophobic Senator Jesse Helms to As much as these backstories contribute, they are also my one extremely minor disappointment. Or rather their layouts are the issue since sometimes they were confusing to follow. Even so, it was in reading a little background forthe 1989 Senate Appropriations Bill who was incensed that the National Endowment for the Arts had partly funded an exhibit of Robert Maplethorpe’s explicit photographs. Cruse’s brief reference to Maplethorpe reminded me of Keith Haring and David Wojnarowicz, all gay artists whose sexuality informed their work. Tragically, their lives were cut short by AIDS. It made me realize how if some unknown factor had changed Cruse might have been lost to us as well.

Next year Vertigo will publish a new edition of Cruse’s Stuck Rubber Baby with a foreword by Alison Bechdel. A new edition is certainly welcomed. Now if some LGBT equality organizations will read it and find the relevance it has in bridging the gaps, perceived or real, between our community and other minority ones. If you don’t own a copy, then do yourself a favor next year and buy it.

From Headrack to Claude is available at Lulu .  Cruse’s Felix’s Friends can also be purchaed there. Shipping is extra.

Howard Cruse has a website and can be found on Facebook.

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Sworn #1

Friday, October 9th, 2009

swornWriter C. J. Evans
Artist Silvano
Class Comics
$7.99 (less if ordered through the Class website)

Superheroes. Spandex. Sex. Those are the 3 “S’s” of many a gay man’s interest in comics. Take those elements and throw into the mix a couple first time heroes who happen to be the sons of two hot superhero dads (AKA SHDILF) who’re also sworn enemies and their respective teams and you’ve got the foundation for Sworn, one of the latest erotic comics from Class.

Writer Evans’ story focuses on two young protaganists: the dark haired, doe-eyed, innocent twink Calais and the tatted, red head skater bad boi Slammer whose family comes from the school of hard knocks. Evans opens with a traditional face off between the senior heroes and villains banging each other with fists and ray beams before each team’s most junior member come rushing in to trade blows and banter with the other. When Slammer takes off, daddy Argonaut (is there some sexual tension there between Argonaut and his opposite number Frac?) orders his son Calais to track down and bring him in.

Calais very much wants to prove himself and literally throws himself at Slammer in mid-flight, the pair crashing to the ground. What happens next is something you’ll never see happen to a male character in a superhero comic. Slammer’s costume has been literally ripped to shreds to expose his hairy loins and uncut manhood. Sure, it seems gratuitous, and Evans could play it for laughs or jump right to sex, but he holds off. His dialog and Silvano’s art infuse the characters with emotions ranging from anger, embarrassment, and gratitude for Slammer to pride, sympathy, in Calais. Well-intentioned if not exactly sensible, Calais offers to bring Slammer back to the Saviors’ phallic tower headquarters to fetch some spare clothes for the naked hottie. Compassion soon gives way to questioning eyes, roaming hands, and hot sex as Slammer seduces and guides pristine Calais in his first sexual experience. Slammer assures Calais he’s a natural in mid-air acrobatics just before they’re nearly discovered by silver daddy Argonaut and the rest of the Saviors. While Slammer escapes to plan a rescue of his team, Calais wonders what the feelings welling up in him are while realizing he may have betrayed his father and team.

Sworn is several notches above the typical erotic comic, which is not to say that others don’t accomplish their goal. To get my undivided attention an erotic comic has to hook more than just my libido. Evans does that by rising above the standard tropes of both fisticuffs and fuck scenes by giving emotional depth to Slammer and Calais. We’re not talking a classical literature benchmark here, but the range of expressions are very believable. Silvano’s style is dynamic and expressive. He’s very adept at conveying body language and  bringing Evans’ emotional cues to life. Like body hair? While not as hairy as bears or otters, these guys sport a good amount, including a hairy spot in the small of the back, a detail I appreciate very much. And yes, Silvano draws eye popping, groin throbbing naked bodies solo and together engaged in sex.

Are this spandex bursting gay “Romeo and Juliet” couple destined for love or a doomed relationship? I’m rooting for another chapter, the sooner the better, and turgid scene with SHDILF Argonaut and Frac.

In keeping with a recent FTC ruling I should mention that a complimentary copy of this comic was provided by Class. I’ll point you to the Sworn mini site for a 5 page preview in case you think my review may be biased. Full disclosure: I earn a small commission if you order Sworn or other merchandise after clicking the previous link. Go directly to the Class website to ensure Class receives the full amount of your purchase if you prefer.

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Utopia 1 – 6

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

utopia1Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Marc Silvestri, Terry Dodson, Luke Ross, and Mike Deodato
Marvel  $3.99

Contributed by Chris Eastwood

Anyone who has read the X-Men knows that they are at their best when things are at their worst. With our favorite Mutants moving to the west coast and Spider-man’s mortal enemy calling the shots in the Marvel Universe, it was only a matter of time before things went bad.

The story begins when Simon Trask, brother to Bolivar, comes to the city by the Bay looking to show the X-Men the what for. Naturally this does not sit well with the X-Men and the other mutants that have gathered in San Francisco, and a riot ensues which attracts the attention of Norman Osborne and his Dark Avengers. Soon after Osborne arrives he declares martial law and declares Cyclops a wanted criminal, as well as revealing his plan to Emma Frost, who defects to Osborne’s side to lead his newly formed Dark X-Men.

Fraction’s story has a strong beginning, not wasting any time getting to the action and the meat of the story, allowing the reader to experience the “WTF” moment that the characters experience themselves. This stride doesn’t continue through to the next issues. The middle issues deal mostly with the Dark X-Men coming together and trying to work as a team as well as dealing with Osborne and his team.  Fraction does little in introducing the reader to the members of Osborne Dark Avengers of the new characters that become his Dark X-Men, as most of them are characters that we already know. I also recommend reading the Dark X-Men: the Beginning miniseries that reintroduces each member of the Dark X-Men and shows just how Osborne got each member to join.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have really enjoyed Matt Fraction’s time on Uncanny X-Men. He, IMHO, has breathed new life into a franchise that, although has been commercially successful, has not changed much in premise in the last 50 years. He has taken Cyclops from the leader of a team of superheroes to the leader of a group of people struggling to survive. Fraction’s conclusion keeps with this theme and although I have no desire to reveal it here, it is worth reading the story.  Utopia may very well be Fraction’s best X-Men story so far, and I give it 4.5 out of 5.

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Boy Meets Hero

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

boymeetsheroChayne Avery writer, artist
Russell Garcia writer, colorist
Bruno Gmünder
$30.99 (numbered and signed) includes shipping when bought from BMH website. Less at Amazon.

Where can a comics reader tired of multiversal crises and Earth on the brink of doom from alien invasion find a book that deals with neither, and if not Utopia bright isn’t encrusted with grittiness? Gay fans may find the world of BOY MEETS HERO created by Chayne Avery and Russell Garcia is one that fits the bill.

Golden Bay City, surely a stand-in for San Francisco, is the fictional metropolis of Avery and Garica’s story. In their four-color world a celestial event sparked the appearance of the first superheroes in the 1940s. A small band of these crusaders formed the World Hero Organization, a management company that in time grew to become a large corporation, thanks to marketing savvy and a hero-worshipping public. WHO dispatches its heroes to fight villains more motivated by jealousy than hell-bent on wreaking chaos and death. Blue Comet (Derek Maxwell) and Sunstar (Jillian Summers) are two of WHO’s most popular heroes. They’re the hot new super couple whose adventures and relationship make them media darlings. Like many real world celebrity relationships, theirs is an act Don’t be cynical! There’s no room for that with BOY MEETS HERO. Blue Comet offered so Sunstar wouldn’t be paired with Zap-Man, WHO’s resident horn dog, in a marketing campaign (again with the cynicism). Things just got out of Derek’s control and the fake relationship is cover for his real one with young, blond Justin, brother to Jillian who’s in on the charade.

The setting may be current day but the tone and feel of Avery and Garcia’s story borrows a lot from happier times in comics. Costumes, villains, and to a degree the heroes seem reminiscent of the 80s. In a deconstructed world an organization that made a profit by turning heroes into commodities would be played as suspicious and manipulative. Quite the opposite here with WHO as a venerable institution in the public’s eyes and an occasional minor inconvenience for its heroes.

Aside from being an entertaining read, the obvious reason for a story like BOY MEETS HERO is to explore what a gay relationship can be like in the context of the superhero genre. Derek and Justin kiss, hug, go to the beach, tease one another, and live together, which poses its own situations since Derek is not out to his family either. Humor and respect make the situations a delight to read rather than a maudlin, overwrought affair to slog through. In a trial run, Justin persuades Derek to hold hands while walking in public. When two slightly younger guys start trash talking gays, Justin confronts them loudly and threatening to “totally kick [their] scrawny asses!” And the offenders scurry away apologetically. Contrast this with the Terry Berg fag bashing storyline from several years ago in Green Lantern. Granted, Judd Winick’s story, one that needed to be told, spoke to a lot of readers for different reasons, but it’s much more satisfying to have a gay character stand up rather than being beaten. Bravo, Garcia and Avery!

There is nudity in the story, most of it is used for playful and romantic scenes with Derek and Justin, while a shower room scene at WHO headquarters is used for tension. The reader is invited and teased to watch the boyfriends, but only up to a point. An explicit voyeurism would be out of place with the aesthetics so well established with the main characters and the rest of the story. These guys are playful, loving, and totally devoted to each other, kind of what I imagine Peter Parker and Mary Jane were like before that deal with Mephisto.

Of course a superhero comic needs tension and action. It’s provided nicely in several scenes; one is a flashback recounting how Justin met Blue Comet. Old Sunstar villainess Cold Snap and new baddie Zack Savage conspire to exact revenge each for the own purposes against Blue Comet and Sunstar. Cold Snap enjoys Parisian vacations and is accompanied by her dumb, loyal, and bare-chested bodyguards. Savage is a scientific genius and social misfit who promises Cold Snap something she can’t resist. Being a mismatched set brings tension to their team up, a good deal of which is played for laughs though one brief scene feels at odds with a big reveal that happens during the climactic fight scene. Minor quibble though. Avery and Garcia turn the old “damsel in distress” convention on its head for the aforementioned showdown between Blue Comet, Sunstar, Zack and Cold Snap. To say more than this would be to spoil a nice surprise.

If I were limited to one adjective to describe the tone of BMH it would be optimistic. That buoyant feeling is carried through in the art where Avery and Garcia do double duty as artist and colorist respectively. The contour line drawing style and bright, cheerful colors are a good complement to the retro homage ambience. Production wise the book has several good points. Pages are bound by stitching instead of the less expensive and less durable “perfect” bound method of glue. The book design benefits from a thicker, matte paper that is also an asset for the coloring. Some people prefer a slick, shiny paper but I find that it often creates an annoying glare from light.

Try BOY MEETS HERO with its optimism and romance as an antidote to the Final Crisis aftermath and Secret Invasion Dark Reign overkill.

Buy either from Chayne and Russell or Amazon.

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