How Loathsome

The cover of How Loathsome

For the inaugural entry of the Queer Comics Blog, I have chosen the relatively obscure How Loathsome, created by Tristan Crane and Ted Naifeh.  Originally published monthly as four separate issues by NBM/Comics Lit Publishing in 2003, it was collected as a graphic novel in 2004.  The story concerns a group of friends in San Francisco as they hook up, take drugs, party and shock and offend each other and mainstream sensibilities. The main character is Catherine Gore, an androgynous female lesbian artist who narrates most of the chapters.

A landmark quality of How Loathsome is its unapologetic presentation of this aspect of queer culture.  No space is wasted trying to excuse the characters for their behavior or explain that their experiences are not indicative of queer life.  There is no moralizing or equivocation; the characters simply live their lives.

The title itself provides a sense of ambiguity, as the word loathsome can be a descriptor used by the mainstream for the characters and a badge of honor for those being described—much like the word queer itself.  As Danielle Willis writes in her introduction to the paperback collection, “We are not definable.  We are not straight.  We are not gay…We are, however, Loathsome.”  In an interview with PopImage, Ted Naifeh stated, “How Loathsome is such a melodramatic, histrionic…sort of phrase.”  Clearly, it can be both of these things and more.

How Loathsome was listed by Advocate Magazine as one of the top ten graphic novels of the year for 2004. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print but can be found through various sellers at Amazon.com.