Stuck Rubber Baby

The cover of Stuck Rubber Baby

For this second installment of the Queer Comics Blog, I'd like to reprint my original post about one of my favorite classic stories. During this time of increased marriage equality and unprecedented advances in gay rights, it would be wise to remember where we’ve been. For that reason, this month’s selection for the queer comics blog is Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. The plot centers on a young man named Toland Polk in the fictional town of Clayfield, Alabama, as he struggles with his social conscience and his own blossoming sexuality during the tumultuous 1960s.

A seminal figure in gay comics, Howard Cruse has been creating great work since the 1970s and was the founding editor of Gay Comix. Eventually, he had the idea to write something about the “complicated social currents” of his formative years growing up in Birmingham, which ultimately took the form of Stuck Rubber Baby. Meticulously researched, it tells a complex story about the struggles of racial and sexual minorities. There are bombings, lynchings, and injustice. In one scene, the victim of a gay-bashing tries to report his attackers to the police and is arrested for “public drunkenness” instead.

It can be difficult to write about the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of a white character. At best, the tone becomes condescending, as if the black characters were lucky to have the intervention of a few well-intentioned white people. At worst, broad stereotypes replace characters and revisionist history results. Howard Cruse avoids all of these dangers in Stuck Rubber Baby by making his characters fully human. Toland Polk is selfish, self-serving, and cowardly, but he is also remorseful, conflicted, and relatable.

We’ve come a long way from police raids and laws against men dancing together. As we enjoy the freedom to march in parades, and see support for gay marriage steadily increase, let’s not forget the sacrifices of those who have come before us. Stuck Rubber Baby is an excellent reminder, and Howard Cruse is an unsung hero.

Stuck Rubber Baby won an Eisner Award and a Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album, was nominated for the American Library Association’s Gay and Lesbian Book Award, and won the Angoulême Festival Prix de la critique and the United Kingdom Comic Art Award for Best Graphic Novel. It is available at all major comics retailers and on Amazon.com.