Flutter, Volume 1: Hell Can Wait

The cover of Flutter, Volume 1

Adolescence is a rich metaphor for fantastic scenarios. In superhero comics, Spider-Man is perhaps the most iconic example but there are plenty of genres beyond that one. Unfortunately, adults writing stories for and about teenagers can often give characters unrealistic precociousness or fill their work with shameless pandering to or manipulation of the angst and sensibilities of their intended audience. This literature is often limited in scope as well, decried by many adults as unreadable. Flutter by Jennie Wood and Jeff McComsey is the rare piece of literature that bridges this gap. It is a story about a shapeshifting teenager that I would recommend to the most ardent Virginia Woolf fan.

Fun Home

The cover for Fun Home

Literary criticism can often seem boring, irrelevant, or both. Half the time, the reader is left to wonder if the critic hasn’t simply made everything up, overanalyzing trivia and inventing theories that the author of a work never intended. This is not mere self-flagellation, but a key aspect of this month’s selection, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, an autobiographical graphic novel from 2006. The daughter of a funeral director and high school English teacher, Alison has to grapple with the above sentiments in the most existential terms possible.

Single Issue Showcase: Zot! #33 - "Normal"

The cover of Zot! #33

Looking at the posts I've made so far and the posts I have planned over the next few months, it would appear that I meant to focus on trade paperbacks. For that reason, I've decided to start something new with the blog to guarantee that I don't cover too much of the same thing. From now on, every three months will feature a post I'm calling Single Issue Showcase, in which I focus on the sole issue of an ongoing or limited series that focuses on LGBT issues even if (or maybe especially if) the series itself does not. As always, suggestions are welcome.

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.

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.