Review: Leonard & Larry fourth book

Tim Barela’s strip Leonard & Larry has now been over for about three years, and I haven’t found a trace of a new project by the author, which is a shame since he had a very unique voice in the world of gay comics. How Real Men Do It is the fourth collection (published in 2003), but doesn’t seem to collect the end of the strip (though a Barela interview in The Advocate claimed the book collects the last strips).
In this volume, Barela keeps on developing his cast, with friends, lovers and births in the family becoming fodder for gags ranging from the very silly to the rather serious. In his sitcom way, the author addresses a number of prejudices, mainly revolving around homophobia and racism. The characters aging is also made fun of, Larry still having trouble adjusting to his late forties… and impeding fifties – but as usual, Barela laughs with his characters, not against them. Even the reactionary ones are given some good sides, after all. There’s a great coming-out, hunky straight plumbers discovering the joys of gay modeling, and another woman trying to seduce a gay guy. Hilarity ensues.
It’s really hard leaving those characters again, especially since it might be for the last time, since there are no current plans to collect the last strips, according to the publisher. Tim Barela’s Leonard & Larry deserves better than that, but it shows that even the best (and best-known) gay strips don’t have much clout.