Review: Rough N’ Queeny

Publisher Bruno Gmünder continues to mine the international scene of gay illustrators with the Rough N’ Queeny collection (available from Amazon) by French artist Xavier Gicquel.

The illustrations range from very hardcore to tender before or after sex scenes. Granted, there are absurdly big dicks in some of the drawings, but it seems to me most of his men are rather down-to-earth–they look real, if more sculpted than real-life ones often are. Gicquel favors the hairy kind of guys (but you’ll nonetheless find a large range of physical types) as well as clichéd manly jobs and occupations like bikers, soldiers, truckers, etc.

What I really like about Gicquel’s art is the decorative touch he often adds to his drawings, which sets his work apart from other gay artists’, like the wallpaper on the drawing above, or the string of flowers around the neck of the bear I’m showing you. He also puts lots of almost abstract tatoos on his men, with vivid colors adding a strangeness to the realistic setting.

If it can help you decide whether you’d enjoy the book or not, you can see drawings by Xavier Gicquel at this online gallery. It’s in French, but you only need to click on the categories links on the left to find the drawings.
As the title of the book indicates, at his best Gicquel manages to combine virile physiques with an imagery which veers toward James Bidgood’s brand of kitsch. I find it all rather irresistible.