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June 19, 2010: I've launched a new version of this website as a Wordpress blog. This version won't be updated anymore.
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Paul Hornschemeier's comics
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Ragnar Brynjúlfsson's comics
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Kyle's Bed & Breakfast
Codename: Knockout
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Entries for August 2002:
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Monday, August 26, 2002




Well, I'm leaving for a vacation tomorrow morning. So, there won't be anything new on the site for this week (at least).
I'll be back soon.
Good afternoon.
I'm outta here.
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Sunday, August 25, 2002
Blog review
If you don't see the images of a review, it means that I've transferred it to the new site.

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Paul Hornschemeier's comics

Category: gay-friendly, slice-of-life.
Author(s): Paul Hornschemeier.


From time to time, one reads a new comic and thinks, "Argh".
"Argh", as in, "Why didn't I read something by this guy before?" That is what happened to me when I read Forlorn Funnies # 1, by Paul Hornschemeier, a comic which has no gay aspect at all, but shows a wild imagination at work, equaled only by the obvious love of the artist for the medium.
The reason I'm writing this here is that I promptly ordered from Mr Hornschemeier his other available works - issues from Sequential, an anthology of short stories. And lo! They were as good as the first one I'd read, and some of them were gay-themed. In issue 5 of Sequential, a one-page story titled "Suck on Malt" tells how the artist is insulted by a passing homophobic driver, probably because of the clothes he wore.
From "Suck on Malt".Even better than this one-pager is "The Suppression of William T. Andrews", a story which begins in this issue and continues in the following ones (issue 7 is the latest published). The main character is a young guy trying to repress his gay feelings, whatever the cost. This is not a nice, happy story, but after all, realistic stories rarely are.
Even if I'm not going to write about the other stories in this anthology - most are more experimental in form and content, I can tell you all of them are at the very least intriguing and generally captivating. Paul Hornschemeier is an artist whose work I am going to follow very closely.
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You might notice a new link in some of the review pages.
I've affiliated my site with MarsImport, an online comicshop which is specialized in graphic novels, collections, and foreign comics.
Why did I do that? Well, I thought it might be useful for some of you to be able to buy comics right from this site. Yes, it will bring me some money, but that was definitely not my goal. In fact, if possible, I intend to use that money to have small, friendly contests to make you win a gift certificate which will enable you to buy comics on the MarsImport site. That's neat, isn't it? Of course, I'll be able to do that only if some people actually use the links on my site to buy the comics I've reviewed.
For now, the comics linked to MarsImport are: Enigma, The Importance of Being Earnest, Pedro and Me, Seven Miles a Second, Stuck Rubber Baby and Wendel All Together.
I'm also going to see whether I can convince MarsImport to carry other titles. I really don't know whether doing all this is a good idea. I sincerely welcome comments.
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Thursday, August 15, 2002
Blog review
If you don't see the images of a review, it means that I've transferred it to the new site.

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Ragnar Brynjúlfsson's comics

Category: coming-out, slice-of-life.
Author(s): Ragnar Brynjúlfsson.


Ragnar Brynjúlfsson, an animator who lives in Oslo, has a website featuring some of his short animated films, which are quite good, and also his more personal comix work. Two comix are of particular interest to gay readers.

A panel from this storyTim, a 58-page comic available as a pdf file, is about two teenage guys, one of them being in love with the other one. What I like about this story is the way the two boys relate to other people and to each other. They don't know what shape their life is going to take, they don't even know what shape they want it to have. Without any melodrama, they just live and begin to take decision will probably affect the rest of their lives. The art seems simple in a angular way, but it does convey emotions well and it is coherent throughout the 58 pages. I'd love to see this story in print, but my loss is your gain. For now, it's free. And it's good. Go and read it.
One of the drawingsThe other story I want to tell you about is Faggot. This one is in fact a storyboard for an animated film that was never made. A dark story of a gay bashing, it is interspersed with memories of a summer day when the young gay victim and one of his aggressors shared a quiet moment together. There are no words to go with the drawings, and none are needed. This is definitely not something to read to escape one's everyday worries, but after all, these things happen in real life. I think the way the violence portrayed here is powerful and unfortunately, quite realistic.
I hope Ragnar will find time to write and draw more comix. There aren't that many gay artists willing to tell real-life stories, and he definitely shows a lot of potential.
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Tuesday, August 13, 2002




Well, after having done a few reviews for this page, I've finally written another one for a gay-themed comic on paper.
The second collection.Kris Dresen, the author of Max & Lily, is also the artist of the fabulous Manya, one of the best small press comics of the last years. I recommend it to anyone who's into thoughtful and poetic comics. You can find it on Kris's site. Go to her site, buy her comics and tell her I sent you!
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Friday, August 09, 2002
Blog review
If you don't see the images of a review, it means that I've transferred it to the new site.

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Kyle's Bed & Breakfast

Category: .
Author(s): Greg Fox.


Most of the gay strips I know are centered either around a gay couple (like Wendel or Adam & Andy) or a gay guy who's single (like Ethan Green). But Kyle's Bed & Breakfast has a very different setup: as the title says, the cast lives in a B&B, and more exactly a gay B&B. Run by, you've guessed, Kyle, a 30-something with an even temper, the large house is home to four regulars: Brad, a young hopeful baseball player who's firmly in the closet, Richard, an inveterate party boy, Lance, as calculating in love as he's in business, and Eduardo, another young guy who's been thrown out by his parents when they learnt he was gay. Quite a varied group.

The cast:
Kyle Richard Brad Lance Eduardo
Greg Fox, the author, shows almost nothing of their lives out of the house, but manages to keep it interesting, partly by periodically introducing new characters who stay at the B&B for a time. Among them, a future (or not) priest, an older guy who's running from his family, another baseball player who is not in the closet... all these people, regular or not, lead their lives and loves as we do in real life, that is, by (mostly) doing their best.
Fox's drawings are very realistic, with good backgrounds, and lots of close-ups which give him the opportunity to put forward one his strong points, that is, facial expressions. He's also developped a nice use of shading which adds depth to the art. The only serious criticism I might make is the fact that all these guys are at the very least really good-looking and more often than not have the kind of bodies one does not see that often. Or maybe I just don't live in the right place. Anyway, that is not very important, because Fox has given his characters well defined personalities and plays a lot on the attractions and conflicts which are generated by the dissimilar tempers of these people.
One of the main interest for me is the way he's making Brad evolve. This young man with a perfect body begins as a kind of a closet jerk who thinks he's better than everybody, but through various encounters, he slowly learns a few facts of life and opens himself a bit. I'm curious to see how this will continue.
Kyle's Bed and Breakfast is another example of how varied gay strips can be. With a solid core of characters and ever-changing guests, this strip has everything to last a long time and show us these people living together and learning to like one another. No big drama, just everyday life, although with more hunks than should be allowed. I guess Greg Fox has decided to grab his readers by the, uh, eyes and keep them coming with engaging and believable characters. Not a bad choice. It definitely works with me.
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Thursday, August 08, 2002
Blog review
If you don't see the images of a review, it means that I've transferred it to the new site.

(List all)
Codename: Knockout

Category: adventure, gay-friendly, humor.
Author(s): Robert Rodi, Various artists.


All right. I've got to come out and say it... I really, really enjoy Codename: Knockout. It's silly, it's funny, and above all, it's sexy. This series is published by Vertigo, an imprint better known for some of the best comics published the past ten years, like The Sandman or Enigma. Post-modernist stories and meaningful themes are among the trademarks of that collection. Well, that's not what C: K is about. Rob Rodi, the writer, has created a spy story with the fun factor of a good episode of Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the naked flesh exposure of a particularly bad Avatar comic. But this time, there's a twist. The main character is a shapely and intelligent young woman, Angela St. Grace, who finds herself unable to escape the influence of her warring mother and father. Which does not sound that unrealistic, I guess. But when one's mother heads G.O.O.D. ("Global Organization for the Obliteration of Dastardliness") and one's father runs, of course, E.V.I.L. ("Extralegal Vendor of Iniquity and Licentiousness"), what's one supposed to do? And I'm not even telling you about Go-Go Fiasco, a 19-year old cutey who's kind of Angela's sidekick. Well, that's not true. I am going to tell you about Go-Go. Because he's queer as a three-and-a-half dollar bill. And then some. Which is not a surprise, coming from Robert Rodi. Already quite well known for his gay novels, Rodi had written a few stories for Vertigo (including a gay love short story) when he launched this series. It's obvious he's trying to appeal to all his gay or straight readers' prurient nature. But in a good way. The cover above by Jim Lee gives a good idea of that aspect of the series. Straights have Angela and we have Go-Go. Who often plays the usual role of the dumb-but-beautiful girl in the Bond stories. And he can kick ass. In more ways than one. The stories themselves are a fun blend of spy spoof and regular adventure. And then, there are all the scenes with Go-Go showing his assets. I mean, he's a computer wizard. Oh yeah, he's also got a great bod. And so, I give you... a special Go-Go gallery. Enjoy!

Art by: Louis Small Jr., Yanick Paquette, Yanick Paquette and Phil Jimenez.

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One small addition to the galleries, today. Joe Phillips is now well known for his beautiful gay illustrations, but that wasn't the case when he did the Superboy/Risk comic. Have a look at his drawing in the gallery to have an idea why some people were already wondering about him...
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Wednesday, August 07, 2002




That's Andrew!Andrew Wheeler, a frequent poster on the Gays & Comics forum and a member of the Ninth Art site, has begun a Live Journal. Subjects range from sexual objectification of men to comics to, uh, whatever he wants. So, he's gay, he likes comics, he's got interesting opinions and a great sense of humor.
What's not to like?
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Tuesday, August 06, 2002




The third issue of the great series Circles is available from Rabbit Valley. If you get your comics through a comic shop, you can also find it in the August Previews, and it should be in your shop in October.
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Human Remains, the very homoerotic story by Clive Barker beautifully adapted by P. Craig Russell, has been out-of-print for a number of years.
Thanks to Checker Book Publishing Group, it is going to be reprinted alongside the John Bolton adaptation of In The Hills, the Cities, which boasts two gay characters. You can see pictures from that in my gallery.
The following solicitation is from the August Previews, for comics published in October:
"CLIVE BARKER'S TAPPING THE VEIN PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE LEATHER BOUND EDITION Exclusive to Previews, a deluxe leather bound edition of the Eisner-nominated anthology mini-series bringing the best of Clive Barkers' short stories to the comics medium. Barker's stories are brought to a stunning visual realization by comics greatest artistic talent: John Bolton, Craig Russell, Klaus Jansen, Tim Conrad, Bo Hampton, Stan Woch, Hector Gomez, and more.
Collected in this leather bound edition are such horror classics as "Skins of the Fathers," "Human Remains," "In the Hills, In the Cities" "Down Satan," "How Spoilers Bleed," "The Madonna," "Pig Blood Blues," "The Midnight Meat Train," and more.
Limited to 666 copies.
HC, 256pg, FC $49.95"

Yes, it is very expensive. But for their previous Barker book, they also published a softcover version later on. You'll just have to be either patient or rich.
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Sunday, August 04, 2002




Just a couple of things for today: you'll find three new pictures in the galleries.
Two by Clive Barker, from a collection of his illustrations, and one by Jae Lee, from the Inhumans mini-series.
I should have at least one big announcement in the coming days about an upcoming project of great interest to gay readers. Stay tuned.
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Thursday, August 01, 2002




A panel from the first pageTim Fish, author of the fabulous Meet me in Saint Louie and The Cavalcade of Boys, has begun a new online collection of short stories, Young Bottoms in Love, in collaboration with various writers. The first story is written by Jay Laird, his frequent collaborator. New pages should be added each week.
Described as "Think cheesy romance comics circa 1950-70, throw in a gay sensibility", it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
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Thanks to suggestions made by Rémi, a grand kind of idiote, I've been fiddling around with the menu. Nothing major, but I hope these small changes will make it easier on the eye.
As for this "blog", I've realised it's stupid to call it a blog. I don't write here very often. That's why I've changed the, hm, title.
I'm also going to use it to tell you about the additions to this site, even though I'll leave the covers of the new full-page reviews on the first page. That's all for now.
See you soon.
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