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In Bed with David & Jonathan
Antique White House
Unsafe for All Ages 2005
A Distant Soil Volume IV

 

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Entries for April 2006:
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Monday, April 17, 2006

In Bed with David & Jonathan



The gay German publisher Bruno Gmünder has published Tom Bouden's new album, In Bed with David and Jonathan, an erotic book with less story but more sex than Bouden's other works in English.
You can find my review here, and you can add your comments below.
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Blog review
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Antique White House

Category: fantasy, gay-friendly.
Author(s): Diana R. Sassé.


Set on an alternate earth, Antique White House is the story of John F. Kennedy, president of the United Territories of America, where Indians still live freely and multiple marriages seem usual: Kennedy himself has three wives and two husbands, one not human. Christian religion doesn't dominate the Western world, and the UTA follow a kind of paganism.

Kennedy and his familyIn Saturnalia, the first story you can read online here and which has also been printed as a comic book, we meet the main cast, who've been invited by the German emperor to the Saturnalia - a Roman festivity that in our world was later incorporated in the Christian celebration of Christmas. All the great people of the Western world are there to enjoy the festivities and the wild, free sex that is customary. Unfortunately, one of Kennedy's husband is kidnapped...

The dictator, and the Kennedy familyIn Empire of Darkness, the currently-running story (the latest episode can be read for free at the official site of the series, the previous episodes are available on a paying site), Kennedy is confronted with an even more dangerous threat: the president is forced to visit the dictator of Saxetia, a small country where the Christian religion at its worst reigns. And so, same-sex relationships are vilified... In that second story, gay themes are very present, through the hateful behavior of some of the Saxetians, who live under a kind of Nazi/Fundamentalists Christian regime - the dictator himself has a certain resemblance to the current leader of Kennedy's real-world country.

French/German author Diana R. Sassé certainly has a wild imagination, which does remind me of Donna Barr's. She's built a fully-realised world, where some famous people from our reality are mixed with imaginary elements from various cultures. The matter-of-fact attitude of Kennedy's society toward same-sex marriage makes this strip very attractive for gay readers, and the wonderful, vibrant art should make you come back for more. 


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Monday, April 10, 2006
Blog review
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Unsafe for All Ages 2005

Category: autobiography, erotica, fantasy, slice-of-life.
Author(s): Justin Hall, Erika Moen, Chuck McKinney, Leanne Franson, Randall Kirby, Dave Davenport, Page Braddock, Patrick Fillion, Robert Kirby, Dale Lazarov, Steve MacIsaac, Chris Companik, Erik Orner.


Do you feel like mixing (useful) business with pleasure? How about helping Prism Comics and getting sexy strips in exchange, then?
a panel from Hall's storyI'd missed the publication of Unsafe for All Ages 2005, an 80-page collection of short stories and preview of works by gay and lesbian artists, all with a decidedly erotic bent (bad pun intended). As you can see from the authors list above, the variety of styles and content is reason enough to get yourself a copy of that comic. Among the highlights (for me) are Justin Hall's story of an unusual encounter for a male sex worker - it involves a woman, but not in the way you might think, and I found it very hot; Leanne Franson's stories of lesbian sex - unknown territory for me, obviously, but Franson always has a fun way of showing you her life; and Dave Davenport's story of Godzilla fucking King Kong (more about this artist soon, since he'll have a new comic out in collaboration with Justin Hall). The rest is entertaining too, with excerpts from various comics ranging from complete smut to autobio and fiction.
This collection is a perfect opportunity to discover a lot of gay and lesbian artists you might not know, and the money goes to Prism Comics, who definitely deserve it.
A second collection will be published soon. For now, the 2005 one is still available from the Prism shop.


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Sunday, April 09, 2006
Blog review
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A Distant Soil Volume IV

Category: fantasy, gay-friendly.
Author(s): Colleen Doran.


A wounded D'mer, with Galahad and KovarThe publication of Colleen Doran's fourth collection of her series A Distant Soil (you can buy it from Mars Import, or Amazon) is the perfect opportunity for me to tell you about this gay-inclusive saga, one of the most entertaining I've read.
Liana is a young human girl, who finds herself at the center of a large-scale struggle among various factions of the Ovanans, an alien race with psychic powers. The Hierarchy, the dominant, ruthless ruling class of the Ovanans, wants her for themselves, since Liana has the power of the Avatar, the most powerful of all psychics, and a pawn of the Hierarchy. The series follows a group of rebels -led by Rieken, a powerful psychic himself, and his lover D'mer, his pyrokinetic bodyguard- which includes humans, Ovanans, and people from a few other races which have been enslaved by the Ovanans.

D'Mer on fire

Liana & RiekenThe science-fiction aspect of the story is perfectly integrated with the character development which gives its savor to the series. There's also a very good balance between grim episodes (this is certainly not a light story) and human warmth, for example thanks to the banter between characters of opposite behaviour. Rieken and D'mer's relationship is also integrated in the story, and is the only continuing love story shown therein. A rather rare thing in American comics is the way the sexual aspects are depicted: frankly and without prudishness. That is very refreshing.

The art has evolved a lot since the beginning of the series (which will be finished with the next volume) at the end of the 80's. Always very expressive, it is now solid and very controlled, without losing its prettiness and decorative side (for an example of her pin-up art, see the D'mer portrait in my gallery).

Colleen Doran is unapologetic about her inclusion of gay (or bi) characters in her series. She obviously enjoys drawing good-looking guys, and there's a number of varied guys who provide eye candy for gay readers. That is the icing on a high quality cake.


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