GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

Section B ▾ Pride Guide 2001

See ya in the funny pages

VID KELLY

Work of edgier gay cartoonists can be found in 'zines

by Anthony Glassman

Thousands of comic strips hit the streets every day, reflecting slices of everyday life, talking cats who love lasagna, office workers on the verge of nervous breakdowns and inept military personnel.

There are not, however, that many comic strips that deal with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues; just about the only place to find them,

smutty. There are plenty of strips with no flesh on display. However, there are others where ... naughtiness ensues, shall we say.

The point of the book, however, is that they are gay comics, speaking to the sensibilities of gay men, say, 16 to 40 years old. It's a great book, with great contributors doing great work.

The back cover has contact information for most, if not all, of the cartoonists in it. Here's some of that information, since Boy Trouble is, like many 'zines, hard to find.

David Kelly, co-editor of Boy Trouble and creator of Steven's Comics, also contributes to Joey, a magazine for young gay men. His back issues are available by writing to him at 1122 E. Pike St. #992, Seattle, Wash. 98122. E-mail him at DavidLKelly@mindspring.com for issue availability and prices.

Robert Kirby has released a collected volume of Curbside and is thinking about doing another. He is also the founder and co-editor of Boy Trouble. To get the Curbside collection, send $10 to Robert Kirby, P.O. Box 300102. Minneapolis, Minn. 55403. He is also online at curbside la juno.com.

Tony Arena, whose punk characters

Bad Date Haiku

by MCFAHY

You busy tonight? MEET ME Thebar OK? thereat ten

I

mehat

LOVE

You like me by liver love you? SAY SOMething kelloVE this YOU IDIOT Beer Bottle can't say it a Sayitial But WHY won't you to

Kiss Me to Home You should I can not stand you I can't Be LeaseYOU'RE Bothing wondering home now But I am left

Plus Youe boring

Me AGAINW YOU DO Not call

or maybe

rvii leave

F

ALL

David Kelly

with one or two exceptions, is in gay papers, or in collections of specific strips in book form, like Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For.

There is, however, another place to find

good gay comics. It is a place few dare to go, however, and definitely not for the faint of heart.

You can find them in 'zines.

What is a 'zine? The name, of course, is an abbreviation of magazine, which is apt; in addition to the name being shorter, 'a 'zine is usually smaller than a regular magazine, and is generally self-published. It can be as low-tech as some stapledtogether, photocopied sheets of poetry, or, in the case of Boy Trouble, a sporadicallyproduced anthology of gay male comic strips edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, glossy and well-designed.

If the name Robert Kirby sounds familiar, it should. Kirby writes and draws the comic strip Curbside, which appears in the Gay People's Chronicle once a month. This is not Curbside.

Curbside is cute, sometimes a little melancholy, but definitely PG-rated. Not to say that everything in Boy Trouble is

O

Robert Kirby

spice up his comic strips written under the name "Anonymous Boy," has had work featured in dozens of 'zines. He also produces a weekly public access cable show in New York City. Write him at Anonymous Boy, c/o Tony Arena, P.O. Box 1502, Old Chelsea Station, New York, N.Y. 10011. C. Bard Cole has an illustrated collection of short stories available from St. Martin's Press called Briefly Told Lives. His website is at http://home.earthlink.net/~cbardcole.

Michael Fahy, another Boy Trouble contributor, can be reached at P.O. Box 60032, Penn Center Station, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102-0032, or he can be reached via email at mfahy67@aol.com.

Jean-Paul Jennequin is a literary translator in Paris. He has a huge book out from Bulles Gaies, a French publishing label specializing in LGBT comics, and they can be reached at 10 rue de la Petite Pierre, 75011 Paris, France, or you can e-mail him directly at jean-paul.jennequin1@libertysurf.fr.

From Bad Date Haiku by Michael Fahy

OR A YOUNG FAG VENTURING INTO CHICAGO'S HALSTED STREET, THE MAIN APPEAL OF PLACES LIKE THE MACHINE SHOP-AS OPPOSED TO HALSTED'S TEN BLOCKS OF DISCOS AND BARS IS THAT THE MACHINE SHOP HAS NO BUFF BOUNCER WITH A CHISELED JAW DEMANDING UP TO THREE PIECES OF IN-STATE PHOTO ID.

THIS IS A DEFINITE PLUS IF YOU ARE NOT ANGLO OR NOT OF LEGAL AGE, AND EVEN MORE WELCOMING IF YOU ARE NEITHER.

gulp

A YOUNG FAG NEEDS TO

BE WELCOMED.

A YOUNG FAG NEEDS GUIDANCE AND INSTRUCTION.

12

SCREEEE

BUT THE ONLY INSTRUCTION IN. SIDE THE MACHINE SHOP IS A MAGIC MARKER SIGN, TAPED A Bour THE DOOR BETWEEN THE FRONT ROOM AND THE BACK HALLWAY:

ADMISSION

$500

From Instruction by Robert Kirby and D. Travers Scott