PS - Amsterdam was utterly wonderful; we both loved it and want to move there and everything.

PPS - Just got back the first roughs back from the publisher for the upcoming Boy Trouble book and it’s looking great! I’m excited about it and hope you will go somewhere online and pre-order it right now, this minute, this very second.

And what to read for the plane and possibly later, during a lull in the trip?  I’m currently re-reading Of Human Bondage right now, and enjoying it (why else would I be reading it again - duh), but I wonder if a more light sort of Stephen King-y sort of thing might be more apropos.  More Popular Fiction than Lit…?  

A lot of decisions, that’s what it all boils down to.  Thank god my passport is good through December - had a brief scare for a minute there (”Waitaminute, wasn’t it in 1998 that I…..(gasp)” (runs out of the room to rummage in drawers up in office)  

I’ve learned that John and I are different sort of travelers - he’s more the have-an-itinerary sort (his packing is pretty much complete right now, naturally), while I prefer to wing about 80% of the agenda.  I guess that’s why I always end up mildly stressing out about everything at the last minute too.  But I’m just set in my ways.  And it all works out in the end anyway.  At any rate, I’m really looking forward to this trip, looking forward to it all, to everything.  

I’m kind of tired now.

 So, what to do with myself?  Maybe I better spend some time with people again, for starters.  There’s always stuff to do around the house too.  Plus I haven’t drawn a comic strip in like 3 months (took a hiatus from “Curbside”).   I have a bunch of stuff to sell online too - would like to make a serious dent in these cds I don’t want anymore (anyone want some New Wave Hits of the 80s?  Cheap?  have a few volumes left - in great condition!)   So I guess I’ll get cracking on all that.  It is really good to be done with the book.  There have been times in my life when I have felt an undertow after finishing a project, a sense of aimlessness, a pervading sense of “is that all there is?”   This, I can safely say, is not one of those times.  I’m damn happy - I really feel a real sense of accomplishment - and that I did a fine job besides. It’s going to be a good book, with some really great artists - some of whom we see far too little of - featured.  That’s all there is to it.  

This is all in lieu of any NEW interviews, naturally, but hopefully come this fall my work and the work of the Boy Trouble posse will get some more media attention, what with a new book coming out and all. Cheers, queers!

Okay, I’ve pimped for Lynda Barry, not that she needs it, so now it’s time to fill you in on my Aht. I am still getting The Book of Boy Trouble 2 ready to send to the publisher by the deadline (fast approaching). I’d forgotten how much work putting together a Boy Trouble book is – what I went through with the last edition is just a dim memory, with the exception of the 3 dozen emails I need to write and send per day – that part is indelible. Anyway, I’m really liking the way this book is shaping up – we’ve got a nice mix of light, funny stories vs. darker, more dramatic work; DIY-styled drawings vs. seriously skilled professional cartooning, and revealing auto-bio vs. pure fiction. There’s even some sci-fi parody, a porn-flavored true tale, and some beautiful portraiture too. The book will be 112 pages, all-new, and did I mention all-color? Well, consider it mentioned again. The roster of artists is a real intergenerational group, featuring a few key cartoonists whose work I was reading in Gay Comix long before I ever picked up my first rapidiograph pen or Windsor Newton brush (namely Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper & Robert Triptow), alongside folks I consider my peers from the 90s queer zine heyday (my co-editor David Kelly, GB Jones, Andy Hartzell, Michael Fahy, Sina Shamsavari, Anonymous Boy, Nick Leonard, Jon Macy and Victor Hodge), folks who came after us in the new millennium (Justin Hall, Tim Fish, Craig Bostick, Steve MacIsaac, Brett Hopkins, Bill Roundy and Abby Denson), as well as fresh talents who emerged even after them in the later half of this decade (Dave Ortega, Ed Luce and Derek Charm). BTW, if I placed anyone in the wrong generational wave, a thousand pardons – I’m working from my admittedly faulty memory here. Anyway, it’s a real nice mix of people and perspectives. I’m jazzed to see the final, published work.

One interesting thing about this particular edition is how quickly it filled up. When I first started Boy Trouble back in 1994 it was a bit of a struggle filling up a 32 page gay boy comics zine – mostly due to a lack of connections. As the years went by that changed, to the point where with this book I actually missed nabbing a few people I wanted to include (C. Bard Cole, for one – I’ll get you next time, buddy) just because I ran out of available space so startlingly fast. The response to my call for submissions was huge and lightning quick. I barely managed to save a few pages for myself, actually – no kidding. I also lost track of several people from my potential contributor list because there are so many more than I remembered – I’ve since remedied that with a new spreadsheet. If there will be a third edition I am going to have to figure this aspect out better. I’ve also had to face the fact that I just can’t fit everyone available in these books. So I think it’s high time we get more queer-based anthologies to stand alongside Jen Camper’s Juicy Mother series and Boy Trouble. Somebody (else) start that ball rolling please.

BTW, I’m sorry I don’t know how to put the image link right up on this site to click on here and now - I’ve GOT to meet up with my webby guy in 2008 sometime to get a primer on all the things I still need to learn how to do here. Anyway, hope you’ll enjoy Ginger in her film debut.

I am also thankful for the wonderful BF, who took all the Ginger footage, made the film, and selected the fabulous music. I toast you, my dear.

In short, So Super Duper is fun, engaging, pinky, pansy, and pure, and otherwise just a total treat. So I think you should all go out and pick up a copy right now, or order here. I met Brian at APE last APEpril and he’s a swell guy. So Super Duper is the feel-good comic of the year, so buy it and make yourself feel good.

First off, the one I should have trumpeted way sooner, Editor Tim Fish’s Young Bottoms in Love, is a beautifully-produced, all-color 386 page paperback collection of the eponymously-titled anthology web series. The artist roster here is impressive: Howard Cruse, Brett Hopkins, David Kelly, Craig Bostick, Abby Denson, Justin Hall, Jay Laird, Randall Kirby (no relation), Tim Piotrowski, and Paige Braddock, among many others. However, this is also a real showcase for Tim Fish’s wide-ranging, impressively versatile artwork, placing him around the very top of the heap of the gay cartoonists who have emerged in this decade. Tim has been a real force to be reckoned with, and it’s easy to see why with even just a quick glance at his many comics included here. The production values throughout the book are high, the artwork and writing are by turns funny, entertaining, beautiful, silly, thoughtful, perceptive, touching, hot, campy, etc., etc., and all proceeds from sales go to charity. What are you waiting for? Order here.

Jennifer Camper’s Juicy Mother 2: How They Met has just hit stores at last, after a long and frustrating stint in between-publishers limbo (Manic D Press is now at the publishing helm, much to everyone’s relief). This edition is well-worth the wait, as it is even better than the first volume, IMHO. For one thing, it clocks in at about 150 pages, nearly twice the size as before. JM2 features work from Michael Fahy, Alison Bechdel, Robert Triptow, Joan Hilty, Leanne Franson, David Kelly, Howard Cruse, GB Jones, Justin Hall, Ivan Velez, Jr., and Victor Hodge, as well as work from folks who may be less familiar to some, like Tristan Cowan, Carlo Diego Quispe, Serpilla, Erika Moen, and Scott Treleaven. The publisher describes it all thusly: The only current publication that showcases comix by queer artists, the ground-breaking graphic novel Juicy Mother 2 contains richly drawn tales that examine LGBT life from new perspectives: killer dykes chasing romance, a superhero tranny, how Hothead met Chicken, homeboys in love, lesbian internet hook-ups, West Hollywood parties, kids with queer parents, and many other unexpectedly funny depictions of how like-minded individuals have found each other for love, lust, and heartbreak. Thoroughly entertaining adult comix for gender pirates and sexual outlaws, Juicy Mother 2 contains depictions of sweet sex, rough sex, and confusing sex.

It’s all pretty great, sez me, so get this one too. Oh yeah, I have a 2 page story in here, illustrating a funny piece by Lawrence Ferber about debauched West Hollywood parties in either the late 80s or early 90s (hard for me to make the distinction between the two sometimes!). We all look forward to Juicy Mother 3, for shure! Go Jen!