Man’s Best Friend is a book that… stretches the boundaries a bit. It features an erotic love story about a boy and his dog, but it’s not bestiality. Not exactly.
The lead story is about a young man named Ukyo, who takes in a friendly stray dog he names Kuro (”Blackie”). But this [...]
Anybody who’s listened to me for any length of time about How I Read Comics (and the corollary topic of How Comics Should Be Published) knows that I don’t like stories to be serialised, because I’d rather sit down for an hour (or a few, if I’m lucky and get something really meaty) and read [...]
Whose idea was the Atlantic Ocean? Sure, it’s pretty and all that, but it has this annoying habit of separating North America from Europe. Not only did that delay the United States’ rather useful involvement in WWII by a couple years, it also prevents Americans from enjoying the full benefits of European culture. [...]
collects the mini-series “Return to Voodoo Island” and “Idol of Flesh”
After reading and enjoying John Blackburn’s series Hardthrob, featuring the dangerously beautiful Coley Cochran, I was curious to read some of his other adventures. Fortunately, two of them are collected in Coley Running Wild, part of Eros’ “graphic album” series. There are 30 [...]
Howard Cruse has received a bit of attention recently for Stuck Rubber Baby, his graphic novel about a white gay man coming of age in the racist American South of the 1960’s. Before that, he was well known in the gay and lesbian community as the creator of Wendel, a full-page strip that [...]
In Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s character refers to a sexual encounter as “the most fun I’ve ever had without laughing.” In that case, he should try reading XXXenophile; it could be the most fun he’ll ever have, period.
OK, so maybe I’m making unwarranted assumptions. Not everyone will be amused or aroused by the [...]
Most autobiographies lack one important element: an ending.
At the time they’re written, the author may be past the end of their career, and whatever events make their story “interesting” may be over, but their story isn’t yet over; they don’t yet know how it will end.
David Wojnarowicz, on the other hand, knew the ending to [...]
If I recall correctly, Heroes was intended at one point to be a new ongoing series, to replace the ailing Shadow Cabinet series. But in the midst of the Milestone implosion (which also claimed Xombi, Kobalt, and The Blood Syndicate) it was reduced to mini-series status, and delayed.
I was disappointed to see my fave [...]
I’m a bit upset with myself for not catching on to this strip sooner. Imagine: a world-wise, seen-it-all net.reviewer like me, going all the way to Chicago, stumbling across a dealer table at the con there, and thumbing through a book collecting a strip that’s (duh) featured on the WWW!
The strip is about a [...]
I have a feeling John Blackburn likes drop-dead gorgeous men. Because that’s the simplest visual description for Coley, the central character and coverboy of Hardthrob. Not only is he beautiful, but he knows it. And he uses it.
Coley Cochran is a famous young male model, and widely known to be gay. [...]
Don’t let the lack of pictures fool you; this is a comic book.
It’s clearly a “book”, and it’s highly “comic”. Rodi has a real knack for clever turns of phrase, for painfully spot-on characterisation, and farcical plot twists that would do Oscar Wilde proud.
It’s about superheroes, the artists who produce them, the fans who [...]
Talk about setting yourself up for failure. It wasn’t enough for Pat McGreal and Dave Rawson to create a comic book without a single superhero in it, one without even a hint of magic or of fantasy. Not enough to set it in historical Europe, without a single nightclub, or joint of pot [...]