Northwest Press Helps It Get Better

// November 1st, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess, The Power Within

Today, I’m proud to let you know we made our first contribution to the It Gets Better Project from proceeds from the sale of David Kelly’s book, Rainy Day Recess. A portion of the sale of each book goes to help the organization which was started by Dan Savage in October of 2010 in response to a rash of teen suicides.

Funds collected by the It Gets Better Project benefit The Trevor Project, a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline, and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educator’s Network, which works with educators, policy makers, community leaders and students on the urgent need to address anti-LGBT behavior and bias in schools.

In addition to our contribution to It Gets Better, today we sent out over 300 more free copies of our anti-bullying comic book, The Power Within to more than 20 schools, youth groups, and community centers around the country (and around the world!) These organizations work directly with kids, and contacted us to ask for copies of The Power Within to use as a teaching and outreach tool. We’re glad that the book is getting into the hands of kids who need its message the most.

We’re a little startup publisher in a niche market, but we’re digging deep to keep giving back to the community we love. We urge you to do the same and make a donation if you can.

Tell us how you’re pitching in in the comments section!

LGBT Section in Your Shop?
Feedback for the CBLDF

// November 1st, 2011 // // Misc

So I had a lovely dinner with Charles Brownstein from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund when I was in San Francisco for APE last month, and agreed to work on an article about creating LGBT sections in comic book stores. I’ve been trying to do retailer outreach over the past year on that very same subject, and it seemed like a natural fit.

I have a background in marketing and advertising and have some ideas already, but I’m sure there are a lot of pressures and concerns that retailers have that I’m unaware of, or underestimate. I’d love to create an article that can really be a good resource for retailers and help them reach out to new audiences in a constructive way, and maybe avoid some pitfalls that you’ve experienced.

If you’re a retailer and want to share your thoughts on the subject, I would be really interested to hear. Or, if you’re a customer at a shop that could benefit from an LGBT section and have some ideas on how they might implement it, that would be great, too.

Here’s some questions to get your gears turning; if any of these strike a chord with you, please post Facebook comments in reply, or email me directly with your thoughts.

  • Do you have any success stories to share about creating a section in your store?
  • What works, and what really hasn’t?
  • Do you have an “unofficial” section (perhaps adjacent to the indies), or do you do a seasonal PRIDE display?
  • Have any customers had issues with your implementation? Had any issues with parents?
  • Has the section increased business? Changed your customer demographic?
  • Has the fact that you have an LGBT section gotten you any press?
  • Do you have customers who might be well-served by an LGBT section? or who have asked for one?
  • Are you interested in reaching LGBT audiences but aren’t sure how to do it? afraid of doing it wrong and offending people?

Any and all responses would be appreciated, even if you haven’t created an LGBT section and have limited experience on the subject. I would welcome your concerns and ideas, as a retailer, on how you might go about it if you did.

Thank you!

Northwest Press Goes International!

// October 29th, 2011 // // A Waste of Time, Glamazonia, Rainy Day Recess, Teleny and Camille

What do these countries have in common: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom?

Why, you can buy Northwest Press graphic novels on iTunes in all of these countries, of course! Click the links below to visit iTunes and download previews of these fine books for your iPad (or for your iPhone, if you’ve got excellent eyesight and don’t mind a lot of zooming…):

A Waste of Time: The Reviews Start Coming in…

// October 29th, 2011 // // A Waste of Time

Reviews are starting to come in for Rick Worley’s new book from Northwest Press, A Waste of Time, and we’re pleased as punch with the reception the book is getting.

Andy Speed over at cxPulp: — ”I found this book riveting and hard to put down. It’s very relatable whether you’re gay, straight, or an anthropomorphized rabbit. It’s a little ironic that a comic with so many animal proxies is so very human.”

Joe Palmer at GayLeague.com: — ”…while he cites the auto bio comics work of R. Crumb and Jeffrey Brown for thematic inspiration, Worley has his own voice. Oh dear, the die hard spandex crowd just had a collective wide-eyed stare at those names. Don’t you worry! You can enjoy this book without danger of your superhero-lover card being revoked.”

Rubber Justice at Pink Kryptonite: — ”Take the authenticity of Pekar’s American Splendor, and blend it with classicist artcomix values, and you get an idea of the beauty behind Rick’s book. He even goes so far as to invite all his readers so moved by his work to contact him and be his groupies. Literally fucking with your audience. It’s genius.”

At Starving for Ink: — ”Ultimately, A Waste of Time is just the opposite. Worley has given us a refreshing dose of reality that I believe people will relate to, whether they’re gay, straight, or in between.”

You can pick up A Waste of Time now at your local comic shop! And if you want to join in the reviewing fun, why not post a review to iTunes? or post a review on Amazon?

APE was a Glorious “Waste of Time”

// October 5th, 2011 // // A Waste of Time, Glamazonia, Teleny and Camille

Northwest Press made its first solo appearance at San Francisco’s Alternative Press Expo over this past weekend, and introduced con-goers to the latest addition to the NWP lineup: Rick Worley’s delightfully inappropriate A Waste of Time.

Rick was on hand to sign copies of the book, do sketches and chat with fans. The response to the book was overwhelmingly positive, and I think it’s bound to get gift-wrapped and put under a lot of Christmas trees later this year.

The Waste of Time release party at Mission: Comics and Art on Saturday night was a lot of fun, too with beer and wine and comic books galore.

In addition, Northwest’s APE table hosted Lambda-Award-winning artist Jon Macy—who signed copies of Teleny and Camille and his new fantasy series Fearful Hunter. We occasionally got visits from neighboring Justin Hall, author of Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny, who was tabling across the aisle from us.

Northwest Press publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen was featured on Justin’s Queer Cartoonists panel on Saturday, and engaged in a lively discussion about sex, reaching the right audience, and how to make it all work on a shoestring budget.

Next up, Northwest Press will be making appearances at this weekend’s Geek Girl Con in Seattle—including a panel discussion about how our sexual, gender and race identity influence our comics reading and creation—and the next weekend we will be joining Prism Comics for New York Comic Con!

The Gay Comics List loves The Power Within!

// September 19th, 2011 // // The Power Within

One of the biggest challenges in doing “advocacy” storytelling is striking a nice balance between getting your message across and telling a good story. If you fail, you end up with something much less entertaining than preachy. The most rewarding feedback we’ve gotten since releasing our anti-bullying book The Power Within is that we’ve succeeded in telling an engaging, honest story that resonates with readers, and isn’t just a “me too” message book. François Peneaud, who reviews everything, it seems like, on his site The Gay Comics List, has seen his fair share of preachy comics, and I’m glad to say that The Power Within wasn’t one of them.

As much as one can enjoy seeing queer characters in both mainstream and indie fantasy fiction, the problems of the real world should always take precedence. Sometimes in a ham-fisted way, and sometimes in a moving, heartfelt way that shows the sincerity and skills of the creators involved. Fortunately, it is the latter that happens with Zan Christensen and Mark Brill’s The Power Within, a comic about LGBT teen bullying.

Later, he says:

The Power Within goes well beyond what’s expected of a project done with the best intentions. It’s a moving depiction of what’s unfortunately the real life of some teenagers in our society, and the creators involved can only hope it will contribute, in its own ways, to the improvement of that situation.

Check out François’ site for the whole Power Within review, and take a look at his numerous other reviews of great LGBT comics. It’s truly a treasure trove.

The Power Within reviewed at Comics Bulletin

// September 17th, 2011 // // The Power Within

Jason Sacks at Comics Bulletin recently reviewed Mark Brill and Charles “Zan” Christensen’s anti-bullying comic, The Power Within and gave the book highest marks: five out of five silver bullets! We were especially pleased to note that the book had reached beyond the LGBT audience and resonated with a straight married man with three kids; we were able to portray the experience of being bullied in school as a gay teen in a way that everyone can relate to.

This is not a maudlin or preachy comic; instead The Power Within effectively puts readers inside the head of a young teenager who’s struggling to find his own unique way in the world. In some ways it doesn’t even matter if Shannon is gay; what’s more important is that he is a depressed outsider who feels hated by everyone around him.

He’s subject to bullying, but the bullying could just as much been because he’s a creative kid, or a brain, or handicapped, or even if he’s just depressed because his parents are getting divorced. What’s important is that Shannon feels like an outsider, like someone who will never be an insider. Because of this, he’s become the victim of bullying, and that bullying helps to lead a tremendous level of self-hatred in him.

Check out the whole review of The Power Within at Comics Bulletin!

Retail Spotlight: “Mission: Comics and Art” in San Francisco

// September 8th, 2011 // // Misc

Here’s the second of my ongoing “Retail Spotlights”, to highlight those comics shops that want to reach out to LGBT customers. The goal is to connect queer folks who are already comics readers to shops they can go and find the stuff they want to read, as well as invite LGBT communities around the country to explore what today’s comics shops have to offer by visiting one near them with a great selection and welcoming staff. If you’re looking for a fun place to shop where you can “come as you are”, then look no further!

This time around, we’re going to shine a spotlight on Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco, California, courtesy of proprietor Leef Smith. This shop is a “junction point for the worlds of fine art, comic books, and popular culture”, and has a great selection of indie and local graphic novels, as well as all your must-have superhero books. In the back of the store, you’ll find something you don’t usually find at a comics shop: a full gallery space dedicated to showing original comics as well as artwork inspired by comics. Cool!

Mission offers a lot of other stuff you might not expect from a comics shop: they offer a Graphic Novel Rental Library, so you can read more for less money; they host a “monthly Comic Creators Meetup encouraging the creation promotion and distribution of independently produced comics”; and they also have a monthly graphic novel book club where you can enjoy a new work and share a lively discussion about it with other comics lovers. No stereotypical basement-dwelling hermits here!

According to Leef, this is a great time to come explore what comics have to offer, with the new relaunched—and more diverse!—DC Comics. Mission is even playing a part in DC’s big push to embrace digital comics, with digital subscriptions and online management via Comixology.

LGBT customers can rest assured that Mission: Comics and Art will help connect them to fantastic comics and graphic novels. Says Leef:

We’ve got a dedicated LGBT section that includes award winners like Teleny & Camille and Fun Home, and new releases like Gingerbread Girl and Wandering Son. Our local shelves also include Waste of Time and fan-fave Wuvable Oaf. We’re also happy to point out the mainstream superhero comics that do a good job depicting LGBT characters, such as Batwoman, Young Avengers & X-Factor among others.

Mission: Comics & Art has a special focus on comic books as an art form, with our gallery, artist receptions, and strong selection of self-published and Indy books. We offer a Graphic Novel Rental Library, and “buy” back graphic novels to add to the library. We’ve got an excellent coffee shop right next door, Rodgers Coffee & Tea, with fabulous “brew by the cup” coffee.

Mission: Comics and Art is located in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, at 3520 20th Street, Suite B (between Mission and Valencia). They are open Tuesday through Sunday, Noon to 8pm. You can find them on Facebook and check them out on Twitter at @missioncomics. Being true San Francisco tech-heads, they’re also on Flickr, YouTube, Yelp, and Foursquare! (And, as I mentioned earlier, ComiXology…)

Mission will be hosting the big debut party for Rick Worley’s A Waste of Time at the beginning of October, during APE. Don’t miss it!

Jon Macy Interviewed for Outlook Columbus

// September 2nd, 2011 // // Teleny and Camille

Jon Macy was interviewed for Outlook Columbus recently and told interviewer Mackenzie Worrall all about the process he undertook to create Teleny and Camille.

I love the history lesson at the beginning, explaining both how you came to write it, and how Wilde came to write the original. I had no idea that this was based on a Victorian novel when I first picked it up. Do you think your work would stand on its own without the opening vignettes?

The graphic novel would be fine on its own, and that was my intention when I started it, but after working on the project for almost eight years I discovered a lot about Gay history and wanted to share that journey. It also makes it clear that I’m continuing the tradition of collaboration this novel has, which, in hindsight, I realized makes it more relevant for modern readers.

Did you leave anything out from the original that you had really wanted to put in?

Well, there is one scene where Camille fights his homosexuality by raping the maid, which is pretty horrific. I felt it was too misogynistic to include, but after reading the papers published by the Oscholars, an online group of Wilde academics, I’ve come to the conclusion that the writers were not against women, but giving a Gay male commentary on straight men of the time. This scene would come right before Camille’s suicide attempt and would better show how he had been tested greatly by trying to be something he is not. It’s still a very volatile scene and it would be tricky to pull off, but maybe I would add it to a future edition.

Check out the whole interview at Outlook Columbus!

Retail Spotlight: “All About Books and Comics” in Phoenix

// August 30th, 2011 // // Misc

So here’s something new: I’ve put out a call to retailers to let me know about their shops that cater to LGBT readers, and am going to run “Retail Spotlights” highlighting them. The goal is to connect queer folks who are already comics readers to shops they can go and find the stuff they want to read, as well as invite LGBT communities around the country to explore what today’s comics shops have to offer by visiting one near them with a great selection and welcoming staff. If you’re looking for a fun place to shop where you can “come as you are”, then look no further!

This week, I’d like to introduce you to Marsha and Alan Giroux and their store called All About Books and Comics in Phoenix, Arizona. The store boasts over one million (!) new and back-issue comics from all publishers, as well as other items such as shirts, coffee mugs, and more. They’ve been serving customers in Arizona and worldwide for 30 years and have ”the most knowledgable and friendly staff in Arizona.”

All About Books and Comics offers a free subscription service (so the books you want won’t sell out before you get them), a selection of back issues you can browse on their website, and they make regular updates about sales, promotions and new items on their email list, Facebook, and on Twitter at @AllAboutComics. All About Comics also buys and trades old comics; bring them in to the store so they can check them out!

I asked Marsha and Alan what they thought was the hottest thing in comics right now, and what they would recommend to new readers.

The most exciting thing happening in comics right now begins in September with the launch of DC’s new line of comics. They are relaunching with 52 new number ones. It is the perfect jumping on point for anyone interested in comics. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Batwoman and all the rest of the DC line are all starting fresh with a new modern day relaunch and you can start with the very first issue! All About Books and Comics will have them all! Batwoman is a lesbian and she’s finally getting her own series! For those of you that loved Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the 1970′s, we will not only have the first issue of Wonder Woman in September but we also carry a full line of Wonder Woman products from coffee mugs to T-shirts.

Looking for something more independent? We recommend Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Fun Home, a coming of age story of a young lesbian growing up with her father in a funeral home. Did you grow up reading Archie Comics? They are also becoming much more LGBT friendly with the recent introduction of a new gay character, Kevin. We’ve got them!

Are you watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Walking Dead? These are two of the most popular TV shows that have comics and All About has them all! Did you see any of the great comic book movies this summer? Thor, X-men, Captain America, Green Lantern? We have all the comics and related merchandise.

Have a question? Ask the Professor. He has been collecting comics for over 40 years and can tell you anything you need to know about story lines. You can reach the Professor on the blog at AllAboutComics.com and read reviews of current comics.

So if you’re in Phoenix but haven’t looked at a comic shop in a while because you didn’t think there would be anything for you there, give All About Books and Comics a try. It’s always good to support retailers that welcome everyone and try to offer stuff that appeals to all types of customers. The shop is located at 5060 N. Central in the heart of uptown Phoenix (one block North of Camelback on Central). You can also visit them online at AllAboutComics.com.

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