Northwest Press

TCAF, Gaylaxicon and 4 Days Left for The Power Within!

// May 16th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

May is travel month, and the whirlwind tour is only half over!

I was at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival representing Northwest Press and Prism Comics, and it was a great experience. I didn’t get out into the show as much as I would have liked, but I moderated an excellent panel discussion on identity in comics, and how being our race, gender and sexuality can affect the kinds of work we do and what we gravitate toward as readers. The panel featured José Villarrubia, Erika Moen, Yuko Ota and Ananth Panagariya, and it was quite interesting to see how far we’ve moved away from identity politics in just a decade. Or maybe this bunch was just more enlightened than everyone else.

I also participated in TCAFabulous, a social event at Toronto’s “Crews and Tangos” which featured as its centerpiece a thorough “reading” of the comics from an LGBT perspective. (I’d never really thought about it, but it’s true what Erika Moen says about the “Kole” logo being very vaginal.)

After a few days’ recovery time, I headed to Atlanta for the 2011 Gaylaxicon/OutlantaCon. This is a fun, intimate event with a lot of terrific programming and this year the special guest was none other than Buffy: The Vampire Slayer‘s Amber Benson (aka Tara MacLean). Adam Fair, the creator of This Gay Existence, and I were on a panel about what’s been going on in LGBT comics over the past year, which was fun and a great discussion, to boot. I only managed to snap one picture of Amber, during “The Match Game” panel when the panel was interrupted for a word from the sponsor, “Boy Butter”. I did get to say hello and shake her hand as I was leaving the show, and invited her to do something with Prism Comics in the future. We’d love to work together!

Chance Whitmire of Fanboys of the Universe also joined us at the table and gave out cool buttons and Fanboys cards. Chance has invited Prism Comics to come to Asheville, North Carolina, this coming weekend for the show that he organizes, Fanaticon, with special guest Gail Simone!

I’ll be meeting up with Gail on Thursday and shooting a little video to get any last-minute fence sitters to take the plunge and support The Power Within before we hit our fundraising deadline. (There’s just $900 to go! If you haven’t pledged, please check it out and lend a hand!)

Down to the Wire on “The Power Within”

// May 13th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

Hey folks! We’re about two-thirds of the way through our fundraising period for The Power Within, and we need your help to get the rest of the way there!

Mark has been hard at work coloring the book, and has shared three new pages with me, which you can see at “The Power Within” Kickstarter page. I thought the art was good before, but Mark always brings a lushness to his color work that blows me away.

I’ll be spread the word about the book this weekend at OutlantaCon/Gaylaxicon 2011 in Atlanta (hope to see you there!) and will try to post some video from the show.

Help nurture “The Power Within”!

// April 20th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

UPDATE! I’ve been talking to some comics pals about contributing single-page strips or pinups to the project, and so far I’ve gotten commitments from Archie’s “Kevin Keller” creator Dan Parent, Gail Simone and Phil Jimenez (the latter two will be doing a page together!) I’m thrilled that these talented folks are on board to support the project, and can’t wait to see what they come up with!

When Mark Brill and I worked on an anti-bullying comic for 24 Hour Comics Day last October, we did it because we wanted to be part of the chorus of voices against bullying and harassment after the numerous gay teen suicides reported last year.

We didn’t quite finish the whole book in 24 hours, but the book is done, and we’re both so proud of it that we really want to get it out there, especially into the hands of kids who could benefit from its message that you can summon the power inside you and live through your toughest challenges.

Since Northwest Press is a graphic novel and collected editions publisher that publishes relatively few single-issue books (our most popular one, The Mark of Aeacus, is published in partnership with Class Comics), we are faced with a bit of a challenge in getting this book printed and distributed.

We’ve started a fundraising drive on Kickstarter to help with printing costs, in the hopes that we’ll be able to lower our per-copy price and be able to give away thousands of them to teachers’ groups, gay-straight alliances, gay youth groups, and other support resources for LGBT kids.

Pitching in $10 to our Kickstarter page will get you a signed copy of the book when it comes out, and we’ve got some really great gifts for bigger donors (all the way up to a ticket to join us at the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony next month!)

Please help support this project, and let’s let kids everywhere know that they can rely on their power within when they don’t think they have anyone else.

The First Aeacus “Superfan”!

// April 12th, 2011 // // The Mark of Aeacus

Dreamspinner Press author Ethan Stone recently went on a wild Las Vegas vacation with his friends Dawn and Laura, and while he was there, he and Laura decided to get tattoos. What design did Mr. Stone choose to adorn his shoulder? None other than the Mark of Aeacus!

Needless to say, Mark Brill and I are flattered beyond measure, and are putting a Northwest Press gift package together to send to Ethan to reward his loyalty. (I can only hope that he doesn’t start to develop supernatural powers and become a homicidal vigilante…)

Ethan’s latest book is called Flesh and Blood:

When a local man is attacked and the suspect is a hustler, Cristian knows there’s more to the case than meets the eye. His investigation will lead him into a maze of lies, deceit, and underage prostitution. But that’s only the beginning as people start disappearing and turning up dead. Cristian begins to realize that solving the case and stopping the murders won’t be enough. If he wants to make his new life with lawyer Colby Maddox work, he’ll need to face the demons of his past and put them to rest once and for all.

Check out more of Ethan Stone’s published work on the Books page of his website!

The Gay Comics List reviews “Rainy Day Recess”

// April 12th, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess

François Peneaud over at the Gay Comics List has written a glowing review of David Kelly’s new book, Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics! He picked up on one reason that I thought it was so important to publish this collection:

The fact that Dan Savage has written an introduction for Rainy Day Recess is of course very significant: I’ve found his It Gets Better campaign toward gay youth very interesting, especially since I can’t see something like that happening in my own country. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that American culture seems to be at a tipping point, where queer people are being mainstreamed and homophobes are finally being shown by the general culture as the danger they really are, the same way antisemitism and not Jewish people are the problem. That sounds so obvious, but the way that it is now seeping through popular culture makes me a bit more optimistic. In that regard, David Kelly’s strips are even more relevant than they were a decade and a half ago.

Check out the whole Rainy Day Recess review at The Gay Comics List!

“The Power Within” at 24-Hour Comics Day

// April 6th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

Mark Brill and I worked on an anti-bullying comic for 24 Hour Comics Day this past October, and we sold a preview version of the finished book at a few conventions over the past few months. We’re working on doing a full print run of the book very soon. In the meantime, check out this video about the making of the book! Mark ended up redrawing a lot of the artwork, but you can still get a feel for what the book is like.

cxPulp on Rainy Day Recess: “Can’t Recommend It Enough”

// March 29th, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess

Andy Speed of cxPulp gives David Kelly’s new collection, Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics, a look-see and she sure likes what she finds!

A sensitive boy struggles to stay optimistic and himself amongst an unstable family life and bullies in this collection.

I hope the explanatory blurb didn’t sound too depressing, because really this collection isn’t depressing at all. There’s something life affirming in thinking that Steven survived such a turbulent childhood so well. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Lynda Barry while reading this, which is a good thing.

She gives an overview of the series and its contents, and concludes with:

This is a sweet, engaging collection of comics that everyone who’s ever been an outsider can relate to, and I can’t recommend it highly enough for all ages.

Check out the whole Rainy Day Recess review at cxPulp!

Brian Cronin Reviews “Teleny and Camille” for Month of LGBT Comics

// March 27th, 2011 // // Teleny and Camille

Brian Cronin has shone the spotlight on Jon Macy’s Teleny and Camille as part of his ongoing “Month of LGBT Comics” series at Comic Book Resources. Brian shares some sample pages from the first chapter preview and praises them, but mostly lets them speak for themselves.

Almost instantaneously, the two men form a bond between themselves that goes beyond just attraction, but more into telepathy. That is how much they are tied together. It’s a fascinating inter-relation, and Macy handles it spectacularly with his moody, evocative artwork.

It’s been great to see the variety of books that Brian has reviewed this month; I’m really glad that he undertook this project. I think he’s managed to review more LGBT books in one month than even Prism Comics has reviewed in all of 2011!

Read Brian Cronin’s full review here!

Brian Cronin on Rainy Day Recess: “Highly Recommended”

// March 16th, 2011 // // Rainy Day Recess

Brian Cronin’s excellent “Month of LGBT Comics” at the CBR blog “Comics Should Be Good” is chugging along, shining the spotlight on a lot of great queer comics that you should not miss. Today, he took a look at David Kelly’s forthcoming collection, Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics, and apparently he liked what he saw!

Kelly captures the ups and downs of Steven’s life beautifully. A simple, yet important, facet of this collection is the fact that while Steven goes through a whole pile of garbage for being who he is, he also has simple enjoyments the same way that pretty much every kid has simple enjoyments in life. So the balance between feeling sorry for Steven and feeling happy for his enjoyments is crucial to the power of Kelly’s work, and it makes for an excellent series of comics.

Take a look at the whole review, which includes a bunch of great preview pages!

Two Northwest Press Books are Finalists for 2010 Lambda Literary Award

// March 16th, 2011 // // Glamazonia, Teleny and Camille

The Lambda Literary Foundation revealed their finalists for the 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards today, and two Northwest Press books were among them. Jon Macy’s Teleny and Camille is a finalist for Gay Erotica and Justin Hall’s Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny is a finalist for Transgender Fiction. The Awards celebrate annual achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing.

“I’m so proud of Jon and Justin for having their work recognized in such a major way,” said Northwest Press publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen. “For a small publisher who’s happy enough just to be doing something he loves, to have these books honored as finalists for a Lammy is so encouraging and gratifying.”

“I’m thrilled with this nomination!” said Hall. “A tremendous amount of work went into creating the Glamazonia book, and it’s wonderful when that pays off in a big way. I’d also like to thank the other comics creators who contributed to this project, including Diego Gomez, Jon Macy, Fred Noland, and Zan Christensen. I feel blessed to be part of an amazing community of LGBT cartoonists and fans, and hope to keep on making entertaining and challenging comics for as long as I can.”

“I’m just really honored and pleased that a graphic novel could be nominated for such a prestigious award,” said Macy. “It makes all the hard work worth it. I also have to say that Northwest Press is the best publisher in the world, keeping the dream alive for LGBT comics creators.”

This year, the Lambda Awards surpassed 2009′s record for number of books nominated and number of publishers participating; the 2010 finalists were selected from more than 520 titles from about 230 publishers. More than 90 booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, previous winners and finalists, and other book professionals participated in selecting the finalists in 24 categories.

“Some of the increase in nominations stems from the growth in recent years of self-published books,” says Lambda Awards Administrator Richard Labonté, “reflecting an expanding reliance on ever-more-accessible publish-on-demand technology by talented LGBT authors with worthwhile stories to tell—a do-it-yourself approach that hearkens back to the late 1970s and 1980s, when lesbians and gay men established their own presses and launched the queer book boom. The books came, and the Lammys soon followed.”

“These record-breaking numbers are occurring at a time when the publishing industry is under siege and we hear report after report on the death of books,” said Lambda Literary Foundation Board Co-Chair, Dr. Judith Markowitz, “What’s even more heartening is that the quality of those nominations is extremely high. All of this bodes well for the future of LGBT literature and for the Foundation’s continued role in advocating on behalf of that literature.”

Winners of the 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards will be announced at a May 26 ceremony in New York at the School of Visual Arts Theater (333 West 23rd Street).

Teleny and Camille and Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny are the first two graphic novel releases from Northwest Press, which was founded in 2010 by publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen. The next Northwest Press book, David Kelly’s Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics will be on store shelves at the end of March, and features a foreword by It Gets Better Project founder Dan Savage.

Northwest Press will be attending the C2E2 comic book convention in Chicago, March 18th-20th, as a guest of Prism Comics, where it will debut Rainy Day Recess and Christensen will appear on a panel discussion about LGBT comics.