Northwest Press is a book publisher dedicated to publishing the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender comics collections and graphic novels.
// October 13th, 2011 // // Events, Misc
Northwest Press will be partnering with Prism Comics and Charles “Zan” Christensen will be appearing at New York Comic Con, along with Kris Dresen, Tony Breed, Dylan “NDR” Edwards and Jeff Krell, as well as super-awesome Fanboys of the Universe. Prism has been to NYCC before, but never pulled out all the stops. It’s going to be memorable!
// 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!
// July 22nd, 2011 // // Misc
The first “real” day of Comic-Con after Preview Night was capped off with the opportunity to chat with some of the most fun and interesting people involved with Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, including Dark Horse editor Scott Allie, writer extraordinaire Jane Espenson, and Andrew himself, Tom Lenk.
I had worked up a bunch of starter questions to get the ball rolling, and roll, it did! We talked about how the feminist core of the series spurs writers involved with it to be more inclusive of other sexualities. We talked about Andrew’s character and how it grew organically once Tom was cast and the writers started writing the part for him. Scott talked about the non-reaction that the powers that be at Fox had to Buffy’s tryst with fellow female Slayer Satsu in the comics series. In response to a question about who from the Buffy series would have been a good choice to be an LGBT character, the response from Jane was, essentially, anyone. There isn’t anything to prevent a character from evolving and changing or revealing things about her or himself, and it wouldn’t be any more or less surprising or out-of-the-ordinary than the way things work in real life.
There were some great questions from the audience, including one about trans inclusivity in the Buffyverse (currently none, as far as the panelists were aware.) I mused about whether a person whose soul was female but whose body was male could be chosen as a Slayer?
A few questions touched on vampire sexuality, and how likely it would be that most vampires had experienced same-sex relationships and sex, given that they have hundreds of years to kill. Jane recalled a quote from Joss Whedon that was meant to be attributed to Spike or Angel (not sure which) that went something like, “I’ve lived for over a hundred years, don’t you think I’ve tried just about everything?” So all those fantasies about Spike and Angel pairings might not be completely out of the question!
Tom’s comedic chops were on full display, and he brought the house down several times. He’s currently filming a documentary about the making of his one-person show, Nerdgasm, and about bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe Fest this August. If you see the show’s headed to your neck of the woods, you should check it out!
The panelists were great, the audience was fantastic, and it was a really great way to spend an hour at Comic-Con. Thanks to everyone who came and shared the experience with us!
// July 20th, 2011 // // Events, Teleny and Camille, The Power Within
Northwest Press will be one of the dozen talented comics creators and publishers joining Prism Comics at their deluxe triple booth at Comic-Con this year! The fabulous Jon Macy will be on hand to sign copies of Teleny and Camille, and our brand-new anti-bullying comic, The Power Within, will be available for the very first time!
// July 9th, 2011 // // Events, Teleny and Camille
As mainstream companies DC and Marvel continue to frontline gay characters such as Batwoman and Northstar and hire top-level gay or gay-friendly creators, independent publishers and creators are publishing unequivocal content spotlighting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered characters, to the cheers of the thousands of fans who are out of the comic book closet. Founding moderator Andy Mangels (USA Today bestselling author of Star Trek novels and Iron Man: Beneath The Armor) hosts Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, head of Image Comics’s Skybound imprint), Chip Kidd (author, editor and designer, Bat-Manga, Rough Justice), Dan Parent (writer/artist, Archie, Betty & Veronica, creator of Archie’s new gay character and series, Kevin Keller), Jon Macy (writer/artist Teleny and Camille and Prism Queer Press grant recipient for Fearful Hunter), Paul Cornell (writer, TV’s Doctor Who and DC Comics’s upcoming Stormwatch and Demon Knights), and Greg Pak (writer, Incredible Hulks, co-writer, Alpha Flight, Herc). Plus a special video appearance by J. H. Williams III (co-writer/artist, Batwoman). And there’s always a surprise or two. Afterward, stick around for the hour-long gay comics fan mixer/social, hosted by Prism Comics, with prizes and surprise special guests!
// July 9th, 2011 // // Events
LGBT fans hailed the revelation in the long-running television hit that one of its main characters, Willow, had fallen in love with another female character, Tara. This groundbreaking depiction of queer love in the TV show has been built upon in the Buffy comic books published by Dark Horse Comics, and Buffy remains one of the most queer-friendly properties in pop culture. Moderator Charles “Zan” Christensen (Northwest Press publisher and Prism Comics president) discusses the special relationship between the Buffyverse and LGBT comic book fans with Buffy creators and actors, including Scott Allie, Andrew Chambliss, Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg, Tom Lenk, and a special guest!// 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!)
// March 7th, 2011 // // Glamazonia
While the Northwest Press folks were busy appearing at Emerald City ComiCon with Prism Comics this past weekend—and having an absolute blast I might add!—we missed this excellent review of Justin Hall’s Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny that appeared on Comic Book Resources.
Brian Cronin, of “Comics Should Be Good”, is a week in to his “Month of LGBT Comics”, and Glams was in this spotlight in this past Friday’s column. Cronin starts out by noting how the book could have gone horribly wrong, but is saved by Justin’s positive take on the character:
Perhaps the number one thing that makes Justin Hall’s Glamazonia work is the sheer sense of geniality that exudes from Hall’s work. This is the sort of comic that, in the hands of someone trying to do something cynical, it would just come off as just foul, wretched even. Luckily, Hall is completely committed to the concept of a “super-tranny,” and he puts it out there without any sort of ill will or negative feelings – this is just intended as a fun, offbeat comic book about a goofy super-tranny named Glamazonia.
Cronin also highlights the stellar contributors—Paige Braddock, Robert Kirby, Sarah Oleksyk, Shaenon Garrity—and the backup stories, including Jon Macy’s “Rent Boy: Year One”.
Check out the whole review, and pick up a copy of Glamazonia right here!
// March 4th, 2011 // // Events
Northwest Press will be partnering with Prism Comics (as well as Jon Macy, Sean-Z, Jeff Krell, and Fanboys of the Universe) and appearing at a deluxe booth at the Emerald City ComiCon. Stop by booth #1002 and pick up all the NWP stuff, plus a ton of great LGBT comics from a wide variety of talented folks!
If you’re on Facebook, RSVP to the Prism Comics at Emerald City Comicon 2011 Event to see who else will be there!
// September 8th, 2010 // // Misc
I participated in the Prism Comics panel about the Queer Press Grant (which has a deadline of September 15th!) and talked about how to apply. This is a great program that Prism does every year, and I urge everyone to support it.
This video also features past recipients Justin Hall, Steve MacIsaac and Ed Luce, and is moderated by Roger Klorese.
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