Northwest Press

Lambda Literary Doesn’t Think It’s a “Waste of Time”

// February 2nd, 2012 // // A Waste of Time

There’s a nice writeup of Rick Worley’s A Waste of Time over at Lambda Literary, written by Cathy Camper. She really seems to get, if not necessarily subscribe to, Rick’s take on the seedier, more compulsive aspects of gay sex lives.

The bunny uses his drawing skills as a pick-up trick, meeting young guys, inviting them home to pose, art modeling digressing to sex. It’s odd seeing realistic-looking guys conversing with cartoon animals, even more unnerving seeing them inter-porking. It’s not sexy, but it’s hella funny.

Check out the whole review of A Waste of Time at Lambda Literary’s website!

“Rainy Day Recess” Reviewed on No Flying No Tights

// January 31st, 2012 // // Rainy Day Recess

The fabulous site No Flying No Tights recently reviewed David Kelly’s collection Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics, and had a lot of good things to say about it.

These are a series of autobiographical comics that Kelly drew in the ‘90s. He does have some commentary about the comics, which helps place them in time and explains their sequence a little. They were originally published sporadically, and this collection has them all in the same place for the first time. While the stories are all self contained, you do follow Steven’s life. And because of that, it leaves you wanting more. You see Stephen struggling to figure out who he is and also what is going on in his very dysfunctional family. And then, the comic stops. This is a short collection that leaves you wanting more.

No Flying No Tights is a ”page devoted to graphic novel reviews specifically for those who read them the most—mainly teens—and for those who might be involved in distributing them to teens—namely teachers, librarians, and parents.”

The name of the site comes from the rules adopted by the creators of the Smallville TV show, which reinforced their desire to steer away from the “super” and toward the characters as people. Despite that, No Flying No Tights reviews the occasional superhero book when it merits a look.

Check out the whole review of Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics at No Flying No Tights!

A Waste of Time Reviewed in the Bay Area Reporter

// November 22nd, 2011 // // A Waste of Time

Rick Worley’s new book A Waste of Time gets a favorable review from Roberto Friedman of the Bay Area Reporter in the latest issue.

Worley populates his cartoon world with characters we may well recognize from contemporary gay society: there’s a closeted fundamentalist teddy bear with a drug habit, Prester; oversexed sly fox Truckstop; and unlucky-in-love robot Rickets. Somehow having these sometimes naughty characters take the form of cute furry animals (or a robot) takes the sting out of all the waspish social satire.

Check out the whole review of Rick Worley’s A Waste of Time on the Bay Area Reporter.

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?

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!

In Case You Missed it: Paul Gravett on Teleny and Camille

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

Paul Gravett wrote an article about literary adaptations in graphic novels for the Times Literary Supplement in May, which included a section about Jon Macy’s Teleny and Camille. I just stumbled across an online version of the article today and, since I don’t think we linked to it before, I wanted to share it with you.

Macy draws himself at work on the project, realising that “only adding pictures to the [complete] text would not do it justice”, but anxious about having to “trim the Victorian gingerbread”, and imagining himself “facing a tribunal for all my Wildean crimes.” Macy would not be found guilty, as he has made this book his own by focusing on its love story between two men, put in context in a prologue narrated by the London bookseller Charles Hirsch. Macy goes on to accompany the already highly charged texts with an imagery of brooding eroticism and, as required, uninhibited pornography, in some passages stripping everything down to purely visual terms. His inky linework stays sensuous and sensitive to the turbulent emotions and settings of his two idealised lovers, shifting between streamlined simplicity and more ornate flourishes from Expressionism to Art Nouveau.

Check out the whole review of Teleny and Camille as part of the article “Obvious Impostures” at Paul Gravett’s website.

The Power Within Reviewed at PostModernBarney

// July 28th, 2011 // // The Power Within

Dorian Wright at postmodernbarney.com has written a glowing review of the new Northwest Press book, The Power Within, written by Charles “Zan” Christensen with art by Mark Brill, and featuring a bunch of superstar special guests, including Gail Simone, Phil Jimenez and Greg Rucka.

The story exists strongly within the shadow of the recent media attention given to the high suicide rate in gay teens and the “It Gets Better” project, but successfully avoids any hints of maudlin emotion or preachiness. Instead the story feels very honest and is genuinely affecting. Christensen’s script deserves credit here, but so does Brill’s art, which has an approachable, cartoony feel that still allows for very expressive characters.

Read the whole review of The Power Within here! And make sure to request a copy from your local comics shop!

“Teleny and Camille” Reviewed at Giant Fire Breathing Robot

// June 28th, 2011 // // Teleny and Camille

Ashley Cook from Giant Fire Breathing Robot has reviewed Jon Macy’s masterpiece Teleny and Camille and gives it high marks:

Overall, this is an excellent adaptation; Macy’s visual interpretation fits the style of the original perfectly. The panels flow like stream of consciousness prose, with surreal pictoral representations of a love that words cannot adequately express. If one of Oscar Wilde’s ilk had been a visual artist, we might perhaps have been treated to something like Jon Macy’s vision. As it is, there is no doubt that this beautiful, sumptuous work is clearly an accomplished adaptation as well as a masterpiece of erotic fiction in its own right.

Check out the entire review of Teleny and Camille on gfbrobot.com!

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!