Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics

From 1995 to 1998, David Kelly’s “Steven’s Comics” ran in LGBT and alternative newspapers around the country. This comic strip explored the world of a sensitive boy coming of age in the seventies, with all its joys, quirks, and heartbreaks. Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics collects the entire Xeric-Award-winning series in one volume suitable for young adult and adult readers, with additional material created specially for this collection.

$6.99 – $19.99

Tag: gay

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P.D. Houston – February 22, 2011

“Steven’s life isn’t all hardship, he’s not growing up in a family that’s super poor or he doesn’t have to tell with any serious tragedy on a day to day basis, but still the fact that you can’t be who you really are with the people you are closest to has to be about the hardest thing a person could do. Fortunately for us rather than dwelling sourly on the whole thing, David puts a lot of humor into his life story. It’s not the laugh out loud kind of humor, but the kind that keeps a smile on your face the entire time you read the book.” Read the review on renderwrx.
Joe Palmer – March 12, 2011

“That’s why I like Steven. I know he’s only a make believe kid in a book made up by somebody named David Kelly. He’s probably a big person too because adults don’t let kids make comics unless you draw it yourself. Steven makes me feel good because now I know it’s okay if a boy likes another boy!” Read the review on GayLeague.com.
Brian Cronin – March 15, 2011

“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.” Read the review on Comics Should Be Good.
Andrea Speed – March 29, 2011

“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.” Read the review on cxPulp.
Robert Kirby – April 2, 2011

“Thrilled that David Kelly’s mid-90’s comic strip has finally been collected and bound in this long overdue book. Such a treat to revisit the charming, poignant tale of Steven, a sensitive young boy growing up in the 70’s who likes playing with dolls, has a crush on his best friend Christopher and prefers reading to sports (do I need to draw you a picture about where this is going?)” Read the review on GoodReads.
François Peneaud – April 3, 2011

“Rainy Day Recess is a collection that will reward multiple readings, for its author’s attention to details, both in his characters and in their surroundings. It is as engaging as it is heartfelt, but more than that, it stands as a realistic but ultimately optimistic portrait of a gay kid. We can only believe that Steven grew up to be a good guy who made another man, or maybe other men, feel happy and loved.” Read the review on Gay Comics List.
Chip Babbin – May 1, 2011

“We have been enthusiastically welcomed into the charming world of Steven, a gay adolescent boy coming of age during the ’70s.” Read the review on OutSmart.
Snow Wildsmith – May 12, 2011

“Though Kelly’s Xeric grant winning work was originally aimed at gay readers, his story is universal enough to appeal to a wider audience, all of whom will be left wanting to see what he’s working on these days.” Read the review on ICV2.
Eric Henrickson – June 7, 2011

“Steven isn’t quite Everykid, but he’s a great kid. And I wish there were the comics to make a second volume because I didn’t want to leave his world.” Read the review on Detroit News.
Stumptown Trade Review – October 13, 2011

“Overall, Rainy Day Recess is a fun book that explores a quirky and confusing time in a boy’s life. In an entertaining and effective way it reassures the reader that they are not alone in the strange times that were growing up. And, for those readers who are gay and who are struggling with the confusion of it all, it offers the reassurance that things do get better.” Read the review on Detroit News.
No Flying No Tights – January 24, 2012

“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.” Read the review on No Flying No Tights.
A.V. Club – January 28, 2014

“Over the course of four years of strips, Kelly’s art certainly improves, but it’s the rough edges that give the strips their charm. Steven’s Comics could easily wallow in sadness as they document the difficulties of a boy coming to terms with his developing homosexuality in the ’70s, but instead, they have an upbeat, childlike wonder. Steven deals with sadness and uncertainty, but he also has amazing moments of joy, and Kelly does a wonderful job of relaying the thoughts and feelings of a child with incredible emotional resilience.” Read Matt D. Wilson’s review on A.V. Club.