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Elizabeth Beier
The Big Book of Bisexual Trials and Errors
by: Elizabeth BeierElizabeth Beier chronicles true-life romantic tales as she breaks up with a long-term boyfriend and navigates a brave new world: dating women. Beier tackles the complexities of sexuality and self image with a conversational and immediate art style and stories anyone who’s ever struggled with dating can relate to.
$14.99 – $24.99
Elizabeth Beier chronicles true-life romantic tales as she breaks up with a long-term boyfriend and navigates a brave new world: dating women. Beier tackles the complexities of sexuality and self image with a conversational and immediate art style and stories anyone who’s ever struggled with dating can relate to.
ISBN: 9781943890415
Publisher: Northwest Press
Publish Date: 2017
Page Count: 216
| Weight | 20 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 8.5 × 11 × .5 in |
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Positive $3.99 – $12.99
Cartoonist Tom Bouden (Max and Sven, The Importance of Being Earnest) invites you to meet Sarah, a young woman whose life is about to be turned inside out when she discovers that’s she’s HIV positive.
Join Sarah and her partner, Tim, as they take the journey together through shock and uncertainty, pre-dawn pill schedules, side-effects, well-meaning friends, tasteless jokes, medical missteps, and ultimately, hope.
“Positive is a story with the universal message of how to live life without being afraid,” writes GayLeague.com‘s Joe Palmer in the introduction. “This is the story I wish I’d been able to read after my diagnosis years ago. It is the story I hope everyone regardless of his or her sero-status will have the opportunity to read and by which to be inspired.”
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The Power Within $2.99 – $4.99
A comic book tackling the subject of teen bullying and suicide, written by Charles “Zan” Christensen and drawn by Mark Brill.
Shannon gets picked on a lot; his dad and teachers think he should just “fit in” more, but that doesn’t help. So Shannon escapes into a super-powered alter-ego whenever he’s in a bad situation. But will the power within be enough to save him?
In addition to the main story, the book contains bonus pages by a collection of comics industry heavyweights, including Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey), Phil Jimenez (New X-Men, Wonder Woman), Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, Gotham Central), Matthew Clark (Outsiders, Wonder Woman), Stephen Sadowski (JSA, Warlord of Mars), Dan Parent (Archie, Kevin Keller), Donna Barr (The Desert Peach), Andy Mangels (Gay Comics, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor) and Carla Speed McNeil (FINDER).
Copies of The Power Within are available free of charge to youth services organizations and teachers’ groups. Please contact us by email to request copies. The book contains discussion questions so that the book can be used as a tool to start a conversation about issues of bullying and harassment.
PREVIEW:
Read the first part of the story right now!
INTERVIEWS:
Review at Gay.com by Jase Peeples — “Moved by the rash of suicides committed by bullied LGBT teens last year, Christensen and Brill took it upon themselves to create a story they hope will reach others in a way only comics can.”
Interview on Tacoma KOMO — “Imagine a world in which bullied teens are protected by muscled superheroes. It sounds fantastic, but this is exactly the world Zan Christensen and Mark Brill have created in a new comic intended to help teens cope with bullying and harassment in school.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCXzxJ-qDA4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCGaSZfBpqM
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Tough Love: High School Confidential $6.99
Inspired by shounen-ai manga—melodramatic Japanese comics by girls about gay boys—Tough Love is a teen romance and coming-out story about a shy boy named Brian. More realistic than Japanese manga, this story centers on the relationships Brian develops with the boy he likes, Chris, and Julie, the girl who befriends him. Serious issues like gay bashing, suicide, and coming to terms with one’s own sexual identity are depicted with an honest, gentle touch. Socially relevant, fun, immediately accessible, and a bit of a soap opera, Tough Love helps gay teenagers to be more comfortable with themselves and less troubled, especially when they’re feeling alone and misunderstood.
148 pages, black-and-white.
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The Legend of Bold Riley $9.99
Leia Weathington’s sword-and-sorcery epic The Legend of Bold Riley is illustrated by Leia and a host of talented artists.
“Who is Bold Riley?” you might ask. She has hunted the wildest game and dallied with countless beautiful girls, but still longs to know the world beyond the city walls. Princess Rilavashana SanParite, called Bold Riley, leaves behind her station and sets out to travel through distant lands and find forgotten ruins, fearsome enemies, inscrutable gods and tragic love.
She’s as capable with a sword as she is with her wits—man, does she carve things up when the need arises—and is a strong, beautiful, confident woman who doesn’t wear a bikini into battle. And she always gets the girl!
Created by Leia Weathington, with art by Weathington, Marco Aidala, Vanessa Gillings, Kelly McClellan, Konstantin Pogorelov, Liz Conley, and Jason Thompson. Cover artwork by Brinson Thieme. 232 pages. 7″x10″. Full-color with metallic ink cover.
Retailers! Download a Bold Riley Promotional Display that highlights the foreword by fan-favorite writer Jane Espenson and helps encourage customers to check out the book.
PREVIEWS:
You can download a 67-page preview of the book in PDF or EPUB (iPad-only) format right here on the site. The preview includes excerpts from four of the stories in the book, bonus artwork and more.Additionally, there’s a ZIP file of preview images available for use in reviews and articles. Download it here. (11MB ZIP file.)
INTERVIEWS:
Feature on Panel Patter by Rob McMonigal — “Ms. Weathington, working with a variety of other artists, has created a fantasy world ripe for exploration, with our guide being Bold Riley, a young woman with royal (but restless) blood. It’s great to see the ‘Uncharted Fantasy World’ idea given a new twist by having a protagonist that’s not only female, but queer as well.”
Feature on Portland Comic Books Examiner by Christian Lipski — “Author Leia Weathington is releasing Bold Riley, her first book, at the end of June, and spoke with the Portland Comic Books Examiner about her own journey.”
Interview on Portland Comics by Doug Dorr — “I worked with 5 other artists for Bold Riley and made the mistake at first of trying to really tightly control the visuals of the comic. That was something I learned to back off from pretty fast. If you are working with artists you probably decided to get into a collaboration with them for a reason. SO TRUST YOUR ARTIST! What I’ve started doing is making model sheets characters, objects and places that must look a certain way to maintain continuity in the story, after that I send photo references, script and descriptions of mood and setting and turn the artist loose to have fun with it.”
Interview on The Hathor Legacy by Maria Velazquez — “Like many creators I started writing the kind of story I always wanted to see. Like most women I was raised with fairy tales and the complex feelings that go with them. Sure they focus primarily on female leads, but those leads tend to be passive objects. The women are what things happen TO not people who make things happen themselves.”
Interview on Sequential Tart by Lee Atchison — “We like the anti-hero right now. And with reason. Things are shit, we’re all pretty jaded. How can you not be when at the click of a button you can see the latest string of atrocities played out before your eyes. I like the anti-hero, but somewhere amid all of the horror and the skepticism, I wanted to place a story about a hero who, while not beyond reproach, is good and wants to do good and tries her hardest.”
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The Lavender Menace: Tales of Queer Villainy! $3.99 – $9.99
Thirteen short stories of terror, mayhem, and destruction which offer something highly unique in a genre that demands certain characters be only heroes or victims… gay villains! Prose collection with an introduction by Lambda Literary Award winning editor Tom Cardamone.
Cover by Joe Phillips.
Comicsverse (verified owner) –
“The Big Book of Bisexual Trials and Errors by Elizabeth Beier details an authentic and honest queer experience. It’s not afraid to be frank and intimate with its readers. The artwork clearly comes from a very personal place and lets readers feel right at home in the story.” Read Kelsey McConnell’s review on Comicsverse.
Sequential Tart (verified owner) –
“…wanting to find love, acceptance is truly trial and error, no matter the gender or orientation. I really liked how a good section of this story is about Elizabeth figuring out herself, she always thought she needed to be thin or look a certain in order to be loved. Seeing her on that journey was very powerful to me.” Read Patti Martinson’s review on Sequential Tart.
Comicosity (verified owner) –
“I got a chance to interview Beier on her raw, emotional, and honest book, one that in full honesty spoke to me on a deep and personal level. Anyone exploring new personal or sexual territory will see themselves in Beier’s honest prose and stark artwork.” Read Nadia Shammas’ interview with Elizabeth Beier on Comicosity.
What a Nerd (verified owner) –
“Elizabeth herself sounds like the kind of person I would love to hang around with. This memoir of one section of her life is so honest, you can tell she has reflected onto this a lot. She obviously put a lot of time into this graphic novel since she is both the artist and author. The great part is that even if you yourself are not bisexual, this book is incredibly relate-able.” Read Markie’s review on What a Nerd.
Graphic Policy (verified owner) –
“Overall, a compendium full of heartbreaks, self-discoveries and truly a lesson in learning how to be building one’s self confidence. The stories by Beier are funny, sad, beautiful, and intriguing. The art by Beier could be museum paintings, as each panel seems to be given much care. Altogether, you will feel for Beier’s journey in this memoir, as the journey to “you” has never been told so eloquently.” Read the whole review on Graphic Policy.
Bisexual Books (verified owner) –
“With simple and stark black and white drawings, this graphic novel anthology truly deserves to be on the bookshelf of every bisexual woman who loves queer indies.” Read the whole review on Bisexual Books.
GED: Gay Entertainment Directory (verified owner) –
“Where the story really shines is seeing her come to terms with who she really is in all aspects beyond sexuality—confidence, self-esteem, body image, and talent.” Read the whole review on GED: Gay Entertainment Directory.
Okazu (verified owner) –
“When Beier flies, she soars. A fantastic first book and here’s hoping that she’ll soar even farther now that she appreciates her own wings.” Read Erica Friedman’s review on Okazu.
Bleeding Cool (verified owner) –
“This is a definite recommendation if you’re a fan of Lucy Knisley or Ellen Forney, and Beier is a cartoonist to keep an eye on. The Big Book of Bisexual Trials and Errors is a great addition to the canon of queer comics, as well as to the body of bisexual representation.” Read Greg Baldino’s review on Bleeding Cool.
Publisher’s Weekly (verified owner) –
“The quality is uneven—running the gamut of sophistication from a hastily sketched 24-hour comic to a penetrating visual chronicle of the final days of the Lex, San Francisco’s last lesbian bar, which closed in 2015—but a more polished tell-all might not be so funny, lively, or roughly honest. This raw chronicle is a dispatch from the front lines of modern app-assisted dating.” Read the full review in Publishers Weekly.
Lambda Literary (verified owner) –
“Eventually, she meets someone wonderful, but that happiness is paralleled by her growing maturity. Instead of hating the changes in her body size, she learns to love herself, and to judge herself less.” Read the full review by Cathy Camper on Lambda Literary.
Pixel Pop Network (verified owner) –
“All in all, I really liked this—Beier is an excellent storyteller, and I’m impressed at how she managed to combine such a storytelling flow with moments of humour and real, intimate, self-reflection, while the bold inks of the visuals bring everyone she meets to life, including her own self-confidence in the final pages. While I personally could only identify with one or two elements of the whole, I felt totally swept along by the journey—as though I understood what she was telling me without having to try or labour the point; the mark of a good autobiographical tale.” Read the full review on Pixel Pop Network.
The Comics Journal (verified owner) –
“As the narrative progresses, the captured-in-the-moment panels become more intentional, liberally fleshed-out with decorative embellishments to enchanting effect. It is always rewarding to follow a cartoonist’s artistic trajectory as captured in a collection like this; though rendered with more care in later chapters like ‘Shiver Me Tinders’ and ‘Smoother’, Beier’s visuals remain personal and evocative—not just pretty pictures.” Read Rob Kirby’s full review in The Comics Journal.