QU33R


Book Description

Winner of the 2014 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology! QU33R, from editor Rob Kirby, features 241 pages of new comics from 33 contributors—legends and new faces alike. In 2012, Justin Hall edited a book called No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, that took readers on a journey from the beginnings of LGBT comics history to the present day. QU33R is an all-new project featuring queer comics legends as well as new talents that picks up where No Straight Lines left off. We've set down our history, now QU33R shines a light on our future! QU33R had its genesis in an all-color queer comic zine called THREE, which featured three stories by three creators or teams per issue. Rob Kirby published three installments of THREE annually from 2010 to 2012, and the series did well, garnering not only an Ignatz nomination for Outstanding Anthology or Collection but also earning Rob the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant in 2011. Producing the anthology was immensely gratifying, but featuring just three comics and publishing only once per year meant a lot of cartoonists weren’t getting the exposure they deserved. The publishing opportunities for queer cartoonists and queer subject matter are still limited, even today, and Rob longed for a wider distribution than he was able to manage on his own. He approached Northwest Press about doing a bigger compendium of all-new work. While THREE was happening, Justin Hall was preparing his book No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, which Fantagraphics published in the summer of 2012. No Straight Lines traced the history of queer comics from their humble beginnings in the late 60’s/early 70’s all the way up to the present. The book was a whopping, award-winning success. Rob got to thinking that a follow-up volume—a sort-of-sequel focusing on all new work—would seal the deal, informing the world at large that we are still here, still queer, and still producing fresh and innovative work. He wanted to include not only several queer comics veterans, but also some fresh new faces and a few folks who haven’t necessarily belonged to the orthodox "queer comics scene" but have been doing non-heteronormative work all along. QU33R features over 240 pages of new comics from a cross-generational lineup of award-winning LGBTQ cartoonists: Amanda Verwey (Manderz Totally Top Private Diary) Andy Hartzell (Fox Bunny Funny, Xeric grant recipient Bread and Circuses) Annie Murphy (Gay Genius, I Still Live) Carlo Quispe (Uranus) Carrie McNinch (You Don’t Get There From Here, The Assassin and the Whiner) Christine Smith (The Princess) Craig Bostick (Darby Crash, Go-Go Girl, Boy Trouble) David Kelly (Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics, Boy Trouble) Diane DiMassa (Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist) Dylan "NDR" Edwards (Transposes, Politically InQueerect) Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf)Edie Fake (Gaylord Phoenix) Eric Kostiuk Williams (Hungry Bottom Comics) Eric Orner (The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green) Howard Cruse (Stuck Rubber Baby, Wendel, Barefootz) Ivan Velez, Jr. (Tales of the Closet, Dead High Yearbook) Jennifer Camper (Juicy Mother, Rude Girls and Dangerous Women, subGURLZ) Jon Macy (Teleny and Camille, Fearful Hunter, Nefarismo) Jose-Luis Olivares (Pansy Boy) Justin Hall (No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, Glamazonia, True Travel Tales) Kris Dresen (Manya, Max & Lily, She Said) L. Nichols (Flocks, Jumbly Junkery) Marian Runk (Not a Horse Girl, The Magic Hedge) MariNaomi (Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Resume, Smoke in Your Eyes, Estrus Comics) Michael Fahy (Boy Trouble) Nicole Georges (Calling Dr. Laura, Invincible Summer) Rick Worley (A Waste of Time) Rob Kirby (THREE, Boy Trouble, Curbside) Sasha Steinberg (Stonewall, Queerotica) Sina Sparrow (Art Fag, Boy Crazy Boy) Steve MacIsaac (Shirtlifter) Terrance Griep (Scooby-Doo) Tyler Cohen (Primahood) Released by Northwest Press, which has been publishing quality LGBT-inclusive comics and graphic novels since 2010.




No Straight Lines


Book Description

No Straight Lines showcases major names such as Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, and Ralf Koenig (one of Europe’s most popular cartoonists), as well as high-profile, crossover creators who have dabbled in LGBT cartooning, like legendary NYC artist David Wojnarowicz and media darling and advice columnist Dan Savage. No Straight Lines also spotlights many talented creators who never made it out of the queer comics ghetto, but produced amazing work that deserves wider attention. Queer cartooning encompasses some of the best and most interesting comics of the last four decades, with creators tackling complex issues of identity and a changing society with intelligence, humor, and imagination. This book celebrates this vibrant artistic underground by gathering together a collection of excellent stories that can be enjoyed by all. Until recently, queer cartooning existed in a parallel universe to the rest of comics, appearing only in gay newspapers and gay bookstores and not in comic book stores, mainstream bookstores or newspapers. The insular nature of the world of queer cartooning, however, created a fascinating artistic scene. LGBT comics have been an uncensored, internal conversation within the queer community, and thus provide a unique window into the hopes, fears, and fantasies of queer people for the last four decades. These comics have forged their aesthetics from the influences of underground comix, gay erotic art, punk zines, and the biting commentaries of drag queens, bull dykes, and other marginalized queers. They have analyzed their own communities, and their relationship with the broader society. They are smart, funny, and profound. No Straight Lines has been heralded by people interested in comics history, and people invested in LGBT culture will embrace it as a unique and invaluable collection.




The Sunbearer Trials


Book Description

Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys. “Only the most powerful and honorable semidioses get chosen. I’m just a Jade. I’m not a real hero.” As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the chaotic Obsidian gods at bay. Sol selects ten of the most worthy semidioses to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all—they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body melted down to refuel the Sun Stones, protecting the world for another ten years. Teo, a seventeen-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of the goddess of birds, isn't worried about the Trials . . . at least, not for himself. His best friend, Niya is a Gold semidiós and a shoo-in for the Trials, and while he trusts her abilities, the odds of becoming the sacrifice is one-in-ten. But then, for the first time in over a century, the impossible happens. Sol chooses not one, but two Jade competitors. Teo, and Xio, the thirteen-year-old child of the god of bad luck. Now they must compete in five trials against Gold opponents who are more powerful and better trained. Worst of all, Teo’s annoyingly handsome ex-best friend and famous semidiós Hero, Aurelio is favored to win. Teo is determined to get himself and his friends through the trials unscathed—for fame, glory, and their own survival.




Girl at the Bottom of the Sea


Book Description

Sophie Swankowski is the hero from the stories she's been hearing all her life: she's the girl who will save the world. Or so she's been told. Now she and her unlikely guardian—the gruff, filthy mermaid Syrena—must travel the pitch-black seas from broken-down Chelsea, Massachusetts, to Syrena’s homeland in Poland. Along the way, Syrena will reveal the terrible truth about her past, and teach Sophie about the ages-old source of her newly discovered power. But left behind in Chelsea, without Sophie to protect them from the dark magic she's awakened, what will become of Sophie’s friends and family? Girl at the Bottom of the Sea is the follow-up to Michelle Tea's beloved Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, "a refreshing breath of air in the world of YA, equal parts eerie, heartbreaking, and fantastical." (ZYZZYVA).




Rainy Day Recess


Book Description

"From 1995 to 1998, David Kelly's 'Steven's comics' appeared in gay and alternative newspapers in the U.S., exploring the world of a sensitive boy coming of age in the seventies, with all its joys, quirks, and heartbreaks. This volume collects the entire series, as well as rare strips and illustrations and additional material created especially for this edition"--P. [4] of cover.




Stuck Rubber Baby


Book Description

A tale of Toland Polk, a young man caught in the maelstrom of the civil rights movement and the intrenched homophobia of small-town America




COVID Chronicles


Book Description

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees. When we weren’t sheltering in place, we were advised to wear masks, wash our hands, and practice social distancing. We watched in horror as medical personnel worked around the clock to care for the sick and dying. Businesses were shuttered, travel stopped, workers were furloughed, and markets dropped. And people continued to die. Amid all this uncertainty, writers and artists from around the world continued to create comics, commenting directly on how individuals, societies, governments, and markets reacted to the worldwide crisis. COVID Chronicles: A Comics Anthology collects more than sixty such short comics from a diverse set of creators, including indie powerhouses, mainstream artists, Ignatz and Eisner Award winners, and media cartoonists. In narrative styles ranging from realistic to fantastic, they tell stories about adjusting to working from home, homeschooling their kids, missing birthdays and weddings, and being afraid just to leave the house. They probe the failures of government leaders and the social safety net. They dig into the racial bias and systemic inequities that this pandemic helped bring to light. We see what it’s like to get the virus and live to tell about it, or to stand by helplessly as a loved one passes. At times heartbreaking and at others hopeful and humorous, these comics express the anger, anxiety, fear, and bewilderment we feel in the era of COVID-19. Above all, they highlight the power of art and community to help us make sense of a world in crisis, reminding us that we are truly all in this together. The comics in this collection have been generously donated by their creators. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this volume are being donated by the publisher to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) in support of comics shops, bookstores, and their employees who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.




Transposes


Book Description

Dylan Edwards' Transposes separates gender from sexuality and illustrates six fascinating true stories of transgender men who also happen to be queer. The result is laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreaking, challenging, inventive, informative, and invites the reader to explore what truly makes a man a man. Finalist for the 2012 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction! "Transposes will teach you something about what it means to have a body and to feel desire. About what it means, in short, to be human." — From the foreword by Alison Bechdel, New York Times bestselling author of Fun Home and Are You My Mother? Released by Northwest Press, which has been publishing quality LGBT-inclusive comics and graphic novels since 2010.




13


Book Description

"13" is a space opera that evokes Heavy Metal in its sexuality, innovation, and flat-out strangeness. In a future beset by poverty and subjugation, the privileged live in orbital penthouses and use the underclasses for parts. One young man has his arms taken from him and undertakes an epic journey to become whole.




The Power Within


Book Description

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 Northwest Press 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. Released digitally by Northwest Press, which has been publishing quality LGBT-inclusive comics and graphic novels since 2010.