Exciting news for indy cartoonist Ed Luce! Fantagraphics and Luce have inked an agreement for the Seattle based comics publisher to publish a collection of Wuvable Oaf! oaf is a favorite here at Gayleague and we’d like to congratulate Ed on the deal. The hardcover collection will clock in at 264 pages (16 in color) and is slated for a March 2015 release. Below is Fantagraphic’s press release and I think it describes Luce’s creation really well. Of course in the mean time you can always order Oaf comics and goodies from here or buy them direct from Ed at various conventions.
Fantagraphics Feels The Wuv With Ed Luce
SEATTLE, WA—MAY 9, 2014. Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the acquisition of Ed Luce’s indie comic sensation Wuvable Oaf, to be released March 2015. Like Sex and the City but with adorable, ex-wrestler hairy gay men (or bears), Wuvable Oaf is Luce’s debut graphic novel. This book fills a romance comics hole by portraying a likeable gay male character that is both fully realized and relatable. Mostly playful, but sometimes serious, Wuvable Oaf captures the levity of loneliness. Luce delivers a rom-com that would leave Zack Galifianakis and Zooey Deschanel feuding over who got to play Oaf in a hypothetical movie adaptation.
Oaf is a large, hirsute, scary-looking ex-wrestler who lives in San Francisco with his adorable kitties, and listens to a lot of Morrissey. The book follows Oaf’s search for love in the big city, especially his pursuit of Eiffel, the lead singer of the black metal/queercore/progressive disco grindcore band Ejaculoid. Luce weaves friends, associates, enemies, ex-lovers, and the pasts of both men into the story of their courtship. Like Scott Pilgrim, Love and Rockets, and Archie, Wuvable Oaf explores the joys and pains of romantic conquests, set against the backdrop of the San Francisco scene. After decades of comics about boy-loves-girl, Luce finally gives readers of all orientations some insight into man-loves-man. Oaf’s silly, sweet, and sometimes sexy stories will win over everyone’s heart.
“The first indie comics I ever bought were published by Fantagraphics, including Love and Rockets, Eightball and Usagi Yojimbo,” explains cartoonist Ed Luce. “Much of Wuvable Oaf’s DNA was directly influenced by Fantagraphics publications. In putting this collection together, it’s like they’ve stepped forward to claim paternity. I couldn’t be more excited to find myself in the company of such wonderful work.”
Ed Luce (pronounced “loose,” like the opposite of tight) has made a huge splash in the comics scene with his self-published comic book series. Since 2008 he’s been traveling to conventions and comics festivals all over the U.S. Wuvable Oaf has garnered a huge following of fans both in the comics world and in the queer art world. Luce lives in San Francisco with his partner and collaborator, Mark, and their kitty, Luna. He can regularly be found either under a pile of drawing paper or at a local
Hat tip to Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter.
