No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comic debuted at CAKE this weekend. This hefty 328 paged book is edited by Justin Hall (True Travel Tales, Glamazonia, Hard To Swallow) and published by Fantagraphics is one very impressive book with selected work from over 90 artists. Trina Robbins, Jon Macy, Howard Cruse, Ellen Forney, Alison Bechdel, Dan Savage, Ralf Konig, and Steve MacIsaac to name a small handful. I’ve been waiting for this book since I first hear Hall casually mention it at Comic Con last year. Holding and looking through the book this weekend made me really happy and now I just have to wait as patiently as possible till the copy I ordered through my shop months ago ships around Comic Con’s start!
Here’s an excerpt of Fanta’s description: “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 will be heralded by people interested in comics history, and people invested in LGBT culture will embrace it as a unique and invaluable collection.”
Hall was kind enough to indulge my asking to snap some pics of the book and share them here with you.
