A comic strip is a sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, these have been published in newspapers and magazines, with daily horizontal strips printed in black-and-white in newspapers, while Sunday papers offered longer sequences in special color comics sections. With the advent of the internet, online comic strips began to appear as webcomics.
Strangers in Paradise is a creator-owned comic book series, written and drawn by Terry Moore, which debuted in 1993. Principally the story of a love triangle between two women and one man, Strangers in Paradise began as a slice-of-life dramedy that later expanded to incorporate aspects of the crime and thriller genres. Moore has remained the sole creator throughout the run, with the exception of a superhero dream sequence drawn by Jim Lee that opens Volume 3, issue #1. The artwork was originally presented in Moore's distinctive black-and-white style, aside from two full colour dream sequences, which included the aforementioned superhero panels.
Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). She also starred in the Broadway productions POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive in 2022 and the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show. She was the first openly gay comic to appear on American television in a 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.
Calamity James is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano. It is about a boy, named Calamity James, who has disastrous luck. He first appeared on 1 November 1986, in issue no. 2311. A copy of his first strip is viewable here. His strip replaced Biffo the Bear and Little Plum, which had both been reduced to a half-page by this time. He has a pet called Alexander Lemming,.
Tank Girl is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine Deadline, and then in the solo comic book series Tank Girl. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tank Girl inspired a 1995 feature film. After a long hiatus, the character returned to comics in 2007 and has appeared regularly in the years since.
Caroline in the City is an American television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1995 until 1999. It stars Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy, who lives in Manhattan. The rest of the cast includes Eric Lutes, Malcolm Gets, Amy Pietz, and Andy Lauer. The series premiered on September 21, 1995, in the "Must See TV" Thursday night block between Seinfeld and ER and ran for 97 episodes over four seasons before it was cancelled; the final episode was broadcast on April 26, 1999. The series' rights are currently held by CBS Media Ventures.
Jerry A. Mills was an openly gay cartoonist known for his comic strip Poppers, which is credited as one of the first comic strips to develop multi-dimensional gay characters. Scholars have stated that while earlier comics had relied on stereotypes such as the nelly queen or muscleman, Mills presented his characters with lives beyond the stereotypes. His work is also credited as having helped shape comics for the LGBTQ+ community and its members.
Jane is a comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett exclusively for the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959.
Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior.
Jane's World was a comic strip by cartoonist Paige Braddock that ran from March 1998 to October 2018. Featuring lesbian and bisexual women characters, the strip stars Jane Wyatt, a young lesbian living in a trailer in Northern California with her straight male roommate, Ethan, and follows her life with her circle of friends, romances, and exes. Shortly after celebrating its 20th anniversary, publication ended with Jane marrying Dorothy.
In comics, LGBT themes are a relatively new concept, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) themes and characters were historically omitted from the content of comic books and their comic strip predecessors due to anti-gay censorship. LGBT existence was included only via innuendo, subtext and inference. However the practice of hiding LGBT characters in the early part of the twentieth century evolved into open inclusion in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and comics explored the challenges of coming-out, societal discrimination, and personal and romantic relationships between gay characters.
Glen Hanson is an openly gay Canadian-born caricaturist and cartoonist, who works primarily in illustration and animation. He is best known as co-creator of the comic strip Chelsea Boys with Allan Charles Neuwirth.
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green is a syndicated comic strip drawn by Eric Orner. Appearing in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publications, the strip's title character is Ethan Green, a young gay man trying to balance his professional career as a personal assistant with his search for love. It was started in 1989 and ran for 15 years.
The Meaning of Lila is a comic strip written by John Forgetta, and three co-workers who are identified as "L. A. Rose." It is syndicated by Creators Syndicate. The strip centers on Lila, her cubicle partner and close friend Boyd, and their friend and co-worker Drew. The central theme of the comic is about Lila trying to find the right man but always failing due to her pickiness and bad luck. Other themes include her dislike of her job, popular culture, and her obsession with shopping. The trio of friends are most often shown either at work, having drinks at the bar, shopping, or watching TV at home.
A Couple of Guys was a comic strip about the lives of a gay male couple, their friends and family in New York City. The strip was first published in September 1996 and was written and drawn by Dave Brousseau. The strip ended in February 2018 because of high production costs and Brousseu's wishes.
Joe Phillips is an American artist, known for his gay-themed illustration, erotic animation, and his earlier work on superhero comic books.
Heart of the City is a comic strip created by Mark Tatulli and currently drawn by Christina "Steenz" Stewart that began syndication by Universal Press Syndicate on November 23, 1998. It is currently syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
In American mainstream comics, LGBT themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic books, due to either formal censorship or the perception that comics were for children and thus LGBT themes were somehow inappropriate. With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) until 1989, earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext regarding a character's sexual orientation. LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.
Allan Charles Neuwirth is an American screenwriter, producer, author, designer, and cartoonist known for his work in film, television, print, and as co-creator of the syndicated comic strip Chelsea Boys.
Kate Charlesworth is a British cartoonist and artist who has produced comics and illustrations since the 1970s. Her work has appeared in LGBT publications such as The Pink Paper, Gay News, Strip AIDS, Dyke's Delight, and AARGH, as well as The Guardian, The Independent, and New Internationalist. Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Critical Introduction calls her a "notable by-and-for lesbian" cartoonist.
