Hazel Newlevant is an American cartoonist and editor known for creating and editing comics about queer history, bisexuality, polyamory, and reproductive rights. [1] [2] [3] Raised in Portland, Oregon, Newlevant lives in Queens, New York. [4]
Hazel Newlevant is an American cartoonist and editor known for creating and editing comics about queer history, bisexuality, polyamory, and reproductive rights. [1] [2] [3] Raised in Portland, Oregon, Newlevant lives in Queens, New York. [4]
Newlevant's thesis project for the School of Visual Arts was a comic about Harlem Renaissance blues singer and drag performer Gladys Bently called If This Be Sin. [5] The comic won the 2013 Queer Press Grant from Prism Comics. [6]
In 2016, Newlevant edited and self-published the comics anthology Chainmail Bikini, which collects experiences of female and nonbinary gamers. [7] [8] The name of the collection refers to the "chainmail bikini" trope, criticizing to the over-sexualization of female character design in video games. [9] In 2017, they co-edited (with Whit Taylor and OK Fox) reproductive rights anthology Comics For Choice, a collection of 42 comics about abortion, gender, and reproductive rights. [10] [11] [12] Critic Catherine Baker described the collection, which won the 2018 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology, as "a remarkable set of testimonies that are both collective and personal." [13] Publishers Weekly praised the book, saying, "The book is at once a rallying cry, a tender lament, and song of liberation that will resonate long after the final page is turned." [14]
In 2017, Newlevant wrote and drew Sugar Town, a polyamorous queer romance published by Alternative Comics. The comic received positive reviews for its tender approach to relationships. [15] [16] [17] Kirkus Reviews described Sugar Town as a "lushly illustrated comic that explores bisexuality, queer culture, and unconventional sex." [18] Critic Tegan O'Neil of The Comics Journal reviewed Sugar Town saying, "Emotional honesty, more than anything else, that elevates Sugar Town beyond the reader’s expectations. It’s a book that deals frankly with some very tender feelings – deep vulnerability, yes, but also embarrassment, passion, anxiety, and finally genuine love." [19]
At Oni Press, Newlevant co-edited the comics anthology Puerto Rico Strong, a collection of comics about Puerto Rican history and identity which raised money for Hurricane Maria recovery efforts. [20] The book won the 2019 Eisner Award for Best Anthology. [21]
In 2019, Lion Forge published Newlevant's memoir No Ivy League, a coming-of-age story that examines queer identity, male privilege, and white privilege. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] Critics noted Newlevant's "sensitive brushwork and attention to body language" and their ability to combine "sheer talent with the supple versatility of an adroit graphical storyteller." [27] [28]
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