Robert Triptow

Last updated
Robert Triptow
BornRobert James Triptow
(1952-05-10) May 10, 1952 (age 72)
Salt Lake City, Utah
NationalityAmerican
Area(s) Cartoonist, Editor
Notable works
 Gay Comix
AwardsLambda Award for Humor, 1990
Special Achievement Award, San Diego Comic Con, 1989
Spouse(s)William Blakely
http://roberttriptow.com

Robert Triptow (born May 10, 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American writer and artist. He is known primarily for creating gay- and bisexual-themed comics and for editing Gay Comix in the 1980s, and he was identified by underground comix pioneer Lee Marrs as "the last of the underground cartoonists." [1]

Contents

Career

A long-time resident of San Francisco, [1] Robert Triptow was one of the earliest contributors to Kitchen Sink Press' anthology Gay Comix, beginning with issue #2. He succeeded Howard Cruse as editor of the series, [2] editing issues #5 through #13 (1984–1991). During this time he edited the 1989 anthology Gay Comics, one of the earliest histories of the subject, [3] which won the first Lambda Literary Award for Humor. He also co-edited and contributed to the HIV-research fund-raising and educational anthology Strip AIDS U.S.A. (1988) with Trina Robbins & Bill Sienkiewicz. [4]

As a journalist, Triptow has contributed to The Advocate , Bay Area Reporter , Frontiers , The Sentinel, and other West Coast LGBT publications. [5]

Triptow received his title as "the last of the underground cartoonists" at WonderCon when asked whether he considered Gay Comix to be alternative or underground. [6] Lee Marrs, standing witness to the question, asked Triptow if he starved while living in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, to which he answered yes. It was then that Marrs coined his title. This conversation was filmed and circulated widely via the internet. [7]

In 2009, Triptow announced his plans to relaunch Gay Comics as a series of trade paperbacks under a new publisher, hoping to begin gathering comics for the collection by the end of the year. [8] These plans were confirmed by Triptow in 2013, adding that he wants it serve as "a platform for all the queer cartoonists," [9] however, no such series has reached publication yet.

In 2015, he released Class Photo, which has been described as a wryly comedic graphic novel imagining short biographies for the individuals depicted in a 1937 school group photograph. [1]

Personal life

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Robert Triptow considers himself a "late bloomer" in the gay community as he did not come out until his mid-20s. [1] Triptow had no exposure to alternative cartooning growing up until a junior high journalism field trip to Brigham Young University, where he discovered the works of cartoonists Jules Feiffer, Gilbert Shelton, and R. Crumb in the school's book store. [10] This prompted him to begin cartooning, creating a rift between him and his conservative parents as they deemed the nature of his queer-themed comics pornographic and sinful. [7] Triptow commonly references his home state's dense Mormon population, noting he was often considered an outsider as a non-Mormon in Utah. Triptow broke away from his family in 1971, the same year he found the photograph which inspired Class Photo. [11]

Triptow moved from Salt Lake City to San Francisco on Halloween of 1977. [7] He is currently married to William Blakely. [12]

Notable works

Strip AIDS U.S.A.

Robert Triptow became involved in Strip AIDS U.S.A. (1988) when invited onto the fundraiser as co-editor by Trina Robbins, who felt unable to complete the project by herself as a heterosexual. Triptow then brought other cartoonists from Gay Comics onto the team, [13] resulting in 136 pages contributed by over 50 different artists.

Triptow's two-page comic titled "Needs" appears in the last half of Strip AIDS U.S.A between "The Quilt" by Donelan and an untitled comic by Sharon Rudahl . Triptow considers his piece one of few in the compilation to portray an individual living with AIDS. [14] The comic features a man named Joe with a male suitor whom he romantically declines on multiple occasions until the end when the two are shown together as Joe is dying of AIDS. The comic has a dedication written underneath the last panel which reads, “for Peter, Mickey, Spig & Rig, John, Steve, Vince, Joah, Raven, Tom, Hippler, and too many others.” [15] In 2008 only one of the individuals listed in this dedication was still alive, according to Triptow. [16]

Class Photo

Class Photo (2015) is Robert Triptow's first solo book venture. The comic consists of illustrated, fictionalized outcomes of each individual posing for a black and white 1937 class photograph labeled "Public School 49" from Brooklyn, New York, which Triptow found with his uncle as college students under a pile of garbage in their hometown of Salt Lake City. Triptow kept the photo, hanging it on a wall in his home to laugh at with house-guests for over 20 years. [12] In 2009 a cancer diagnosis motivated Triptow to finalize the project and proceed with publication. [11] [17]

Bibliography

Books

Contributions

In addition to Gay Comix, his cartoon work has appeared in:

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underground comix</span> Comics genre

Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality, and violence. They were most popular in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s, and in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Deitch</span> American cartoonist

Kim Deitch is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s, remaining active in the decades that followed with a variety of books and comics, sometimes using the pseudonym Fowlton Means.

Manuel Rodriguez, better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Mills</span> American cartoonist

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.

Roberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for the character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits. She is a prolific contributor to many feminist and underground anthologies, such as Wimmen's Comix and Gay Comix.

<i>Wimmens Comix</i> All-female underground comics anthology

Wimmen's Comix, later retitled (respelled) as Wimmin's Comix, is an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genres and subject matters, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex and politics in general, and autobiographical comics. Wimmen's Comix was a launching pad for many cartoonists' careers, and it inspired other small-press and self-published titles like Twisted Sisters, Dyke Shorts, and Dynamite Damsels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trina Robbins</span> American cartoonist and writer (1938–2024)

Trina Robbins was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic It Ain't Me, Babe, which was the first comic book entirely created by women. She co-founded the Wimmen's Comix collective, wrote for Wonder Woman, and produced adaptations of Dope and The Silver Metal Lover. She was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2013 and received Eisner Awards in 2017 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Ryan</span> American alternative comics creator,writer and animator (born 1970)

John F. Ryan IV is an American alternative comics creator, writer, and animator. He created Angry Youth Comix, a comic book published by Fantagraphics, and "Blecky Yuckerella", a comic strip which originated in the alternative newspaper the Portland Mercury and now appears on Ryan's website. He also created Pig Goat Banana Cricket, a TV show made jointly with Dave Cooper that Nickelodeon picked up. He was the story editor for Looney Tunes Cartoons. In a throwback to the days of underground comix, Ryan's oeuvre is generally an attempt to be as shocking and politically incorrect as possible.

Mary Wings was an American cartoonist, writer, and artist. She was known for highlighting lesbian themes in her work. In 1973, she made history by releasing Come Out Comix, the first lesbian comic book. She also wrote a series of detective novels featuring lesbian heroine Emma Victor. Divine Victim, Wings' only Gothic novel, won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Camper</span> Cartoonist and graphic artist

Jennifer Camper is a cartoonist and graphic artist whose work is inspired by her own experiences as a Lebanese-American lesbian. Her work has been included in various outlets such as newspapers and magazines since the 1980s, as well as in exhibits in Europe and the United States. Furthermore, Camper is the creator and founding director of the biennial Queers and Comics conference.

Tim Barela is an American gay cartoonist who is best known for his creation of the comic strip Leonard & Larry. The Leonard & Larry strip first appeared in a 1984 issue of Gay Comix, then were later featured in The Advocate and Frontiers magazines. The comic series has been collected in four volumes published by Palliard Press, and a single volume by Rattling Good Yarns.

<i>Gay Comix</i> Underground comics series

Gay Comix is an underground comics series published from 1980 to 1998 featuring cartoons by and for gay men and lesbians. The comic books had the tagline "Lesbians and Gay Men Put It On Paper!"

<i>It Aint Me, Babe</i> (comics) 1970 one-shot underground comic book

It Ain't Me Babe Comix is a one-shot underground comic book published in 1970. It is the first comic book produced entirely by women. It was co-produced by Trina Robbins and Barbara "Willy" Mendes, and published by Last Gasp. Robbins and other staff members from a feminist newspaper in Berkeley, California, also called It Ain't Me, Babe, contributed. Many of the creators from the It Ain't Me Babe comic went on to contribute to the long-running series Wimmen's Comix.

Joan Hilty is an American cartoonist, educator, and comic book editor. She was a Senior Editor for mainstream publisher DC Comics and currently works for Nickelodeon as Editorial Director for graphic novels, comics, and legacy properties. Hilty works independently as both a writer-artist and editor.

Strip AIDS and Strip AIDS U.S.A. are comics anthology volumes published in 1987 in the UK, and 1988 in the US (respectively). They combined short comics with educational and sometimes comedic themes, to educate readers about HIV disease and safer sex, and to raise funds for the care of people with AIDS.

Harry Driggs was an American artist, graphic designer, political activist, and underground cartoonist. Much of his comix work was published under the name R. Diggs. Driggs was a longtime resident of San Francisco, where he worked in advertising as a graphic designer and art director.

<i>No Straight Lines</i> Anthology of queer comics

No Straight Lines is an anthology of queer comics covering a 40-year period from the late 1960s to the late 2000s. It was edited by Justin Hall and published by Fantagraphics Books on August 1, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Billings (cartoonist)</span> American cartoonist

Bruce Billings is an openly gay cartoonist, creator of the LGBT-themed comic strip Castro, which ran in the 1970s and 1980s in San Francisco gay newspapers such as The Voice. Castro nominally starred a dog who lived in the Castro Street neighborhood of San Francisco with his owner, and the strip affectionately lampooned the gay male culture of the city. The strips were reprinted in Gay Comix, Meatmen, and Strip AIDS USA. In 1989, Billings and cartoonist Kurt Erichsen co-produced a flip book – a single bound volume with both covers formatted as the "front" – as Between the Sheets! and Under the Covers (Erichsen's). Billings retired to southern Oregon.

Angela Bocage is a bisexual comics creator who published mainly in the 1980s and 1990s. Bocage was active in the queer comics community during these decades, publishing in collections like Gay Comix,Strip AIDS USA, and Wimmen's Comix. Bocage also created, edited, and contributed comics to Real Girl, a comics anthology published by Fantagraphics.

Don Melia was a gay British cartoonist, editor, activist, and philanthropist. Born in Liverpool, he was known largely for his involvement in Matt Black: Charcoal, Strip AIDS, Heartbreak Hotel, and Buddies, comic series that helped uplift the gay community, bring attention to and educate the public about the AIDS crisis, and helped create a gay community in the comics industry.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Last Underground Cartoonist?: A Q&A with Robert Triptow | The Comics Journal". www.tcj.com. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  2. ↑ Cadelago, Chris (February 22, 2008), "Strip tease: Gay characters find home in comics", San Francisco Chronicle , pp. E–1
  3. ↑ Williams, Jeff (August 1999), Culture, Theory, and Graphic Fiction (PDF), PhD dissertation, Texas Tech University, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20, retrieved 2009-06-26 p. 114: "Information on gays and lesbians in comics lacks proper treatment, but a few items do exist, including Robert Triptow's Gay Comics."
  4. ↑ Levin, Bob (July 11, 2006), "Trimmings: Trina Robbins", The Comics Journal, no. 233, Fantagraphics, archived from the original on March 9, 2012
  5. ↑ Cruse, Howard (1981), Gay Comix #2, Kitchen Sink Press
  6. ↑ "The Last Underground Cartoonist?: A Q&A with Robert Triptow |". 29 February 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  7. 1 2 3 David Perry chats with cartoonist Robert Triptow of Strip AIDS USA and Gay Comix, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-10-28
  8. ↑ WonderCon 2009: The Birth of Gay Comix—Part 4 , retrieved 2019-10-27
  9. ↑ "Robert Triptow Rewrites a Graduating Class' Future with Hilarious Class Photo". pastemagazine.com. 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  10. ↑ Clements, Alexis (June 12, 2013). "The Bookish Queer: Locating Queer Literature Then and Now". Hyperallergic.
  11. 1 2 "Robert Triptow Rewrites a Graduating Class' Future with Hilarious Class Photo". pastemagazine.com. 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  12. 1 2 Triptow, Robert (2015). Class Photo. San Francisco: Fantagraphics Books Inc. ISBN   978-1-60699-886-1.
  13. ↑ Ferguson, Kevin (2016). Eighties People: New Lives in the American Imagination. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 77. ISBN   978-1-349-88765-1.
  14. ↑ "Robert Triptow | cartoonist / writer / madman". Archived from the original on 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  15. ↑ Strip AIDS U.S.A . San Francisco: Last Gasp. 1988. ISBN   9780867193732.
  16. ↑ "Robert Triptow | cartoonist / writer / madman". Archived from the original on 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  17. ↑ Triptow, Robert (2015). Class Photo. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books Inc. ISBN   978-1-60699-886-1.
  18. ↑ "2nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 1990-07-13. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  19. ↑ Kawasaki, Anton. "Happy Birthday Robert Triptow". GAY LEAGUE. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.