oh my god i forgot to post my absolute favorite strip from gay comix (issue #2, 1981)
[image id] an excerpt of text from the editor and a four-panel comic strip from Gay Comix, which read as follows;
In Gay Comix, we lesbian, gay male and bisexual cartoonists draw about our various individual worlds: our interior landscapes and the sometimes benign, sometimes stormy horizons that surround us. Political unity is not the point here. Each artist speaks only for himself or herself. The goal is to share our authentic selves, however perceptive, however flawed. If enough sharing is nurtured in our world, maybe some wisdom will be harvested down the line.
— Howard Cruse, Editor.
in the four-panel comic strip by Melissa Bay Mathis that follows, a lion is talking while getting ready, gradually shaving its mane as it speaks to the reader, explaining, “I’ll bet you were taught you can tell male lions by their manes! It’s sort of a symbol of power — we’re supposed to really hold on to it. But me, I’m not into manes,” in a panel showing the lion holding a comb. In the next panel, the lion’s mane is mostly gone and the lion is styling the remaining hair into a ponytail, saying, “Now I wear my hair this way.” In the third panel, the lion says, “Whew!! I feel better already!!! Here comes my friend Rebecca..” with a short scarf adorning its neck. In the fourth panel, a lion with a massive mane has sat down next to the lion speaking to the reader, wearing a black jacket. The first lion tells the reader, “She’s a lesbian.”
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