Robert Kirby (comics artist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Kirby is the creator of the syndicated comic Curbside.
Curbside is the story of two young men, Drew, an aspiring writer, and Nathan, an aspiring musician, who meet and eventually form a tumultuous relationship. The comic is syndicated in several periodicals, including Chicago Nightlines, Out In The Mountains, Lavender Magazine and others, as well as on the internet. The series has also been collected into two books. The first book was published after Kirby received a Xeric Foundation
award. A third volume, consisting of a Spanish language translation of Curbside, has also been published.
In 2002, State Representative Nancy Sheltra (R-Derby) protested the presence of the publication Out In The Mountains in the Vermont Statehouse due to its inclusion of Kirby's strip featuring two bare-chested male cartoon characters kissing, which she deemed "pornographic".
Kirby, who is openly
gay
, had his first venture into producing comics with the comic zine
Strange Looking Exile, which also featured work by Diane DiMassa
, Roberta Gregory
, Nick Leonard and Alison Bechdel
. The zine ran from 1991 till 1994. At that time, Kirby ended Strange Looking Exile and began producing a new comic zine called Boy Trouble with co-editor David Kelly, a comics anthology that was published from issues one to four as a zine, issue five being released in the form of a book in 2004. Boy Trouble features contributions and collaborations from the editors as well as a number of other artists and writers including Anonymous Boy
, Craig Bostick, Jennifer Camper
, C. Bard Cole, Michael Fahy, Tim Fish
, Leanne Franson, Andy Hartzell
, G.B. Jones, Steve MacIsaac
, Sina Shamsavari, Ivan Valez Jr. and others.
In 2006, an anthology of the best of Boy Trouble was released, entitled The Book of Boy Trouble, which also included new work and work in color. Besides the editors, Kirby and Kelly, the book featured sequential art by Anonymous Boy, Craig Bostick, C. Bard Cole, Jaime Cortez, Michael Fahy, Justin Hall
, Andy Hartzell, Victor Hodge, Brett Hopkins, Nick Leonard, Steve MacIsaac
, Josue Menjivar, Sina Shamsavari, D. Travers Scott, and Russ Turk. It was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award
that same year in the "Arts and Culture" section.
In 2008, The Book of Boy Trouble Volume 2: Born to Trouble was published, featured work by many of the artists from the first volume as well as work by Jennifer Camper, Derek Charm, Howard Cruse
, Abby Denson
, Tim Fish, Joan Hilty, G.B. Jones, Nick Leonard, Ed Luce, Jon Macy
, Steve MacIsaac
, Dave Ortega, Bill Roundy, and Robert Triptow
.
Kirby is also a regular contributor to the ongoing queer
comics anthology Juicy Mother, edited by Jennifer Camper, and released in 2005 and 2007. He is well known for his enjoyment of cold cheese sandwiches.
In 2010 Robert Kirby began his ongoing LGBT comics anthology THREE which was nominated for two Ignatz awards and won the 2011 Prism Comics
Queer Press Grant.
Curbside is the story of two young men, Drew, an aspiring writer, and Nathan, an aspiring musician, who meet and eventually form a tumultuous relationship. The comic is syndicated in several periodicals, including Chicago Nightlines, Out In The Mountains, Lavender Magazine and others, as well as on the internet. The series has also been collected into two books. The first book was published after Kirby received a Xeric Foundation
Xeric Foundation
The Xeric Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation based in Northampton, Massachusetts, which for twenty years awarded self-publishing grants to comic book creators, as well as qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations...
award. A third volume, consisting of a Spanish language translation of Curbside, has also been published.
In 2002, State Representative Nancy Sheltra (R-Derby) protested the presence of the publication Out In The Mountains in the Vermont Statehouse due to its inclusion of Kirby's strip featuring two bare-chested male cartoon characters kissing, which she deemed "pornographic".
Kirby, who is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, had his first venture into producing comics with the comic zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
Strange Looking Exile, which also featured work by Diane DiMassa
Diane DiMassa
Diane DiMassa is an American feminist author and cartoonist. Her works include comics, illustrations, and a graphic novel. She is best known for the character Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist.- Hothead Paisan :...
, Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
, Nick Leonard and Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home.-Early life:...
. The zine ran from 1991 till 1994. At that time, Kirby ended Strange Looking Exile and began producing a new comic zine called Boy Trouble with co-editor David Kelly, a comics anthology that was published from issues one to four as a zine, issue five being released in the form of a book in 2004. Boy Trouble features contributions and collaborations from the editors as well as a number of other artists and writers including Anonymous Boy
Anonymous Boy
Anonymous Boy is the pen name of Tony Arena, an artist, writer and filmmaker who resides in New York City. Anonymous Boy is also the title of his self-published comics zine.- Comics and Artistic Work :...
, Craig Bostick, Jennifer Camper
Jennifer Camper
Jennifer Camper is an American comics artist, graphic artist and editor residing in Brooklyn, New York.Camper, who is openly lesbian, has been producing comics since the 1980s. Her work has appeared in many publications including The Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Times, Ms...
, C. Bard Cole, Michael Fahy, Tim Fish
Tim Fish
Tim Fish is a comic book author and artist.Fish was born in 1970 and attended the University of New Hampshire, where he had a twice-weekly comic strip running in the college newspaper, The New Hampshire, and started a 100-issue superhero comic called "Arche-Lady." Fish has lived in St. Louis, San...
, Leanne Franson, Andy Hartzell
Andy Hartzell
Andy Hartzell is a cartoonist that lives in Oakland, California. In 1995, he was awarded a Xeric Grant to publish Bread & Circuses. In June 2007, Hartzell published Fox Bunny Funny, which was reviewed favorably by the New York Times and the San Francisco Examiner. He has been a designer for the...
, G.B. Jones, Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac is a Canadian comics artist and creator living in Los Angeles. His work has been selected for several "Best of" anthologies.MacIsaac may be best known for working on Sticky with writer Dale Lazarov. However his work has appeared in a number of other places. He writes and draws a...
, Sina Shamsavari, Ivan Valez Jr. and others.
In 2006, an anthology of the best of Boy Trouble was released, entitled The Book of Boy Trouble, which also included new work and work in color. Besides the editors, Kirby and Kelly, the book featured sequential art by Anonymous Boy, Craig Bostick, C. Bard Cole, Jaime Cortez, Michael Fahy, Justin Hall
Justin Hall
Justin Hall , is an American freelance journalist who is best known as a pioneer blogger , and for writing reviews from game conferences such as E3 as well as the Tokyo Game Show....
, Andy Hartzell, Victor Hodge, Brett Hopkins, Nick Leonard, Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac is a Canadian comics artist and creator living in Los Angeles. His work has been selected for several "Best of" anthologies.MacIsaac may be best known for working on Sticky with writer Dale Lazarov. However his work has appeared in a number of other places. He writes and draws a...
, Josue Menjivar, Sina Shamsavari, D. Travers Scott, and Russ Turk. It was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
that same year in the "Arts and Culture" section.
In 2008, The Book of Boy Trouble Volume 2: Born to Trouble was published, featured work by many of the artists from the first volume as well as work by Jennifer Camper, Derek Charm, Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse is an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics.Cruse was raised in Springville, Alabama, the son of a preacher and a homemaker. His earliest published cartoons were in The Baptist Student when he was in high school. His work later appeared...
, Abby Denson
Abby Denson
-Personal life:Abby Denson was born in Illinois, and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. She currently lives in New York, and runs City Sweet Tooth, an exploration of the city's best sweets and treats in unique comic book form.-Comics:...
, Tim Fish, Joan Hilty, G.B. Jones, Nick Leonard, Ed Luce, Jon Macy
Jon Macy
Jon Macy is a gay American comics writer and artist. He began his career in 1990 with the series Tropo. Since then he has contributed to various LGBT comics anthologies and gay pornographic magazines, but is best known for his graphic novel Teleny and Camille, which won a 2010 Lambda Literary...
, Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac is a Canadian comics artist and creator living in Los Angeles. His work has been selected for several "Best of" anthologies.MacIsaac may be best known for working on Sticky with writer Dale Lazarov. However his work has appeared in a number of other places. He writes and draws a...
, Dave Ortega, Bill Roundy, and Robert Triptow
Robert Triptow
Robert Triptow is a writer and "the last of the underground cartoonists." His 1989 anthology Gay Comics is one of the earliest histories of the subject, and won the first Lambda Literary Award for Humor....
.
Kirby is also a regular contributor to the ongoing queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
comics anthology Juicy Mother, edited by Jennifer Camper, and released in 2005 and 2007. He is well known for his enjoyment of cold cheese sandwiches.
In 2010 Robert Kirby began his ongoing LGBT comics anthology THREE which was nominated for two Ignatz awards and won the 2011 Prism Comics
Prism Comics
Prism Comics is a non-profit organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender creators, stories, characters, and readers in the comics industry....
Queer Press Grant.
Anthologies
- The Book of Boy Trouble 2: Born to Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Green Candy Press, 2008 ISBN 978-1931160650
- The Book Of Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Green Candy Press, 2006 ISBN 1-931160-45-7
- Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Boy Trouble Books, 2004, ISBN 0-9748855-0-9
- THREE, edited by Robert Kirby. 2010 to present.
Books
- Los Chicos De la Acera De Enfrente, Ediciones La Cúpula, Colección Novela Gráfica, 2005
- Curbside Boys: The New York Years, Cleis PressCleis PressCleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
, 2002, ISBN 1-57344-154-6 - Curbside, Hobnob Press, NY, 1989, ISBN 0-9663241-0-2
Contributions
- Juicy Mother 2: How They Met, edited by Jennifer CamperJennifer CamperJennifer Camper is an American comics artist, graphic artist and editor residing in Brooklyn, New York.Camper, who is openly lesbian, has been producing comics since the 1980s. Her work has appeared in many publications including The Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Times, Ms...
, Manic D PressManic D PressManic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction , poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, and alternative travel trade paperbacks...
, 2007 ISBN 978-1-933149-20-2 - Young Bottoms In Love, edited by Tim FishTim FishTim Fish is a comic book author and artist.Fish was born in 1970 and attended the University of New Hampshire, where he had a twice-weekly comic strip running in the college newspaper, The New Hampshire, and started a 100-issue superhero comic called "Arche-Lady." Fish has lived in St. Louis, San...
, Poison Press, 2007 ISBN 978-0976278672 - Juicy Mother, edited by Jennifer Camper, Soft Skull PressSoft Skull PressSoft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
, 2005, ISBN 1-932360-70-0
External links
- Official Website
- Article about Robert Kirby
- Curbside comic on-line
- Audio Interview "Getting Into Boy Trouble" with Robert Kirby on the Feast of Fools podcast, show #413
- Review of The Book of Boy Trouble Vol. 2
- Review of The Book of Boy Trouble Vol. 2
- Robert Kirby's zine Strange Looking Exile at ZineWikiZineWikiZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...
- Robert Kirby and David Kelly's zine Boy Trouble at ZineWikiZineWikiZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...