abbycomix

It’s a great one too. Check out the starpower!

Saturday, February 24, 2007 — Javits Center
12 Noon
1E15
Pride & Prejudice: Exploring Gay Identity in Graphic Novels
Graphic novelists are transcending the media stereotypes of gay life to create enduring, heart-felt, and honest portrayals of gay identity. Join Prism Comic’s Patty Jeres as she leads Abby Denson, Alison Bechdel, Ariel Schrag and Jose Villarrubia in a discussion of their explorations in this theme.

Also I’ll have a signing at the Prism Comics (booth #A134) 3-4 that day.

http://www.nycomiccon.com

My next appearance will be Tough Boys in Trouble!

-A discussion of gay themed comics from an alternative
viewpoint.
Featuring:
Russ Turk
Rhino
Craig Bostick
J. Brett Hopkins
Tony Arena
Contributors to THE BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE comics anthology,
and
Abby Denson- creator of TOUGH LOVE

“Is there an alternative point-of-view within the already-alternative
world of gay comic books? The creative forces behind two of the hottest new gay-male themed comics anthologies will discuss their work and vision.
They’ll even take questions from you! Abby Denson is the author and illustrator of her new anthology collecting the TOUGH LOVE comics known
and loved from XY, a gay-youth oriented magazine. She’ll be joined by five contributors to THE BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE, a collection of alternative
gay comics from the long-running underground zine, BOY TROUBLE. Join us in contemplating the trouble with boys and learn just why their love is so tough - - at least according to the imaginations of these innovative
panelists.”

Thursday, Feb. 1st, 7PM at the LGBT Center, 208 West 13th Street, New York City.

I’m still in recovery from our wild weekend! Shannon and I met up on Friday and headed right on over to Bluestockings for our reading there. It’s a really great radical activist bookstore and has loads of interesting books as well as a kind staff and yummy cafe options. We did a slide reading and they probably had the biggest screen I’ve encountered so far. It’s great seeing the art so big! (sorry no pics, I forgot my camera that night, doh!)
Pet Noir contributors Fly and Joan Reilly showed up as well as some other sweet friends and fans. You can see Fly’s portrait of me as seen in her amazing book, Peops, here! Later Shannon and I went out dancing WAY to late considering we had an early bus ride to DC the next morning, but it was totally worth it.

We had three Greyhound rides planned for two days. It’s cheap and you also see a lot of different kinds of people. A major adventure!
We were waiting for the DC bus to board and a guy in line behind us lay face down on the Port Authority floor, not really a place you want to put your face. He didn’t appear homeless or dirty, just not so picky about where he lays down I guess. Even stranger, I saw him on the bus later lying on the bus floor under a family’s feet. Weird. We watched movies on Shannon’s laptop including Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Times Square, and my Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains bootleg. Kind of a wild rock n’ roll girls in trouble marathon I guess.
In DC Shannon’s dad met us and we got checked in to our hotel. Then we went straight to Georgetown for our signing at Big Planet Comics. Pet Noir contributor Ben Claasen joined us and we had fun with him and his gf Kim too. They had some good cat accessories as well. Peter was super-nice and we had a lot of fun and sold all the books they ordered! Also, Georgetown is a super-cute area. Historic looking buildings and loads of upscale stores and restaurants. We had dinner at Bistro Francais and got the sweet Early Bird specials. Oh yeah! Then we went to see Borat which was pretty good.

The next morning we got up early (a running theme to this tour) and ended up at the Greyhound station behind a large amount of soldiers who were all going home for the holidays. We ended up leaving 25 minutes late but thankfully made up the time since traffic was good. In Philly my friend Matt met up with us and we got to Robin’s, which is an amazing bookstore! I totally recommend it. The owner Larry is a real sweetheart! The store is 70 years old and was founded by his grandfather. One of the best things about touring is seeing the cool indy shops and this one did not disappoint. We got some amazing vegetarian Chinese food at Su Xing House and after the signing had some out of this world gelato at Capogiro which is conveniently located directly across from Robin’s. The bitter chocolate flavor was so good I almost left my body! Woo!
All in all it was a success and really fun. Thanks to all our friends and fans who showed up!

In anticipation of our signings at Bluestockings and Robin’s Books the NY Press and Philadelphia Weekly have given Tough Love and Pet Noir some nice mentions. Hope to see you there!
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/
http://www.nypress.com/19/50/abouttown/about1.cfm

I’ll be making my final tour stops of 2006 Dec 15-18 in NYC, DC, and Philly! Fellow Manic D author Shannon O’Leary will be with me. Come on out and show some love! All details below…

Dec. 15, 7pm
Bluestockings Books
172 Allen Street
New York, New York 10002
http://www.bluestockings.com

Dec. 16, 3:30pm
Big Planet Comics Georgetown
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
http://www.bigplanetcomics.com/

Dec. 17, 3 pm
Robin’s Bookstore
108 S. 13th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
http://www.robinsbookstore.com/

Socially Relevant Comics! Pet Noir and Tough Love!
Manic D Press authors Abby Denson (creator of Tough
Love: High School Confidential) and Shannon O’Leary
(editor of Pet Noir: A Comic Book Anthology of Strange
but True Pet Crimes) will be signing their graphic
novels! Don’t miss this chance to gab with the authors
about comics and their amazing power to entertain as
well as help people (and animals)!

Pet Noir: A Comic Book Anthology of Strange but True
Pet Crimes
This entertaining (and informative) comics collection
grabs traditional noir storytelling by its tail and
takes the reader on an illustrated ride that explores
America’s obsession with true crime in a darkly
comedic approach that raises awareness about animal
welfare issues. Pet Noir is a perfect read for
true-crime fans, pet lovers, animal rights and welfare
activists, vegans, and graphic novel aficionados.
Featured artists include Andy Ristaino, Lev Yilmaz,
Trevor Alixopolous, John Isaacson, August Bournique,
Ben Claassen III, Bitter Pie, Fly, Fred Einaudi, Lark
Pien, Eric Koepfle, Melanie Lewis, Jen Feinberg, Joan
Reilly, MariNaomi, N8 Van Dyke, Paul Musso, Peter
Conrad, and Ric Carrasquillo.

“Shannon O’Leary and the artists behind Pet Noir bring
gentle life to the often-strange intersections of
animal cruelty, our criminal justice system, and the
roles played by the media and our own cultural
conditioning in responding to crimes involving
animals. The always eye-opening result is at turns
unexpected, tragic, and downright bizarre. The Animal
Legal Defense Fund is grateful for the creative light
they shine on these important issues.”
-Lisa Franzetta, Animal Legal Defense Fund

Tough Love: High School Confidential

Inspired by shounen-ai manga — melodramatic Japanese
comics by girls about gay boys Tough Love is a teen
romance and coming-out story about a shy boy named
Brian. More realistic than Japanese manga, this story
centers on the relationships Brian develops with
Chris, the boy he likes, and Julie, the girl who
befriends him. Serious issues like gay bashing,
suicidal thoughts, and coming to terms with one’s own
sexual identity are depicted with an honest, gentle
touch. Socially relevant, fun, immediately accessible,
and a bit of a soap opera, Tough Love helps gay
teenagers to become more comfortable with themselves
and less troubled, especially when they’re feeling
alone and misunderstood.

“Denson’s jagged illustration evokes a punk rock
aesthetic that harkens back to the anti-establishment
sentiment of adolescence… the first book to combine
the cute guys of yaoi manga with the American
sensibility of gay pride.” — Publishers Weekly

“An uplifting story, it does not ignore the real
hostilities one encounters… Tough Love is highly
recommended for its thought-provoking journey.”
—Library Journal

I just wanted to write a letter of thanks to people who helped me make the Tough Love tour stops a success! I’d been meaning to write a while ago, but things piled up and now seems like an appropriate time to do this.
The amazing thing about the West Coast tour was how perfectly it all went. A two week West Coast tour with 8 city stops with no problems whatsoever. I never got lost, got sick, missed a train or plane, or was ever disappointed by the service I received or any of the people I met along the way.
In fact, the tour (which is still ongoing in the East Coast, where I continue to receive amazing support) gave me a more optimistic outlook on people and the world in general. So many people came out of the woodwork to help me. Old friends and new and even perfect strangers offered me places to stay, 6 am rides to train stations and airports, gorgeous silkscreen posters, press coverage, dinners, personalized cake, and best of all; their friendship, support, and company. And I can’t forget to thank my family, Manic D Press, and my workplace where I’ve found so much encouragement.
In a world where every day there’s something in the news to make us feel bad about the state of humanity, it’s so good to see the beauty of people every day. People who are willing to give and share and take joy in art together. It’s very special and I’ll never forget it. I only hope that I can one day repay all the kindness that has been shown to me this year.
So once again: Thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Abby

I didn’t get any pictures at the GMHC Out of the Pages event at MOCCA in October. Luckily Howard Cruse posted some on his blog here. Check’em out! It was a great event!

Our signing at Rocketship was a success despite the rain-soaked afternoon. There was a very good crowd of kids and friends and we had a wonderful time signing books and eating cookies and ice cream. My Powerpuff books sold out and the kids seemed to really like Dolltopia too. Of course Raina’s Baby-Sitter’s Club books were a big hit and it was super-fun. Rocketship is an amazing store and I strongly encourage NYC residents to check it out!

Check out the sweet flyer Raina did for our signing Nov. 12 at Rocketship!
(I colored it)

The Tekserve event was so great! I was emotionally overwhelmed by the outpouring of support by the Tekserve community. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such supportive people! My life-long dream of having a life-size cutout of my characters was also realized. Just one big lovefest!