Broken Pencil is supremely pleased to be sponsoring the launch of the Joan Brennan and Mike Niederman Queer Graphica Collection at the Pride Library at the University of Western Ontario on Thursday April 11.
The Queer Graphica Collection is an initiative taken on by Chris Landry, a Masters of Library and Information Science student at Western (and a Broken Pencil contributor.) Chris defines queer graphica as comics, graphic novels and zines that focus on illustrated content, feature queer themes and are created by artists who identify as queer. The collection is extensive. Here’s a sampling of eras and works that will be represented in the library (excerpted from Chris’ blog post about the collection on Gumshoe):
+ Depictions of hyper-masculinity in the 1950s and 60s, including the works of Scandinavian artist Touko Laaksonen (Tom of Finland)
+ Underground Comix, Zines, and Manga (1970-1985) Focusing largely on the underground comics scene sprouting up in San Francisco, post-Stonewall. Includes Jaime Hernandez’ Maggie and Hopey and Come Out Comix by Mary Wings.
+ Homocore, Hotheads, and the Queer Zine Explosion (1986-1999) Along with the surge of queercore/homocore in punk scenes, there also came loads of queer zines and DIY publishing initiatives. This era includes the immortal Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist, Henry and Glenn Forever and Holy Titclamps.
+ Autobiographical comics
For much more info on this beautiful collection, please consult Chris’ highly informative blog post on the subject.
The event takes place Thursday April 11 from 4-5pm at the Pride Library on the first floor of the D.W. Weldon Library, room 107. Here’s the Facebook event.