IDW To Publish Upcoming Queer Comics Anthology BE GAY, DO COMICS from The Nib
In August 2020, IDW Publishing (OTCQX: IDWM) will publish Be Gay, Do Comics, the highly-anticipated anthology filled with dozens of comics about LGBTQIA experiences, edited by the folks at The Nib, the comics site founded by Pulitzer Prize finalist Matt Bors.
Brimming with resilience, inspiration, and humor, an incredible lineup of top indie cartoonists — including Hazel Newlevant, Joey Alison Sayers, Maia Kobabe, Matt Lubchansky, Breena Nuñez, Sasha Velour, Shing Yin Khor, Levi Hastings, Mady G, Josh Trujillo, Bianca Xunise, Kazimir Lee, and many, many more — takes you from the American Revolution through Stonewall to today's fights for equality and representation.
You can pre-order the book here through The Nib! This book will ship and be widely available through retailers on August 11.
Below is an interview with Matt Bors by IDW about this important and engaging new project, and a handful of gorgeously illustrated pages. Enjoy!
For readers who aren’t yet familiar, what is The Nib?
MATT BORS: The Nib is a daily publication for political cartoons and nonfiction comics. That includes things like journalism and memoir, but the focus is on political and cultural issues. Then we have a print magazine as well, which focuses on more broader evergreen things while the daily comics online hit the news of the day.
What inspired the creation of Be Gay, Do Comics?
MATT BORS: Most of our work is published online and it has been a while since our last book collection, Eat More Comics, which was a best-of collection put out in 2015. When we were discussing another book, we had years and years of material and wanted to do a more focused theme. There were a lot of contenders, but the queer comics we’ve published stood out as the obvious choice.
There are so many amazing and memorable contributions by an incredible lineup of cartoonists in this book. Can you tell us about the process of compiling this anthology?
MATT BORS: We’re lucky to have so many great contributors, and that’s really a reflection of where the comics community has come. The indie comics world is home to a lot of trans and queer cartoonists these days and that’s where we draw a lot of talent from. Those creators, even if they don’t primarily work in nonfiction, know The Nib is an outlet you can pitch this kind of work to.
There was a lot to choose from and the page count for this book ballooned up fast. We wanted to make sure all the best work was in there and that we represented as many groups of people and experiences as we could.
Can you tell us about a few of your favorite cartoons featured in the book?
MATT BORS: Short satire like "Brands Love Pride” by Matt Lubchansky really hilariously picks apart the way corporations try to appeal to the queer community now.
There are really great history comics in here about things too few people know about. There's one on Baron Von Steuben, the gay general in the Revolutionary War, by Josh Trujillo and Levi Hastings, and "Queer Uprisings Before Stonewall" by Hazel Newlevant. This stuff should be taught in schools!
Be Gay, Do Comics
Edited by The Nib
ISBN: 978-1-68405-777-1
$24.99 US / $33.99 CAN
256-page, full color softcover, 7″ x 9″
Release Date: August 11, 2020
