Wendel All Together
Just finished reading "Wendel All Together" by Howard Cruse, published by Olmstead Press back in 2001.
"Wendel All Together" is another example of a review copy that I had been given a copy of to review when it was first published, but for some reason or another, I never quiet gotten around to taking the time to read until this past week - and even now I'm almost hesitant to review it because of the recent hoopla a lesbian member of the Camp Lejeune Alumni Association reaching out to me this past week. Hint: You really shouldn't make assumptions about a person or who they may or may not sleep with based on positive or negative reviews they have given of gay media they have watched and/or read; and then get upset because I'm not living up to your expectations.
I would be interested in learning how Greg Fox, the creator of Kyle's Bed & Breakfast," thinks of the Wendel comic strips - which originally appeared in "The Advocate" back in the 1980 on up to 2001, when Cruse brought Wendel's adventures to an open ended conclusion. Full disclosure, while the fabulously talented writer and artist Greg Fox and I are friends here on Facebook and other social media platforms, he and I have never met, and we have only exchanged less then half-a-dozen messages over the years. I would be interested in learning of Wendel had any influence on his work.
Cruse drew Wendel in a style similar to the style used by underground comics in the 1970s. [Yes Selma, Zack, and Jeff, I actually did have a few underground comics from that time frame.] And what probably made Wendel so groundbreaking - apart from being the first gay comic strip mentioned in the mainstream media of the time, was that it showed Wendel and his boyfriend/husband Ollie as gay fathers being parents to Ollie's son from his marriage to his former wife. Cruse did address social issues in Wendell, but there is a lot of stereotyping in the comic strip - this may have been an editorial choice.
Wendel is a historical time capsule and it was daring for "The Advocate" to publish it in the 1980s. Yet while Cruse does tackle series social issues, he doesn't take the hard look at the consequences like Greg Fox does, and perhaps that is coloring my judgement - too much time has passed for Wendel and his friend - it's not contemporary for now.
Perhaps the best way to view Wendell is to think of him as "The Yellow Kid" of his era. "The Yellow Kid" comic strip was created by Richard Felton Outcault an American cartoonist. who also created Buster Brown and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.
Recommended.
Three and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Wendel-All-Tog...
"Wendel All Together" is another example of a review copy that I had been given a copy of to review when it was first published, but for some reason or another, I never quiet gotten around to taking the time to read until this past week - and even now I'm almost hesitant to review it because of the recent hoopla a lesbian member of the Camp Lejeune Alumni Association reaching out to me this past week. Hint: You really shouldn't make assumptions about a person or who they may or may not sleep with based on positive or negative reviews they have given of gay media they have watched and/or read; and then get upset because I'm not living up to your expectations.
I would be interested in learning how Greg Fox, the creator of Kyle's Bed & Breakfast," thinks of the Wendel comic strips - which originally appeared in "The Advocate" back in the 1980 on up to 2001, when Cruse brought Wendel's adventures to an open ended conclusion. Full disclosure, while the fabulously talented writer and artist Greg Fox and I are friends here on Facebook and other social media platforms, he and I have never met, and we have only exchanged less then half-a-dozen messages over the years. I would be interested in learning of Wendel had any influence on his work.
Cruse drew Wendel in a style similar to the style used by underground comics in the 1970s. [Yes Selma, Zack, and Jeff, I actually did have a few underground comics from that time frame.] And what probably made Wendel so groundbreaking - apart from being the first gay comic strip mentioned in the mainstream media of the time, was that it showed Wendel and his boyfriend/husband Ollie as gay fathers being parents to Ollie's son from his marriage to his former wife. Cruse did address social issues in Wendell, but there is a lot of stereotyping in the comic strip - this may have been an editorial choice.
Wendel is a historical time capsule and it was daring for "The Advocate" to publish it in the 1980s. Yet while Cruse does tackle series social issues, he doesn't take the hard look at the consequences like Greg Fox does, and perhaps that is coloring my judgement - too much time has passed for Wendel and his friend - it's not contemporary for now.
Perhaps the best way to view Wendell is to think of him as "The Yellow Kid" of his era. "The Yellow Kid" comic strip was created by Richard Felton Outcault an American cartoonist. who also created Buster Brown and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.
Recommended.
Three and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Wendel-All-Tog...
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