Tuesday, October 27, 2015

(25) The new Gay Community Center






As I was discovering the World of Being Gay, I also found that gay communities gravitated to gentrifying historic neighborhoods -- like Toledo's Old West End. This strip reflects one of many discussions of establishing a gay community center. these discussions seem to be an evergreen issue for local LBGT community organizations. They pop up without fail few years. A certain amount  of hot air is generated, ad the idea dies down again.


These discussions come out of committees, where the consensus would be that all you need to have a community center is to have a building. Any building, anywhere, preferably cheap. I maintain the first thing you need to have a community center is a budget. Perhaps this is why I keep getting pinned with the task of Treasurer?

Never commit to a building without carefully checking out the heating system the cooling system, and  the roof.

Ironically, Toledo currently has an LGBT community building, shared with other tenants. See previous paragraph.  An historic but cash-starved building.




Thursday, October 22, 2015

(24) Jeff, the Neo-Gay

Jeff, being young, enthusiastic, and into the wonders of the gay scene, is full of energy to try every aspect of his new lifestyle. I hadn’t really thought of it at the time, but he is what science fiction fandom used to refer to as a “neo”.

Some of the Murphy’s Manor strips got colored after the fact for one reason or another. Usually for publicity. As it happens, the panel number four of this strip really works as a standalone single panel cartoon.





Thursday, October 15, 2015

(23) Jeff the Party Boy strikes again!

Good thing Jeff's "party" is off-stage. On the floor, no less. Some things are best left to the imagination.

Note what Murf and Sid are reading. Being bookish, these sly in-joke references were a lot of fun for me and lost on the reader.



When the strip was reprinted in 1991 I found the 1982 artwork unacceptable. So I redrew it. Note the changes in the book titles. To say nothing of the tightened-up inking.


Sunday, October 11, 2015

(22) What Do Nellie and Butch Mean to You?


Back in the days of PRO*Toledo and its Tuesday Night Coffees (aka Cookie Parties), whether something or someone was "Nellie" or "Butch" was a mainstay of gay humor. We joked about whether something was Nellie or butch, but it did kind of matter. The things we select for possessions define our lifestyle as "gay."

The Tuesday Night Coffees continue all these years later, now called MISC (Men's Information  and Social Club).