Stuck Rubber Baby 25th Anniversary Edition
Set in Alabama in the 1960s, Stuck Rubber Baby tells the story of Toland Polk, a young man who is deeply in the closet and hell-bent on "fixing" his homosexuality. Toland is not prone to making waves, but he finds himself drawn to a lively group of civil rights activists. With his new friends, he starts frequenting sit-ins and gay bars. This raises the ire of local bigots and quite literally brings the Klan to his doorstep. This painstakingly researched and exquisitely illustrated graphic novel draws on Howard Cruse's experience as a young gay man in 1960s Birmingham, Alabama. Both deeply personal and epic in scope, Stuck Rubber Baby is a rich and moving tale of identity and resistance.
Howard Cruse's career as an underground cartoonist was launched during the 1970s, and in 1980 he served as the founding editor of the groundbreaking Gay Comix series. His comic strip Wendel was serialized in The Advocate through much of the 1980s. Stuck Rubber Baby, his most widely known work, was the winner of Eisner and Harvey awards in the U.S. and (in translation) a Comics Critics Award in Spain, a Luchs Award in Germany, and a Prix de la critique at the International Comics Festival in Angouleme, France. He has also provided humorous illustrations for numerous mainstream magazines.
Author: Howard Cruse
Format: Hardback, 240 pages, 198mm x 262mm, 760 g
Published: 2020, Roaring Brook Press, United States
Genre: Graphic Novels: General
Set in Alabama in the 1960s, Stuck Rubber Baby tells the story of Toland Polk, a young man who is deeply in the closet and hell-bent on "fixing" his homosexuality. Toland is not prone to making waves, but he finds himself drawn to a lively group of civil rights activists. With his new friends, he starts frequenting sit-ins and gay bars. This raises the ire of local bigots and quite literally brings the Klan to his doorstep. This painstakingly researched and exquisitely illustrated graphic novel draws on Howard Cruse's experience as a young gay man in 1960s Birmingham, Alabama. Both deeply personal and epic in scope, Stuck Rubber Baby is a rich and moving tale of identity and resistance.
Howard Cruse's career as an underground cartoonist was launched during the 1970s, and in 1980 he served as the founding editor of the groundbreaking Gay Comix series. His comic strip Wendel was serialized in The Advocate through much of the 1980s. Stuck Rubber Baby, his most widely known work, was the winner of Eisner and Harvey awards in the U.S. and (in translation) a Comics Critics Award in Spain, a Luchs Award in Germany, and a Prix de la critique at the International Comics Festival in Angouleme, France. He has also provided humorous illustrations for numerous mainstream magazines.