I’m so grateful to have known Howard Cruse. He was a dear and generous friend from whom I learned so much. I remember wonderful conversations with Howie — his knowledge and sly humor delivered in a gentle southern drawl. He was a joy to be with.

Howard was a spectacular and groundbreaking cartoonist. His comics explored original content, especially stories of queer experience. He wrote with profound insight, depth, humor, and an activist’s anger. His art was breathtaking. He developed his own technique where he painstakingly outlined the thick-to-thin shape of each brush stroke, then filled it in with black. His crosshatching and stippling was exquisite, his page layouts were carefully designed to serve the narrative, and his lettering danced off the page.

Do yourself a favor and read:
“Barefootz”—early funny animal comics, including Howard’s first openly gay character
“Wendel”—comic strip about 1980s queer life
“Stuck Rubber Baby” — about a man discovering his gay identity in the American South in the 1960s during the civil rights movement, slightly based on Howard’s own life.
Additional Cruse comics are collected in his anthologies.

Howard was a tireless activist, truly the Godfather of Gay Comics. He courageously edited the first issues of “Gay Comix” at a time when being openly queer meant limiting one’s career. He was also a mentor, to myself and to so many. Howie was the one we turned to for advice on contracts, publishing, photoshop tricks, and comics history.

Sadly, Howard’s loving husband, Ed Sedarbaum, died recently. Eddie was a talented editor, social worker, and a tireless activist and organizer. I hope somehow these two amazing men are together again, raising hell and having fun.

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Please visit Jennifer Camper’s site.

Photo taken by Ed Sederbaum. The original photo is in color.