Porn Star Teacher.

Conner Habib went from academic to porn star. He talks about upcoming book on how people learn to understand sex, and how his two career paths crossed.

“People in power use sex to get themselves more power. People can create legislations and social rules around sex. It’s been purposely divided in a calculated way to divide it from the rest of our lives.”

WIN tickets, books and art zine!

WIN tickets to Comics Unmasked, a book and art zine.

Polari’s August Bona-nza: It’s a sexy world!

The work of Portuguese artist Alexandre Sequeira Lima is interested in queering the political and politicising the queer.

“I could call myself a ‘shy happening’. Shy because I must contain myself sometimes, because you can’t always play yourself twenty-four hours a day.”

Cartoon Strips of David Shenton.

This gallery celebrates 35 years of David Shenton’s cartoon strips, which tell a snap-shot story of gay life in the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s.

Polari’s August Bona-nza: Against the Grain.

Paul Smith considers the art of Aubrey Beardsley, who delighted in a sense of demonic mischief and dared to push against the boundaries of Victorian England.

“It was his bold interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s Salome that brought him huge acclaim with naked demonic hermaphrodites, deformed dwarfs and malevolent women with evil smeared on their lips.”

Polari August Bona-nza: Comic Possibilities.

Grae Hancock writes about how comic books offered role models, challenges and windows into alternative lives as she came to terms with her sexuality.

“It is possible to become a fan of a much-loved series or discover a new indie writer on your own and slowly but surely LGBT voices are making themselves heard and hopefully creating new communities to support those discovering their sexuality.”

[rating=3]
216 pages • Soaring Penguin Press • October 2013 [HB]
Howard Hardiman’s The Lengths explores the dark, often bleak world of former art student and rentboy Eddie and his close circle of friends, doggy-style.

“At the end of the day, whether you like Eddie or not, self-absorbed and unfocussed, escaping into a world of sex and drugs, The Lengths is a dark, sobering but rewarding read.”

Comics Unmasked

British Library, London • Until August 19, 2014

Hugh Armitage takes at a look at the Comics Unmasked exhibition at the British Library and how the British comic has always been about the outsider.

“In the UK it has remained a largely marginalised medium, reserved for schoolchildren at best and ‘weirdos’ at worst. This underground quality has made it the perfect place for LGBT and other alternative content to thrive.”

Polari’s August Bona-nza: Men With Beards.

Illustrative artist Ed Firth talks about zines, facial hair, and the joy of connecting directly with the people through his work.

“I feel there is something Totemic about them and having a sense of presence, an imposing presence. In the exhibition a lot of them were positioned quite high up and looking down on the viewer.”

[rating=5]
Released July 7, 2014
On Terrafidella you can feel the heat of the surroundings in the desert, the plummeting temperatures at night while the wide-open sky is speckled with stars.

“Its title, Terrafidella, is coined from the combination of Latin words for ‘land’ and ‘faithful’. The music, imagery and the words are deeply engrained in landscape and its presence. “