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Facts o’ Life Funnies

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by Matt Peters   Content advisory: Strong language, nudity, and brief depictions of sexual activity, drug use, and interpersonal violence   In the 1960s, an underground comics scene emerged in the United States and United Kingdom, giving rise to small-press and self-published comics that featured stories about free love, recreational drug use, subversive politics, and other themes that were normally considered off limits in mainstream comics. Underground comics were commonly sold in head shops, where their mature content seemed less conspicuous among drug paraphernalia and other countercultural lifestyle goods. While mainstream publishers such as Marvel, DC, Dell, and Charlton cooperated… Read More

Wait, What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up

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Book Review by Kevin Wolf When I was a child, perhaps age 8 before my younger brother was born, my mother sat down to read me a book with the title Where Do Babies Come From? I don’t recall the author. It was a picture book. My mother wasn’t very comfortable talking about sex, and used this book to give me my sex education; I only remember the picture of a sperm finding an egg. There’s a new graphic sex education guide with five fictional adolescents (Rico, Malia, Max, Sam, & Alexis) talking “about everything.” The book is called Wait,… Read More

First Year Out: A Transition Story

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Book Review by Kevin Wolf   There are lots of hopeful lessons for transgender persons and those wanting to better understand them that can be learned from this graphic novel. I highly recommend this book for persons in high school and older; while younger mature persons can benefit, too. Lily, the fictional lead character, was born with a male’s sexual organs but is actually a female and wants everyone else to understand and accept her real gender. The back cover indicates about the author, that “Sabrina Symington is an illustrator, graphic novelist, and blogger from Vancouver [Canada], working to normalize… Read More

Oh Joy, Sex Toy

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Guest Review by: PF Anderson Well, we all know who to call when we see a ghost (Ghostbusters!), but who are you going to call to review a comic book on sex toys? Of course, your local little old lady librarian, right? Well, maybe not, but that’s what happened here. I’m a medical librarian and creeping up on retirement age faster than I’d like. I am probably the last person on earth I’d expect to find writing a book review for a book on … sex toys? So think of it this way: If I say buy it (which is… Read More

Oh Joy Sex Toy

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Oh Joy Sex Toy is the webcomic of Portland comics artist Erika Moen and her husband Matthew Nolan. She reviews sex toys and discusses sexual health issues such as STDs, contraception, and pregnancy. From her site: What IS Oh Joy Sex Toy? Oh Joy, Sex Toy (OJST) is a weekly webcomic by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan that debuted April 2013 and has updated every Tuesday since, bringing you reviews of everything that relates to sex, sexuality and the sex industry. From sex toy reviews to sex education to interviews with sex industry professionals and more! With the aid of curated guest reviewers,… Read More

Not Your Mother’s Meatloaf Interview

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Soft Skull press has just released Not Your Mother’s Meatloaf: A Sex Education Comic Book edited by Saiya Miller and Liza Bley.   Saiya presented her work on Meatloaf at Graphic Medicine conferences in Chicago and Toronto. I asked her to answer a few questions about this unique collection bursting with diverse and empowering words and images. (Full disclosure, I have a comic in the book!)   MK: Tell us how this book came about, and in the process, describe for us what this book is.  The book started as a project at Eugene Lang College while Liza Bley and… Read More

Loving Each Other Safely (Books Beyond Words)

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awaiting GM review Amazon blurb: ‘Loving Each Other Safely is part of the Books Beyond Words series of picture books that help people with learning and communication difficulties to explore and understand their own experiences. A loving relationship can be exciting and fulfilling. It can be difficult for people with learning disabilities to find a healthy way to look for intimacy in their lives. Use this book to help people explore their hopes and experiences. Guidelines are provided (as text at the back) for carers and supporters, health and other professionals providing support to people with learning disabilities. There is… Read More

Tip of the Iceberg: A Book About the Clitoris

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Tip of the Iceberg is a well illustrated and beautifully put together book all about the Clitoris. Tip of the Iceberg uncovers the truth about the clitoris: what you know of this exceptional organ may only be the “tip of the iceberg,” as a majority of its mass lies beneath the surface. Learn all of the parts and functions through informed descriptions and illustrations of the g-spot, kegel exercises, the stages of sexual response, the visible and hidden parts of the clitoris, and more. –Salford Zine Library review Awaiting Graphic Medicine review. Want to write a review for us?