Manhattan Chowder, Back in the Big Apple

A Couple of Guys

I first met Dave Brousseau, cartoonist and author of the episodic gay comic strip A Couple of Guys, when I was on tour in Louisville several years ago. At the time I was a chorus boy living in the Village on Christopher Street with my boyfriend and a Jack Russell Terrier. Coincidentally, Eric, one of the main characters created by Dave for the strip, is a chorus boy living in the Village on Christopher Street with his boyfriend--and a Jack Russell Terrier. Dave came up with the character before he ever met me, but when we did meet it seemed destined that we should become friends.

Since Dave lives in Louisville, KY and his strip takes place in New York's Greenwich Village he makes trips out here every so often to take pictures of the neighborhood to try and keep the strip as accurate and current as possible. His mutli-racial cast of characters represent the unique cross section of people drawn to Greenwich Village life, from a Black militant lesbian to a bi-curious teenage skater dude. A Couple of Guys has sometimes been described as the gay Archies but with wittier characters who deal with a range of topical issues that would be completely foreign to Jughead and the gang.

Once in a while Dave will consult with me about specifics of showbiz or most recently enlisting my help to snap some pictures of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in which an upcoming strip takes place. During a visit to New York a few years ago Dave took some pictures of my current apartment which made it into the strip as the home of a sex crazed slutty bartender who bears NO RESEMBLANCE TO ME WHATSOEVER, Mom. I've never tended bar in my life!

A Couple of Guys appears in many gay publications around the country including the Dallas Voice, In Newsweekly (Boston), HotSpots! (South Florida), and The Letter (Louisville). Archives of A Couple of Guys can be found on Gmax and Planet Out. Check your local gay papers and see if they run A Couple of Guys. If they don't, contact the editors and tell them to! (They should contact Qsyndicate.com) You won't be sorry. Below is the strip featuring my apartment. Dave turned my dog into a cat, but that's my kitchen, my bathroom, exposed brick, etc. But don't worry, I got rid of those floral pillows a while ago. (Click image to enlarge.)

Labels: Gay Culture, Humor, Personal

posted by Michael @ 8:17 AM