Kris and Tara sit down with cartoonist Lawrence Lindell to talk about his upcoming graphic novel, Blackward (releases September 26th!).

As well as being a self-proclaimed introvert (hard same), Lawrence is an artist and educator, working in many disciplines like comics, music, illustration, and mixed media. His self-published graphic memoir, From Truth With Truth, was nominated for the Believer Book Awards, and the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics in 2020.

Together, the three talk about Blackward, the choices that went into it, and what Lawrence is currently reading and recommending.

Lawrence recommends:

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin

When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.

Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

Best friends and chosen family Chris, Elise, Jo, and Alex work hard to keep themselves afloat. Their regular brunches hold them together even as the rest of their lives threaten to fall apart. In an effort to avoid being the oldest gays at the party, the crew decides to put on a new queer event called Grind–specifically for homos in their dirty thirties.

Grind is a welcome distraction from their real problems: after a messy divorce, Chris adjusts to being a single parent while struggling to reconnect to their queer community. Elise is caught between feelings for her boss and the career of her dreams. Jo tries to navigate the murky boundaries of being a supportive friend and taking care of her own needs. And Alex is guarding a secret that might change his friendships forever.

While navigating exes at work, physical and mental exhaustion, and drinking way, way too much on weekdays, this chosen family proves that being messy doesn’t always go away with age.

Rupert Kinnard

Rupert Kinnard is a long-time activist and American cartoonist who created the first ongoing gay/lesbian-identified African-American comic-strip characters: the Brown Bomber (a teenage superhero) and Diva Touché Flambé (his ageless lesbian partner).

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