Last request -- re: comics and gay themes

[Homoaffectional]

Hi all!

I don't have too much longer to live, and I was hoping that someone on this board cared enough about this kind of project to keep it going.

I basically want to send someone hard copies (not just digital, but paper and the actual hard floppies) of the project I've spent almost 9 years on -- I am working on an exhaustive timeline of the intersection between the themes of homoaffectionality (and even homosexuality) and sequential art (that's comics; books, but also even strips), as I mentioned before.

You can check out an example of my work that hasn't been updated in a while at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/8419/Listing.htm

I don't think anyone here is associated with the Gay League project (even Luminum; I think he's just apparently in awe of them), but (for the 18th time I'm saying this) I'd prefer that if you were, you wouldn't bother to respond to this request. I want, if at all possible, to keep my work separate from theirs, as Anton was totally happy to do back in the day...

There's added urgency to this because I am not going to be around much longer and I need to pass on all the important documents and research I've spent years doing so it isn't all lost and thrown away and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours doing won't all go to waste...

BTW, luminum, I'd prefer it if you wouldn't bother to respond to this, if you're just going to repeat yourself after being rebuffed several times. Unless you like doing this ----> over and over again...


Finally, I just wanted people to understand that it's not necessary for you to continue the project where I left off... but if you could keep the work for safe-keeping until you found someone else who would be willing to... that would work as well. Obviously, I'd prefer to hand it someone who cared enough to continue it, but I'll take what I can get.

 

[Homoaffectional]

I would be proud to be the guardian of your work and continue the search for someone who would be able to continue it for you. I do not know whether I could be that person, but given the opportunity and your trust I would certainly like to try to. I believe that because the genre you have been researching is relatively new to me, I might very well be able to briing a fresh and enthusiastic approach to it with your help. I do not make this offer lightly. I am already the archivist for my professional organisation and helped form the archives for another professional group. As a result, I am familiar with research techniques and have an abiding interest in the preservation and furthering of other people's work that I feel is worthy. Your devotion to your research certainly fits that criteria, and as an older gay professional I feel that what you have spent years working on deserves to be preserved and enhanced for the entire gay community. Please let me know if I can be of help to you, but do not feel that you must trust your research to a novice in your particular area of study if you feel that I would not be the man to best answer your needs. Thank you for the opportunity to express my interest, and I wish you every moment of freedom from this concern that I can give you. Take care, my friend, and know that even if I do not get chosen you are in my thoughts, and I sincerely hope that the time remaining to you is full of love and the knowledge that your work was not in vain.

Thank you so much for your kind words, your willingness to use your expertise to help my work continue, and your general offer!

I would very much like to discuss this further with you. I sent you a Private Message w/ a few questions I shot over to you just to make 'first contact', but feel free to respond right away w/out worrying about getting the answers ready. I feel good about your reply and it looks good. We have much to discuss!

Now... I hate to do this, but...


is anyone else interested simultaneously? Call me cautious, but I do not like to put all my eggs into one basket. Therefore, I'd actually like to send 2 separate copies of the master files of my work to 2 separate safe-keepers, just to make sure that the work survives in as many locales as possible!

Keep any potential offers coming in, please, people!

 

[Homoaffectional]

Thanks to both Flash and HappyDude for their replies to this thread. If anyone else is also interested in further back up copies of years of my research, feel free to reply here or send me a private message directly to my inbox!

 

[Homoaffectional]

Just wondering if there would be anyone else interested in the project. It would be a shame if all this data was lost, when that simply doesn't have to be. To give you guys an idea of just how broad the scope of this project is, I'd like to refer you to http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/9315/SSSFROOC-TimelinePnNewMbackup/Doonesburystrip.htm

 

[mike_n_herrin]

oh man, i'm not a comic book person (i know everyone is going to shoot me for that), so i wouldn't be a good person to do this. But i wanted to say you have my sympathies for your situation. I don't know it of course, but i wanted to offer a hug anyway.

 

[justsimon]

I'd be interested. I don't know exactly what I'd do with it (aside from pouring over the information), but I'm sure some opportunity will come along. I'm a big comic fan and an artist. I'm also a writer.

 

[luminum]

Um, to my recollection, I said it once, and only because I don't pay attention to their name and only care about their list, so stop being attacking me and bitching at me from out of the blue.

Rebuffed? You never responded to your request afterwards and even if you did, I never responded back. So unless 'again and again and again' means 'once' to you, I'd chill the fuck out.

I appreciate Gay League because to my knowledge, they're the most comprehensive if not only group out there on gay superheroes. I'm not a fan boy or whatever you wish to project on me because of some here-to-fore unexplained falling out you had with them. So vent your frustrations on someone else.

I just love comics and I love gay superheroes and what they stand for. Simple as that.

Christ.

That being said, yes, I'd be happy to help, no matter how much of a frustrated bitch you're coming off as.

 

[Homoaffectional]

I appreciate Gay League because to my knowledge, they're the most comprehensive if not only group out there on gay superheroes.

Actually, not true. They're the only ones who get credit for it, and that's probably why your knowledge was limited by the fact that they're the only ones who get any real recognition.. Also, I focus not just on gay superheroes, but all gay characters from all genres. Also, I'm not saying you can't appreciate them, I'm just saying I'd appreciate if you'd stop trying to get me to appreciate them. From the way things went down, it's not going to happen on my end. If you'd see that that's what I'm trying to say, I doubt we'd have any of these problems.

Please read my response to the PM you sent me, as that should explain things nicely.

 

[luminum]

Your PM cleared things up. But I don't know if this is a relatively recent development, but they also have profiles on non-superhero characters in superhero comics, as well as some in non-superhero comics.

But you're right, as far as broad comic-media, they're not diverse on plotlines and other characters or protagonists in other forms of comic-media beyond superhero comics. But you got the PM I sent you, so I think everythings all clear.

 

[Homoaffectional]

Your PM cleared things up. But I don't know if this is a relatively recent development, but they also have profiles on non-superhero characters in superhero comics, as well as some in non-superhero comics.

It is -- but forget about what they have... you yourself said 'gay superheroes'. I'm just going off of how you described them.

When Anton Kawasaki first had the idea to create a 'gay characters' section of the website he created as his brainchild (announced in December 1997, debuted on April 15th, 1998 ) after I had already created mine (launched in October 1997), his focus was solely on 'superheroes'. His definition of what a superhero was must have been very stringent, or he just didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I highlighted (as well as wrote a fan fic w/) Amy Chen, a lesbian who appeared in a comic book called Silver Sable and the Wild Pack, not to mention various other gay Marvel characters. Because Amy didn't have super powers or a code name. She did have a costume of sorts and 'super'-hero or not, she was part of a team that included people w/super powers and she was an equal member of that team. Anton could care less, and decided that Amy Chen was simply a 'supporting character' and ignored her as having no relevance to be included on the site.

It was only once Anton had decided he'd made his mark, and there were complaints about his management of the GLA listserv (now on Yahoo) and he hightailed it to find people that were more easily manipulated, leading to Joe Palmer taking over for him, that the site started become more inclusive and people like Ronald Byrd (and perhaps yourself) started submitting entries for those characters that, were Anton still in charge, would never have made it onto the site.

But you're right, as far as broad comic-media, they're not diverse on plotlines and other characters or protagonists in other forms of comic-media beyond superhero comics.

This is why I will do everything to keep my project going beyond my passing. There is a need that needs to be met, and the GLA simply isn't doing it.

 

[luminum]

Sounds good. Let me know what you need if you want me to help.