Chelsea Boys
Encyclopedia
Chelsea Boys is a comic strip
created by Glen Hanson
and Allan Neuwirth, about the lives of three gay
male roommates living in New York City
's Chelsea
district. The strip first began publication in 1998.
The roommates include:
Other characters include:
Stylistically, the strip is very much "of its time", reflecting the prevailing fashion for heaviness of line and a tendency to angularity. In terms of content and characterization, the strip bears some similarities to a 1970s and 1980s comic strip called Poppers, which was drawn by Jerry Mills
, though both strips differ artistically.
New York's Next
magazine is the lead carrier for the strip, which is also syndicated throughout the United States
, Canada
, the United Kingdom
, Spain
and South Africa
. Hanson and Neuwirth signed a deal in 2005 with MTV's Logo Network to develop a television
animated series based on the strip.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by Glen Hanson
Glen Hanson
Glen Hanson is an openly gay Canadian-born cartoonist and illustrator, best known as co-creator with Allan Neuwirth of the comic strip Chelsea Boys....
and Allan Neuwirth, about the lives of three gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
male roommates living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
district. The strip first began publication in 1998.
The roommates include:
- Nathan: a 42-year-old widowWidowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
ed Jewish man. Nathan is portrayed as the "everyman" of the strip, is fairly short, and has a goateeGoateeGoatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
. Though not made explicit, it appears from context that his late partner died of complications from AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. He also subsequently dated Steve, who worked in the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and was killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
- Soirée: a flamboyant African-American man around 30 years old. Performs as a drag queenDrag queenA drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
. Soirée was thrown out of his parents' house for being gay when he was a teenager, although he later reconciled with some family members at his father's funeral. Soirée's real name is Delroy Monroe, though his real name is never used by himself or most of the other characters.
- Sky: a 22-year-old Canadian art student. Sky, the son of hippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
parents, grew up on a communeCommune (intentional community)A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
. He tends toward being extremely optimistic (if slightly naive), and is cartoonishly well-built, resulting in his attracting a lot of attention from others, although he is often unaware of how attractive he is to both men and women; the gang also once walked in on Sky having sex with his friend and classmate Annie after returning from the Pride parade.
Other characters include:
- Miss Marmelstein: Nathan's pet dogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, named after a character in a Barbra Streisand's character in the BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play I Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
.
- Richard: Nathan's best friend.
- Ruben: Richard's boyfriend.
- Annie: Sky's friend and classmate.
- Kelvin Cohen: a vain clothing designer; parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Calvin KleinCalvin KleinCalvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
. He was also a former classmate of Nathan's at Hebrew SchoolHebrew schoolHebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
.
- Chris: Sky's boyfriend.
- Curtis: Soirée's boyfriend, a successful lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
.
- Ricki and Lucie: a lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
couple who live in Nathan, Soirée and Sky's apartment building. Nathan served as a sperm donor in one storyline so that the couple could have a child (named Lindsay).
- Risa: or Reese for short, Nathan's sister who recently divorceDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d her husband. She has two sons, Jason and Justin.
Stylistically, the strip is very much "of its time", reflecting the prevailing fashion for heaviness of line and a tendency to angularity. In terms of content and characterization, the strip bears some similarities to a 1970s and 1980s comic strip called Poppers, which was drawn by Jerry Mills
Jerry Mills
Jerry Mills was a gay cartoonist, noted particularly for his creation of the "Poppers" comic strip. The strip told of the adventures of Billy, a West Hollywood muscleboy, and his sidekick Yves , a big-hearted nebbish who offered good advice and caution for his glamorous friend...
, though both strips differ artistically.
New York's Next
Next Magazine (New York City)
Next Magazine is a gay lifestyle magazine published in New York City by RND Enterprises. Each month, Next releases four issues that address topics of fashion, life, entertainment, sex, and LGBT culture news...
magazine is the lead carrier for the strip, which is also syndicated throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Hanson and Neuwirth signed a deal in 2005 with MTV's Logo Network to develop a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
animated series based on the strip.
Strip compilations
- Chelsea Boys. published 2003 by Alyson Books.
- Chelsea Boys Steppin' Out!, published 2006 by Bruno Gmünder Books.