Troy 192 "A Friendly Gesture"

Troy 192 "A Friendly Gesture"

Rigo gets a little surprise behind door number 1!

And yes, Jorge and Eddie DID break-up, but what's one to do at a wedding after a few glasses of champagne?

The Abbey To Become A Chain

In partnership with SBE, Cooley intends to build Abbeys in cities across the country, and has spent much of the past year scouting locations including San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Las Vegas; the plan is for the first new Abbey to open in Chicago within a year.

Bristling at the notion that he’s creating a “chain” of Abbeys -- “This is not T.G.I. Friday’s,” he sniffs -- Cooley points out that the business will be not franchised but wholly owned by his partnership with SBE. Cooley prefers to describe his current project as “taking the Abbey national” or “replicating the soul of the Abbey.” He embarks on this quest even as the gay nightlife industry seems to be in steep decline. During the past year, clubs such as New York’s Roxy and Boston’s Avalon have closed. Bar owners say the Internet is slowly killing their business as cruising continues its migration to the virtual realm; and a new generation, coming out to an increasingly accepting -- or at least (in marketing terms) “gay-friendly” -- world seems neither to need nor want to socialize primarily at gay bars.

Cooley believes the Abbey, as a national brand, could reinvigorate gay nightlife -- and his strategy for doing so appears to involve toning down the avowedly gay part of that experience. But how straight-acting does gay nightlife need to be in order to survive?

I've spent WAY too much time and money (have you seen their drink prices???) at the Abbey over the years. And being from Chicago, it will be interesting to see how they translate this mostly outdoor bar into a Chicago place. I wonder where they're going to put it. In the old "Boys Town", which has become way straight yuppie, or the new up and coming gay neighborhood, Andersonville, my last Chicago address. Whereever they decide to open, they're sure to give Sidetrack a run for it's money!

Of course, I did predict this a couple of years ago with this strip from Feb of '06. Troy #145 "The Gay Demographic"

Troy 191 "We Are Family"

Troy 191 "We Are Family"

Ray and Derrick celebrate their new union with their loving family.

Mary In Cairo

My girl's gone international and made herself a couple of new friends.

Stranger Than Fiction

I read this bizarre story by Wayne Bessen at PageOneQ.com about an ex-gay camp where the guys participate in, among other things, blind-folded, naked hiking, beating a dead chicken while naked, and reaching out and grabbing your "brother's" dick. And yes, they use the word "brother". Sounds even wierder than the ex-gay, Brother Jeff story-line I wrote about a couple of years ago, starting in Troy 124 "Lay Your Hands On Me." And to think I was making it all up. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And real Brother Jeffs and Brother Dicks are really, really scary!

Here's just a taste of the whole story:

The alternative publication, The Houston Press, uncovered a letter Michael Scinto wrote to the Madison County Texas sheriff's office, just prior to committing suicide allegedly as a result of the boot camp. The Scinto family has filed a lawsuit against The ManKind Project, while the deceased man's letter to the sheriff claims the New Warrior program practiced bizarre rituals that include:

Blindfolded walking tours in the nude

People blowing sage smoke in his face while 50 or so naked men danced around candles

Men sitting in a circle discussing their sexual histories while passing a wooden dildo called The Cock

Naked men beating cooked chickens with a hammer

In the Houston Press article, the wife of one of the men who attended discussed why her husband eventually rejected the group.

"So, everyone was sitting Indian-style in a big circle in the lodge when the man leading the group said, 'if you wish, you may reach over and grab your brother's dick. If your brother doesn't want your hand there, he can remove it.'”

Little Update:

Wayne Besen writes in 365gay.com that the New Warriors group is NOT ex-gay and does attempt or believe that one can change one's sexual orientation.

...New Warriors has a large gay following and many who attended consider it helpful to their coming out experience. I received more than 25 letters from gay men who said that the program helped them accept their sexual orientation.

“The program helped me become a better husband,” wrote another gay man from the Washington, DC area. “As I knocked down the walls, I became more comfortable with myself and able to give 100 percent to my partner. The program literally saved my relationship.”

So, is the ManKind Project’s New Warriors program gay affirming or does it cater to ex-gay fringe groups?

I posed this question in a conference call with the group’s Executive Director Carl Griesser. Well-known gay author Joe Kort - a vocal proponent of the organization – was also in on the conversation.

Griesser said he was troubled by the way ex-gay ministries had been promoting his group and that his organization did not support the ex-gay cause. He suggested they had misinterpreted what his group meant by instilling masculinity in men.

“There is a difference between masculinity and sexual orientation,” Griesser said on the call. He pointed out that almost every New Warriors training session has at least one openly gay or bisexual man.

Glamazon Super Heroines

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend asked me to do an illustration of his favorite super heroes for him. I've never worked in super hero comics, my style is much looser, but I figured I'd give it a shot. Here they are, Toby's three favorites; Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Wonder Girl.

Troy 190 "I Now Pronounce You"

Troy 190 "I Now Pronounce You"

It's official. They're finally "married".

Mary In Palm Springs

I'm continuing my series of "Derry Products" glamour cow illustrations with this one. My girl Mary has herself a low rent get-away in Palm Springs.

Troy 189 "Hard Feelings"

Troy 189 "Hard Feelings"

Ray's not so good with the off-the-cuff.

New Troy Stuff at the Troy Store

I've upgraded my store and now have a ton of new products with different designs including prints, posters, magnets, calendars, mugs, T-shirts as well as the book. I'll be adding new designs all the time. Check them out at the new premium Troy Store.

http://www.cafepress.com/troypremium

Ann Coulter In West Hollywood

Ann Coulter: On the Gay Circuit in West Hollywood

We had dinner last night at Murano, a new West Hollywood restaurant, owned by gay circuit party promoter Jeffrey Sanker, and lesbian night club owners Robin Gans and Sandy Sachs. It's a visually stunning space, straight lines, whites and reds accented by brilliant Murano glass chandeliers (hence the name of the restaurant). It's right at home within eyeshot of West Hollywood's Pacific Design Center, clearly appealing in a neighborhood of gay clubs, bars and restaurants.

Toward the end of dinner, one of my companions insisted that the painfully thin, emotive, long blond haired thing in a small black dress with nearly exposed bosoms was none other than Ann Coulter. I did not believe him. Why would Ann Coulter, who hates homosexuals, go to dinner at gay ground zero? Why would she spend her hard earned gay-bashing royalties to enrich Jeffrey Sanker and otherwise support gay-owned businesses?

But sure enough, he was right. I could not tell if she was dining with people she hates or just demonstrating that she's a fraud who says whatever she must to sell books so that she can live the gay urban lifestyle. Based on her behavior last night, I am sure it is the latter, although based on her table mates, it could be both.

Remember Ann Coulter on John Edwards and homosexuals?

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions."

Now, the last I checked, most gay people, including me, do not think the term "faggot" is endearing.

Since it was the weekend before Halloween, my friends and I thought it was just a costume! If only we'd known. Darn. I would have had a few choice words for her.

Obama supporter: 'God delivered me from homosexuality'

Obama Supporter: "God Delivered Me From Homosexuality"

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — The controversial Gospel singer at the center of a gay and lesbian backlash against Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign struck back at his critics Sunday night, saying that he has been "vilified" and declaring that "God delivered me from homosexuality."

McClurkin has said that homosexuality is a choice and that he overcame homosexual desires through prayer, comments that drew fire from gay and lesbian activists and caught the Obama campaign, which has been using faith to reach out to African-American voters, off guard.

"Don't call me a bigot or anti-gay, when I have been touched by the same feelings," McClurkin went on. "When I have suffered with the same feelings. Don't call me a homophobe, when I love everybody … Don't tell me that I stand up and I say vile words against the gay community because I don't. I don't speak against the homosexual. I tell you that God delivered me from homosexuality."

I'm thinking that about does it for Obama's campaign.

Troy 188 "Old Married Couple"

Troy 188 "Old Married Couple"

Rigo and Jorge show Ray and Derrick what wedded bliss is all about.

Troy Book "Troy: From 1 to 100"

A collection of the first 100 strips is now available through Cafe Press.com. Order one for yourself, and one for a friend. Order a lot, OK? Daddy wants a new car!
http://www.cafepress.com/troycomics

Troy Calendar "The Men of 'Troy'"

I just finished a series of images for a "Troy" calendar for 2008. It's basically a cheesy, hunky-boy calendar along the lines of those beef-cake images from the 50's and 60's. Here's a little preview. It's available online now at the "Troy Store" at http://www.cafepress.com/troycomics












Nick is our boy for Feb.

Jorge is yours for August.



















And Troy is October!

Troy: The Animated Cartoon

An animated short based on my comic strip. Back in January of '07, I was approached by a production company about doing a series of animated shorts. This was done as a "tease", they wanted to see how the series might look. This is the very first scene from the first episode of a ten part series. The sound is just a "scratch" or rough track. Yes, all the voices are me. I eventually intended to get "real" actors for the rest of the characters. They really liked what they saw, but I had to say no over money issues. There wasn't enough! My baby don't come cheap. But here it is.

I'm currently shopping it around, looking to find a new production company that will do it "right". Hopefully, the rest of the series will get to see the light of day.




You can view it larger and clearer (mpegs can get a little blurry) on my site at http://derryproducts.com/Troy01.1.html

Troy 187 "The Big Event"

Troy 187 "The Big Event"

You demanded it, so here it is. And Ray and Derrick's big day is here as well.