The Comics Waiting Room Newswire

Friday, May 09, 2014

Fantagraphics Feels the Wuv with Ed Luce

SEATTLE, WA—MAY 9, 2014. Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the acquisition of Ed Luce’s indie comic sensation Wuvable Oaf, to be released March 2015. Like Sex and the City but with adorable, ex-wrestler hairy gay men (or bears), Wuvable Oaf is Luce’s debut graphic novel. This book fills a romance comics hole by portraying a likeable gay male character that is both fully realized and relatable. Mostly playful, but sometimes serious, Wuvable Oaf captures the levity of loneliness. Luce delivers a rom-com that would leave Zack Galifianakis and Zooey Deschanel feuding over who got to play Oaf in a hypothetical movie adaptation.

Oaf is a large, hirsute, scary-looking ex-wrestler who lives in San Francisco with his adorable kitties, and listens to a lot of Morrissey. The book follows Oaf’s search for love in the big city, especially his pursuit of Eiffel, the lead singer of the black metal/queercore/progressive disco grindcore band Ejaculoid. Luce weaves friends, associates, enemies, ex-lovers, and the pasts of both men into the story of their courtship. Like Scott Pilgrim, Love and Rockets, and Archie, Wuvable Oaf explores the joys and pains of romantic conquests, set against the backdrop of the San Francisco scene. After decades of comics about boy-loves-girl, Luce finally gives readers of all orientations some insight into man-loves-man. Oaf’s silly, sweet, and sometimes sexy stories will win over everyone’s heart.

“The first indie comics I ever bought were published by Fantagraphics, including Love and Rockets, Eightball and Usagi Yojimbo,” explains cartoonist Ed Luce. “Much of Wuvable Oaf's DNA was directly influenced by Fantagraphics publications. In putting this collection together, it's like they’ve stepped forward to claim paternity. I couldn't be more excited to find myself in the company of such wonderful work.”

Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds says he’s "eager to take Ed Luce’s infectious voice and inviting visual style to a bigger stage, because I believe he’s only scratched the surface of his potential audience for the Oaf, who is one of the most singular characters to emerge from the corners of ‘alternative comics’ in several years.”

Ed Luce (pronounced “loose,” like the opposite of tight) has made a huge splash in the comics scene with his self-published comic book series. Since 2008 he’s been traveling to conventions and comics festivals all over the U.S. Wuvable Oaf has garnered a huge following of fans both in the comics world and in the queer art world. Luce lives in San Francisco with his partner and collaborator, Mark, and their kitty, Luna. He can regularly be found either under a pile of drawing paper or at a local comics festival.

WUVABLE OAF
By Ed Luce
March 2015 • $29.99
Hardcover • ISBN 978-1-60699-816-8
264 pages, black & white with 16 pages color