#queer noir

[electricbravado]

Flores (v1) by Brian León

2023

[tea-ddie]

BALLYHOO — BOOK ONE

I am beyond delighted to share my queer-noir graphic novel, Ballyhoo: Book One. Ballyhoo will be released on February 8th, 2024. You can now pre-order it on my website. Ballyhoo is the result of over two years of work and one year of inking like crazy. It is the first third of a story I am so excited to get into the world. It has queer bars, it has theater gays, and it even has a dramatic circus backstory. This 140~ish page volume is the first three chapters of the comic, all offset printed by yours truly. Summary and sample pages below the cut.

Summary:

While traveling to a new city to see the opening of her new play, The Bally Girl, writer Oretta Adams stumbles back into communication with two old friends. Marjorie Miller, previously an unruly and gay circus performer, has now settled into her role as a classic mid-century American housewife,  much to Oretta’s surprise. Evelyn Gold, on the other hand, has transformed her entertainment skills from the trio’s carnie days into a successful career in Portapolis’ lesbian bar scene.  Evelyn and Marjorie, once lovers, no longer have contact with each other. Oretta finds herself tiptoeing across the city, trying to keep Marjorie and Evelyn apart while hiding her own secrets about what really brought her to Portapolis in the first place. 

Everything is bound to come out, especially when opening night of The Bally Girl gets closer everyday. Good intentions, unfortunately, can only go so far.

Sample pages:

If you're interested in reading, please consider pre-ordering! It really helps a small, self-published artist like myself out. Because all books are handmade by myself, there are a limited number of available copies. Reblogs and sharing is also highly appreciated.

[glam-apollo]

Hey all! I wrote and illustrated an original comic book. It’s called “Smoking Gun” and it follows Flo Brennan, P.I., as they try to uncover the truth behind a woman’s death. However, when what should’ve been a smoking gun piece of evidence turns into a literal smoking gun, Floyd is left more bewildered than ever.

This comic is something I’m very proud of and if you like my work or are interested in reading a noir-esc comic with a queer twist, consider pre-ordering the comic here! Pre-orders close on May 31st 2021. Content Warning: This comic includes depictions of murder and violence as well as discussions of suicide.

[spacerocketbunny]

Read Lin Darrow’s short story Caro Cho and the Empire of Light and loved it so much that I wanted to try and design some of the characters. I had a blast with this exercise and if you’re looking for a fun quick read, I definitely recommend checking out this one! 📀 🎙 🚬

[tea-ddie]

BALLYHOO.

A new queer-noir graphic novel by Teddie Bernard.

Out now.

[tea-ddie]

Beatrice (2022) follows P.I. Floyd Brennan on a new case. When things start to unravel, standing in the middle of it all is a mysterious woman who saved Brennan’s life. When Flossie Brennan runs into the mystery woman at a queer bar, Brennan is revealed as both Flossie and Floyd. Now exposed, Brennan must determine if the mystery woman is friend or foe.

Beatrice twists together a mid-century mystery with queer and gender non-conforming characters. Beatrice is 52 pages, printed on a risograph using red, medium blue, teal, violet, fluorescent orange, yellow, federal blue, and black.

You can purchase a copy of Beatrice here.

[tea-ddie]

Meet the characters introduced in chapter one of my new comic, Ballyhoo! Who’s your favorite?

[tea-ddie]

I’ve been working on a new comic called Ballyhoo for over a year now and I’m so excited to say that the first chapter almost ready for people to see! Here is a summary and what I can share so far about the comic:

It’s the new year of 1952 and writer Oretta Adams is traveling to Portapolis to see the debut of her new play, The Bally Girl. Oretta reconnects with two old friends, finding they have gone down completely separate paths: one is now a housewife and the other is a singer at a queer bar. The two have completely cut contact with each other.

Ballyhoo is a queer-noir comic, twisting together mid-century mystery with historical queer and lesbian subcultures. Explore a city full of secrets and the shady characters that occupy it. Watch as the shared past between Oretta and her friends starts to unravel into present-day consequences.

I am pleased to say that a (small) self-published edition of the first chapter will be available in May! It will be a limited print run indeed, with screen printed covers, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. I’ll post more information about that here when it’s available.

I cannot WAIT for people to get to finally experience the first part of Ballyhoo. This has been in the works for a long time now and I am very very eager to get it in front of people who want queer noir, gay mysteries, and general comic lovers. It’s got everything you could want in a comic: mystery, lesbians, trains, weird husbands, weirder wives, the highs and lows of the theater world, and a healthy dose of the red and lavender scare underlining the whole thing. Get hyped for Ballyhoo!