#stan stanley

[bruesselbach]

Satyr (@snakewife), 2023, oil on canvas, 18x36in.

[queercore-curriculum]

The Silver Gleam of Trees by NotusLethe, illustrated by Stan Stanley/ @snakewife

My contribution to the 2021 Rusty Quill Big Bang! Binding, graphic design, and layout by me. Linocut for the cover designed by Stan Stanley, carved and printed by me. Bound in custom silk dupioni and linen bookcloth, moiré endpapers, and hand-dyed linen thread using a blackstitch binding technique I developed for this project. 

Getting to work with these two unimaginably talented artists has been an absolute privilege. The Silver Gleam of Trees is an epic, utterly brilliant daemon AU that takes the RQG characters to places I could never even imagine. Beautifully written and wildly creative—it’s truly an extraordinary accomplishment, and I can’t recommend it enough! And Stan, I’m such a huge fan of yours, and getting to print your work in one of my bindings is a total dream come true. 

Thanks so much to @pilesofnonsense​ for all your work on this incredible event. It’s been a blast, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we created together. 

More pics below the cut!

My favorite section breaks I’ve ever made!

Perfectly fills out my Rusty Quill ficbinding shelf <3

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Romantical cats, pedantical cats...

US tour 5 (Troika) 2001: Sara Schudde as Sillabub, Shylo Smith as Victoria, Emily Haag as Rumpelteazer, Stan Stanley as Tugger, Bryce Bermingham as Mungojerrie, Ronnie Nelson as Alonzo, ?Gretchen Goldsworthy as young Grizabella, Brad Barnes as Tumblebrutus, Sharon Huneycutt as Bombalurina.

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Reluctant Reader Wednesday: The Hazards of Love Book 1: Bright World by Stan Stanley

Amparo wanted to become a better person, and that’s how all of the trouble started.

Amparo was used to disappointing people, like their family and like Iolanthe, a shy girl with romantic potential. When a talking cat offered Amparo an exchange -- a drop of blood and Amparo’s name to become a better person -- Amparo thought they should take the offer. But what really happened was that the cat took over Amparo’s name and body, and became that better person. Meanwhile, Amparo’s spirit was trapped in an amazing, strange, and terrifying place called Bright World.

Full disclosure: this is one of the most unusual and memorable books I’ve read in a long time. The story took twists and turns that I never expected. And the book is also visually stunning, with lots of bright and colorful images on black pages.

Give this book to teens and adults who are ready for an eye-opening and brain-stretching experience!

[semper-legens]

1. The Hazards of Love: Bright World, by Stan Stanley

Owned: Yes Page count: 276 My summary: Amparo didn’t have a lot to lose. A delinquent life, a rocky relationship with their mother and abuela - true, they had a thing going with straight-A student Iolanthe, but that’s about it. So when a talking cat came in the window and asked for a drop of blood, Amparo jumped at the chance to better themself. But the cat stole their name and left them to the tender mercies of the Bright World, where humans are currency and food. Can they escape without becoming a monster? My rating: 5/5 My commentary:  

And I’m back from a brief hiatus with the first books of the year! Did I say books? I meant webcomic - this is a collection of the first chapters of a webcomic called The Hazards of Love, which I recently binge-read online, loved, and wanted to get the print version of. It’s rapidly climbed the ranks to being one of my favourite webcomics, honestly. So what better time than now to talk about it here?

First off, our main character. I’ve called them Amparo above, but that’s not technically accurate - their name is stolen by a cat early on, and they end up shoved into the Otherworld that is the Bright World, nameless and without any real resources. I’ll call them Fawn, because that’s the name they later take on, and the name they use through most of the comic. Anyway, I love Fawn as a protagonist. They’re exactly the right kind of person who can survive a mystical Otherworld; fast-talking, quick-thinking, and reasonably resourceful. However, we’re shown all of the natural flaws that come with those traits. They make rash and risky choices which don’t always pay off in order to save their own neck, they mouth off to anyone and everyone when keeping their trap shut would be preferable, and they sometimes struggle to make friends and connections with other humans that could help them because they’re not used to socialising. They’re one of those brash characters with low self-esteem and self-worth, which is entirely heartbreaking to read. I really rooted for them through all of this, as they fell from one bad situation to the next.

Speaking of, Bright World. It’s exactly what a mystical Otherworld should be, at once mysterious, magical, and menacing. There isn’t a lot of violence or gore, but when there is it’s shocking and really helps to underscore the fact that Fawn isn’t safe anywhere. Humans are treated as pets by the Bright World inhabitants, as well as food and currency. Some Bright Worldians use memories and experiences of humans as barter, forcibly scraping them out of the human’s mind without caring much for the consequences to the human. Fawn loses their hands casually as almost an afterthought to the being they serve, El Ciervo. Fawn’s friend Juliana has very few memories left, and almost loses her voice entirely. Even when no characters are currently being threatened, there’s an ever-present sense of menace.

I got this print copy largely to see the comic in colour - on the website, it’s black and white, which is atmospheric, but I sometimes had difficulties following it. Here, in full colour, it’s gorgeous. Not that the black and white art isn’t gorgeous, it’s just pretty in a different way. And, honestly, well worth the money spent for the bonus colour.

Next up, a trip through a century at a house in Scotland, as the devil’s daughter curses the very land.

[2021ya]

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

VOL 1: BRIGHT WORLD

by Stan Stanley

(Oni Press, 3/30/21)

9781620108574

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Collected and in color for the first time, The Hazards of Love follows the story of a queer teen from Queens who makes some mistakes, gets dragged into a fantastical place, and tries to hustle their way back home. Amparo's deal with the talking cat was simple: a drop of blood and Amparo's name to become a better person. Their mother and abuela would never worry about them again, and they'd finally be worthy of dating straight-A student Iolanthe. But when the cat steals their body, becoming the better person they were promised, Amparo's spirit is imprisoned in a land of terrifying, flesh-hungry creatures known as Bright World. With cruel and manipulative masters and a society that feeds on memories, Amparo must use their cleverness to escape, without turning into a monster like the rest. On "the other side," Iolanthe begins to suspect the new Amparo has a secret, and after the cat in disguise vanishes, she's left searching for answers with a no-nonsense medium from the lesbian mafia and the only person who might know the truth about Bright World.

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Sharon Huneycutt and Stan Stanley, US tour 5 (Troika) 2001.

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Tugger’s stuck in a loop and he feels fine!

US tour 5 (Troika) 2001: Stan Stanley as Tugger, with Shylo Smith as Victoria, Brad Barnes as Tumblebrutus.