Joe Johnson (cartoonist)

Joe Johnson
Born Joe Johnson
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works
 "Miss Thing", "Big Dick"

Joe Johnson was[1] an American gay cartoonist, whose Miss Thing and Big Dick were among the first ongoing gay comics characters, appearing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[2] The characters were featured in single-panel cartoons originally published in The Advocate.

Miss Thing is an unflappable, stereotypically effeminate gay "queen";[3] the name was a popular expression in gay male subculture for such a person. He has a willowy physique and a pompadour hairstyle, and wears floral prints, bell-bottoms, and flamboyant blouses.[2] Big Dick is an outgoing, stereotypically macho gay man. He has a highly muscular physique and large "endowment", and wears a baseball cap, jeans, and a leather jacket and boots, in the mold of a Tom of Finland character.[2][4] Both characters are sexually adventurous, and the cartoons are blatantly sexual with frequent nudity, but not sexually explicit.[4] The characters usually appear separately in cartoons under their respective names, but sometimes meet.

Johnson published a collection of Miss Thing and Big Dick cartoons through Funny Bone Press in 1973 as: ...and so, this is YOUR life, Miss Thing (the title being a reference to the then-recent popular television program This Is Your Life), with an introduction by Larry Townsend.[5] Some of Johnson's cartoons were also reprinted in volumes of Meatmen in the 1980s, as well as historical overviews such as No Straight Lines published by Fantagraphics.[2] Johnson also produced explicit erotic illustrations for sale.[6]

Cartoonist Donelan was inspired by Johnson's work to begin his series "It's a Gay Life", which appeared in The Advocate after "Miss Thing" and "Big Dick" ended.[7] Howard Cruse cited Johnson's "brazenly gay" cartooning as an inspiration.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "A Sean interview « The Gay Comics List". gaycomicslist.free.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hall, Justin, ed. (2012). No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics. Fantagraphics Books. p. 2. ISBN 9 781606 995068.
  3. ↑ Dynes, Wayne R., ed. (1990). Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (2016 ed.). Routledge. p. 251.
  4. 1 2 "(postmodernbarney.com)". www.postmodernbarney.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Joe (1973-01-01). --and so this is your life, Miss Thing. Funny Bone Press.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Joe. Original pencil drawing of gay fetish sex.
  7. ↑ Donelan, Gerard P. (1987). Drawing on the Gay Experience: Cartoons from The Advocate. Liberation Publications.
  8. ↑ "DRAWING HUMOR FROM THE GAY LIFE. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
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