User:Emilykopp/sandbox

Emilykopp/sandbox
Born	Jerry A. Mills February 26, 1951
Died	January 28, 1993
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist
Notable works	"Poppers"

Jerry A. Mills ( February 26, 1951 - January 28, 1993 ) was an openly gay cartoonist, creator of "Poppers", one of the first comic strips to develop multi-dimensional gay characters. His work helped shape comics for the LGBTQ+ community and its members. Where earlier comics had relied on stereotypes – either the nelly queen or the muscleman – Mills was one of the first to present his characters with lives beyond the stereotypes. One of the first comic strips to develop and produce was multi-dimensional characters that were gay. The comic was Poppers. Mills was the creator of Poppers and was known to create beautifully complex characters, who were more than just their portrayed and stereotyped sexuality. "Poppers" featured Billy, a West Hollywood muscleboy, and his sidekick Yves (based on Mills), a big-hearted nebbish who offered good advice and caution (usually unheeded) for his glamorous friend. Yves always went along for the ride with Billy, commenting on the action, a function he took over from a witty crab louse that lived on Billy's pubic hair in the first few strips. (The title referred to "poppers", alkyl nitrites which were commonly used recreationally in the gay community.) Though overshadowed by contemporaries, most notably Tim Barela and Howard Cruse, both of whom also worked with continuing characters in comic strip format, Mills made a substantial contribution to gay cartooning. In particular, the "Chelsea Boys" strip by Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth is influenced by Mills.

Mills also created ad hoc cartoons, and wrote an eight-page history of gays in comics for the first Meatmen anthology. In the earlier part of the 1980's, Mills worked in the subscriptions department of In Touch for Men. An adult magazine company that tended to target members of the LGBTQ+ community. The community itself was getting attacked for their sexuality. Mills's friend, John Calendo, who was the editor of the magazine, promoted Mills to a regular comic strip and help add variety to the comics that were floating around at the time. They wanted to change the regularly scheduled comic content. This sparked an idea in Mills. Thus, Poppers was created. Mills started writing it in 1982. Fast-forward, by the mid 80's, the strip was also being published in a French language magazine. The magazine was called "Gai Pied Hebdo." Also, it was published in a Japanese magazine called "Barazoku." This ultimately helped propel Mills's fame and notoriety to the next level.

Mills also focused heavily on shedding light to the AIDS crisis. Mass produced comic books, similar to Meatmen, allowed readers to see the social issues of the epidemic on the pages themselves. Mills created multi-dimensional characters with depth and diversity. By creating such characters, it pushed the boundaries of the literary world at the time. By introducing such heavy topics like AIDS into his comics, Mills was able to make comics a more educational based literary art, rather than a plain read. Comic books soon became an educational medium that reached larger audiences thanks to Mills' work and dedication.

The 1990's proved to be a difficult time in Jerry Mills's life. His health was deteriorating steadily. He developed severe complications associated with HIV. He began to work less and less. However, at the end of his life he was able to attend the 'ACT UP' demonstrations in Los Angeles, California. He spent his time designing posters for an organization called Queer Nation. Queer Nation helped protect those who felt threatened by the violent society they lived in. Mills died on January 28th, 1993. Survived by his partner, Sal Lucarello.

Biography

In the early 1980s Mills worked in the subscriptions department of In Touch for Men, an adult magazine targeted at the gay male community. John Calendo, editor at the time, encouraged Mills to write a regular comic strip, to add variety to the magazine's content. The result, "Poppers", began in April 1982. By the mid-80s the strip was also being published ( in translation ) in Gai Pied Hebdo, a French-language gay magazine, and in the Japanese magazine Barazoku. Reprints of the strip also appeared sporadically in Gay Comix under the editorship of Howard Cruse, Robert Triptow, and Andy Mangels.

When Mills moved to the classifieds department of Advocate Men, the "Poppers" strip followed him, and was published sporadically. By the beginning of the 1990s Mills' health was deteriorating, as he developed complications associated with HIV infection, and in his final few years he worked less and less. He did, however, attend ACT UP demonstrations in Los Angeles and design posters for the offshoot organization Queer Nation, concerned with gay visibility. Mills died of his illness in January 1993, survived by his partner Sal Lucarello.