Stuck Rubber Baby
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Stuck Rubber Baby is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Howard Cruse, first published in 1995. It is set mostly in the 1960s in the Southern United States, in the midst of the Black Civil Rights movement. The central character is Toland Polk, a young white working class man who gradually comes to grips with his homosexuality while struggling with his own learned racism and that of his community. Although Cruse drew heavily upon his own experiences as a gay man growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, the story is fictional. It is densely illustrated, using a detailed cross-hatching technique and typically 8-12 panels per page. The story is 210 pages long.
The book was originally intended for publication through Piranha Press, an imprint of DC Comics which published "alternative" comics. Cruse spent nearly five years writing and illustrating it, however, during which the imprint had been discontinued. It was instead published in hardcover as part of DC's Paradox Press line, an imprint aimed at the bookstore market, featuring mostly mysteries, crime fiction, and humorous non-fiction. It was reprinted in paperback in 1996 by HarperCollins.
It was nominated for the American Library Association's Lesbian and Gay Book Award, and for the Lambda Literary Award. It was named Best Graphic Novel by the United Kingdom Comic Art Awards and has won the Prix de la critique.