Gary Tales
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A comic strip written for the New England based GLBT newspaper, In Newsweekly. The author of Gary Tales is Gary Lucia, who originates from Springfield, MA, and now lives in Boston, MA. Gary Tales may be also found under the name "tweaked". So far, there are over 230 strips written for this comic, which cover all GLBT related topics.
"Gary Tales" debuted in the May 28, 2003 issue of In "Newsweekly" under its original title, "Tweaked". The name was later changed to "Gary Tales" due to the misperceived association of 'tweaked' with crystal meth, a drug popular in the gay community.
Here are some direct quotes from Gary in the article.
"I wanted to do a gay-themed comic strip, but other than that I didn't have a clue what it was going to be about as far as characters and stories. Then I stumbled across the definition of "tweak" in my Encarta Dictionary: tweak /tweek/ v. To make a slight adjustment or change to something, especially in order to improve it or fix it." "It struck me that the word summarized both my feelings about being gay and the type of comic strip, I wanted to do. To be gay is [when you get right down to it] "a slight adjustment," while the part about "improvement" provided a bit of bravado. In applying the word to the strip, my intent was to show "Life, Exaggerated." Once I had the title and the concept, the characters and stories began to appear. I was aware of the drug connotation of the word, but in my typical defiant way, I brushed it off and hoped that my 'new' meaning would take off and overcome the drug thing. That didn't happen! People might think that was a little naive on my part, but that's OK. I tend to look at things a little differently, and thank God. Otherwise I'd just be another one of those bitchy jaded queens!" "People always say "there's no such thing as bad publicity" and there may be some truth to that, but it just got to the point where I'm tired of explaining myself over and over.
Full article: 'Tweaked' gets Tweaked (html). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
Characters:
MAIN CHARACTERS
JACKSON—A wise-ass retail employee who aspires to be a rich and famous pop singer.
AARON—Neurotic, insecure on-again/off-again boyfriend of Jackson. A journalist for local newspaper.
TULSA—The ‘hottie’ of the group. Dispenses well-meaning, but sometimes misguided advice to the gang as their resident Life Coach. [Note: ‘Tulsa’ is ‘A slut’ spelled backwards.]
PETER—Roommate and friend of Jackson and Tulsa. A hopeless romantic, constantly unlucky in love.
TODD—Jackson’s best friend and co-worker. Obsessed with Madonna and not-so-secretly in love with Tulsa.
ROB & BOB—Old friends of Aaron, now happily married. They sold their catering business and opened a restaurant. Rob was a brief child star on the television program ‘ZOOM’.
MINDY—Former fag hag-turned lesbian. A zaftig, overly generous, fun-loving gal; but known for fits of rage when crossed.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
LULU—Bitchy straight friend of Tulsa and Jackson.
CARL—Aaron’s hot, straight older brother. Dated Lulu for a while, then kind of disappeared from the comic strip.
JADE—Lesbian friend of Tulsa who was hired by Rob & Bob. Jade was initially crabby, but softened a bit as she befriended Mindy and became her confidante.
SETH—Aaron’s nerdy roommate.
JOAN—Tulsa’s grandmother. Owns “Joanie Loves Tchotchke,” a thrift store specializing in ‘pop culture artifacts’.
MISS KRIS KNEIVEL—Drag queen acquaintance of the gang. [The only regular ‘real life’ character in the strip, Miss Kris is a friend of Gary’s who is a well-known performer in Boston.]
PEPPER MILLS—Semi-famous diva and Jackson’s nemesis. Her signature songs are “Raise Your Hands Up (Put Your Hands in the Air)” and the follow-up “Put Your Hands in the Air (Again)”.
BENJI—Formerly known as Benjamin, was given a ‘gay makeover’ by Jackson. An intern at Pepper Mills’ record company.
PSYNDI—Psychic, reclusive, kooky lesbian who has a thing for Mindy.
MEAN BOY—Hot, disgruntled-looking guy Peter has a crush on. Mean Boy has never spoken in the comic strip, and his name remains a mystery.
NORMAN—Wealthy, older married man secretly dating Peter. [Note: Norman’s full name, “Norman Malone” is an anagram for “One Normal Man”.]
SIR PRANCE-A-LOT—Peter’s pet cat.
