Leonard, Larry and Tim

Leonard, Larry & Tim

An Interview with Gay Comics Legend Tim Barela

by Gregg Shapiro Contributing Writer

In the pantheon of queer comic strips, especially those that ran in LGBTQ+ publications, certain names instantly come to mind including Alison Bechdel (Dykes to Watch Out For), Howard Cruse (Wendel), Diane DiMassa (Hothead Paisan), and, of course, Tim Barela (Leonard & Larry). Barela, whose final comic strip ran in print almost 20 years ago, is celebrated in The Complete Leonard & Larry Collection (Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2021), featuring forewords by Charles Solomon and Andy Mangels, and an introduction by Barela (as well as blurbs from Chip Kidd and Bechdel). Beginning in 1983, Barela was able to incorporate subjects that still resonate today, including committed relationships, gay fatherhood, AIDS, same-sex marriage, gay priests, queer offspring, and finding connection (see the part where bearded leather-man Jim bonds with his gay Texan lover Merle’s mother over opera). To his credit, Barela also manages to effortlessly pull of being meta on a few occasions. All of this and more make this book a must- have. Tim was kind enough to answer a few questions about his career in autumn 2021.

Gregg Shapiro: Tim, I’d like to begin with the basics. When did you become aware of your talent for drawing and visual art?

Tim Barela: I just always drew as a kid. I never knew a time when I wasn’t interested in drawing or understood the basics of art. It came naturally. When I got to grade school, what I couldn’t understand was that most other kids didn’t get it the way I did. That all they could do was draw clunky stick figures and worse. That they didn’t grasp the mechanics of drawing shapes and shading and perspective. I guess, for me, it was just instinctive somehow.

GS: Who were some of your influences when it came to illustrating comics?

TB: Most influential was what I saw on TV and in newspaper funny pages. But as far as the development of my personal style, I think the most significant influence was a cartoonist named - if I remember correctly - Dave Berg who drew features in Mad Magazine. He had a realistic, cartoony style that I really liked and tried to emulate.

GS: I can certainly see Berg’s influence. One of the things that stands out is the detail in your drawings, from rain on a car to the various shapes of noses to male pattern balding to fashions of the period.

TB: The funny thing about your pointing out the unique features of my various characters is that so many previous reviewers have always complained about not being able to tell them apart, who was who, that everyone looked alike. When I drew Leonard & Larry, I did try to make everyone individual and unique. Whether I succeeded or not is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. As far as fashion was concerned, I always thought I was really bad at it. Mostly, I don’t care much about fashion and barely notice what people wear. At least until I needed to pay attention for something I was drawing.

GS: Seeing as how the characters age over time, as they would in, say, a novel, do you begin the process by writing an outline or creating a timeline?

TB: I never do outlines or timelines. I just come up with characters and situations and figure out how they relate to each other. It goes from there. Everything about my storytelling just evolves organically.

GS: Because Leonard & Larry was serialized, were there other serials, perhaps Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (which you reference in the book) owing to the gay subject matter, to which you can see parallels?

TB: Tales of The City was very influential as far as my storytelling goes. I regret to this day being such a gushing fan the first time I met Armistead Maupin at a signing at a bookstore in Belmont Shore in Long Beach. By the time Armistead came to a signing in San Francisco, years later, with me and several other cartoonists, the tables were turned. I had my own gushy fans to deal with. But yes, Armistead was a big influence. After all, I’ve never been a gag cartoonist. I tell stories. Stories with jokes and gags. That’s how my characters work best in my head and on paper.

GS: How much, if any, of Tim is in Leonard or Larry, or any of the other characters for that matter?

TB: There are a lot of different aspects of my personality in all my characters. Both Leonard and Larry. But Jim, Larry’s employee, probably has more of me in his character than any of the others.

GS: Larry owns Larry’s Leather, a shop on trendy Melrose Avenue. Your recent book launch was held at The Barracks, a leather bar in Palm Springs. Would you please say a few words about your association with the leather community?

TB: I’ve always been associated with the leather community. I used to be a real, Harley-riding biker, after all. I got my start drawing cartoons for motorcycle magazines, long before Leonard & Larry came along. And I’ve never been able to keep bikers, leather and the occasional bit of kink from creeping into my storytelling and cartoons.

GS: Your fondness for classical music also plays a role in the series. Are you just a fan or are you also a musician?

TB: I’m just a fan of classical music. I always have been, ever since I discovered the genre as a ten-year-old with a transistor radio. I’ve had lots of musician friends over the years, but mostly pop and rock. I used to do art for album covers in the ‘70s and ‘80s. As a former voting member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, I’ve attended the Grammys more than once. Music has always been a big part of my life. But personally, I have no musical talent or inclination to play a musical instrument, whatsoever.

GS: I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that, with a surname such as Barela, you probably aren’t Jewish. And yet you have flawlessly captured the mishegas of Jewish co-lead character Leonard’s mishpucha.

TB: [Laughs] you’re right, I’m not Jewish and never have been. But my family always had Jewish neighbors or friends, and I’ve had Jewish employers and editors. Jewish characters have always just been a part of my mix, and always will be.

GS: The book closes with a new, 2021 four-panel comic by you, your first in several years. How did this come about?

TB: My current editor and publisher, Ian Henzel, insisted that the story in my new book, which ends abruptly because the strip was canceled back in 2002 and no one else wanted to pick it up, needed to have a sense of closure. That the new book, as Ian put it, needed “a bow” on it. And he was right. And since my strip took place in real time - one of only three North American comic strips to ever do so, I can proudly say - and my characters aged, I thought it would be fun to do a sort of “where are they now” kind of cartoon to close the book with. To show that Leonard and Larry are still around, but, like the rest of us, they’ve both grown old. And yet, nothing about their relationship over these long years has changed all that much. : :

WANTED Danny Downs

I am looking for Danny Downs or his son, who would be about 25 years old now. We knew each other before. I moved to Atlanta in 1993. Please email me or call me with any information about Danny. Thank You FrankieLesterATL@aol.com 404-876-5111

life, positively This year, QNotes, looks at 40 years of the HIV/AID’s epidemic in the U.S. We have lost so many friends and family members. With this issue we find new hope in trials for a cure, a sister telas of losing her brother, we talk about new treatments and celebrate accolades for a leading Charlotte HIV medical provider.

Thank you to these sponsors for this special coverage PRESENTING SPONSOR

DUDLEY’S PLACE

Founded in 2019 by Dr. Frederick Cruickshank, Medical Director at Rosedale Health and Wellness, Dudley’s Place was created to meet the growing needs of HIV positive patients in the Charlotte region and to provide HIV prevention to the community. Dudley’s Place operates on five core values: Respect, Empowerment, Collaboration, Diversity, and Advocacy.

Named after his best animal friend, Dr. Cruickshank’s goal for Dudley’s Place is to provide love and support to clients like Dudley (the puppy) provided him- “Your new best friend”. I wanted to create a nonprofit arm of Rosedale Health and Wellness to provide an extra layer of support to ensure that the clients were not only medically compliant and healthy but also have a complete support system where they had a “best friend” they could rely on “, said Cruickshank.

In just 2 short years, Dudley’s Place ahs enrolled and served over 650 clients! Dale J. Pierce, Executive Director said, “we knew the need existed, but we never imagined the exponential growth that occurred inn just 24 months.”

Programing and offerings have taken off and have been focused on reducing barriers to care, preventing the spread of HIV, community education, and overall better health for the clients and community. We offer support in the form of Couch Talks, a buddy program, and individual, couples and group therapy. Nutrition is hugely important to an HIV client, so our full-time dietitian is here to help evaluate your habits and menu needs. This department also offers referrals to food pantries, an emergency food voucher program, grocery store tours, and Dudley’s Garden (a community garden) to produce fresh produce for our client’s art their visits.

Housing and transportation are always brought up as barriers to care, so we are working hard to help eliminate that when possible. With an emergency Lyft system, we can help arrange rides to your provider appointments. In addition, we have secured funding through HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS). This program can help with late rent, mortgage, or utilities.

Prevention is on our radar, as is education. We have dedicated a full-time advocate to work on patient retention, serve a s new patient ambassador, facilitate outreach and prevention events and testing.

Linking you, the client, to medical care and keeping you in care and suppressed is our goal. Providing all these invaluable services to HVI clients in our area take vision and funding. No gift is too small. If you would like to help us with this important mission, you can visit the website and donate online. Dudley’s Place is an official 501c3 entity, so your donations are tax deductible. We are always looking for volunteers and actively seeking Board Member applications for a 2022 term. You can learn all about us at www. dudleysplace.org or by calling us directly at 704-977-2972.

ROSEDALE

Rosedale Health and Wellness was established in 2006 and in that 15-year span has become the destination care facility for HIV and AIDS in the Carolinas. Our vision is to be the unmatched leader in improving healthcare and reducing the barriers to health care for people in the communities we serve. We can serve all clients’ general medical needs and accept new clients for primary care, specialty care, or both. Rosedale makes it a priority to treat the entire patient, not just the symptoms or disease. Still offering the highest and most innovative treatment plans for HIV/AIDS, we aim to reduce your barriers to better health.

At Rosedale Health & Wellness, we specialize in providing the best and most comprehensive treatment and therapy for HIV/AIDS. We run clinical trials that are reliable using the latest, cutting-edge technology, protocols, and the most effective HIV/AIDS treatment and therapy medicines. From national to international drug trials and programs, we want to make sure we contribute to our client’s treatment and therapy needs. We have specialty and primary care physicians who are well-trained, highly skilled medical professionals with many years of experience in treating patients with HIV. Since our goal is centered on the wellness of our clients, rest assured, we provide the most relevant treatment for every case under our care.

An on-site Walgreen’s pharmacy, onsite laboratory, access to national and international research studies, mental health counseling, nutrition counseling, and patient advocates all make Rosedale Health and Wellness the clear choice to be your partner in health. And with our non-profit partnership through Dudley’s Place, we are positioned to be the leading health care provider for clients who live HIV positive.

With a staff that brings decades of experience and leadership in the field of HIV and AIDS work, we are uniquely positioned to share with you not only the latest in care and treatment, but the benefit of the knowledge gained, and lessons learned since the beginning of the epidemic. Fast and easy appointment scheduling, patient advocates, an onsite laboratory, clinical research trials, access to support services through Dudley’s Place, and a Walgreens pharmacy on site makes Rosedale Health and Wellness your one stop shop for healthcare. Our unique approach to treatment and our varied team members also are attracting folks from the LGBTQA+ community to seek us out for general medicine and preventative care.

We look forward to having you as part of our family. You can find out more about us at our website www.myrosedalehealth.com or by calling us directly at 704-948-8582

life, positively

RED RIBBON SPONSOR

Affinity Health Center has provided compassionate HIV prevention and care services for more than 20 years. Affinity Health Center is a non-profit, community health center located in Rock Hill, SC that provides patient-centered healthcare, including HIV and Hepatitis C treatment, PrEP and support for accessing PrEP, hormone replacement therapy, primary care, mental health services, substance abuse treatment for opioid use disorder, and dental care on a sliding fee scale, regardless of insurance status. Affinity provides free testing for HIV (including self-test kits that can be mailed to you at no cost), Hepatitis C, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Affinity also provides pharmacy services with access to low- cost medications, HIV peer support, financial assistance programs for people living with HIV, diabetes support, and case manage1

Our story began 12 years ago when our founder and visionary, Dr. Amina Abubakar had a vision of how pharmacists can deliver quality patient care in the community setting. Her drive and passion for the profession has led her to making Avant Pharmacy and Wellness Center one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial Pharmacy locations in the country. Now, with three locations all associated with a medical provider’s office, the team at Avant Pharmacy and Wellness Center is ready to meet any of our patient’s needs. `

Our Mission is to enhance the quality of life by bridging the gaps in patient care through connections, innovative services, and patient empowerment and our Vision to create an innovative patient centered medical community that transforms healthcare delivery in the U.S. globally.

Amity Medical Group is a 501(c)3 non-profit independent family medicine practice that proudly serves the Charlotte community in 3 convenient locations. It is our mission to provide patient-centered team-based care with excellence in quality, services, and access to all despite any barriers, stigma, socioeconomic or health disparity.

We specialize in primary and chronic care, including the best regional HIV specialists, transgender care, access to PrEP, diabetes specialists, and preventative care services. We offer on-site labs, on-site radiology, and on-site pharmacy.

Amity Medical Group is trusted by patients, a valued community partner, and a creator of positive change for all people. We provide a caring and welcoming environment to enhance quality of life by bridging the gaps in patient care through connections, innovative services, and patient empowerment so that our patients may achieve their full potential of health and well-being.

RAIN empowers persons living with HIV and those at risk to be healthy and stigma free and is one of the largest HIV nonprofits in the Carolinas providing direct client support. Through 11 core services and programs, RAIN educates and advocates for all people living with HIV and to work for a greater understanding of how it affects everyone regardless of race, gender, immigration status, and sexual orientation.

RAIN’s services include: • Medical Case Management • Empowering Positive Youth (EPY) • Early Intervention Services (EIS) • Health Insurance Assistance

• PrEP Program • Counseling Services • CREW (Community Resources for Empowerment & Wellness) • HIV/STI Testing • Research Studies • Support Groups • Awareness, Education & Outreach Prevention

As a result of RAIN’s work, they inspire and empower more people to live, open more minds, and help break down HIV stigma.

Learn, support and become engaged with our community by going to www. carolinarain.org.

40 Years of HIV/AIDS 35 Years of Telling the Stories