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Rozanski and Buchanan Working on LGBT History Series, Including Harvey Milk Graphic Novel

By | March 9th, 2018
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Denver-based comic retailer Chuck Rozanski has revealed that he is currently writing a graphic novel biography of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician to hold elected office in the United States. Rozanski, who started the famed Mile High Comics chain in 1969, has confirmed that he is about halfway finished with the script, which is set to be illustrated by painter Thomas Haller Buchanan. Rozanski also confirmed, via his Mile High Comics newsletter (via Bleeding Cool), that his Milk biography has been given the official seal of approval by the Harvey Milk Foundation, and that all proceeds from the book will benefit the LGBTQ rights organisation, the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire.

Rozanski’s biography will presumably detail the rise of Harvey Milk in local San Francisco politics, his fight for gay rights as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and his subsequent assassination at the hands of fellow supervisor Dan White. Milk’s profile has only continued to rise since his death in 1978, not only because of perceived contributions that he made to the fight for LGBTQ rights, but also because of the twists and turns in his personal story and the unusual aspects of his death (including the assassin Dan White’s employment of the “Twinkie Defense” at the murder trial).

Rozanski also seemed to hint that the Harvey Milk bio may just be one in a series of future LGBT themed graphic novels, implying that other stories from LGBT history, from the Holocaust to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” may be forthcoming. In his announcement, Rozanski admitted that while writing this book, his research into hate crimes and the history of anti-gay bigotry had left him rattled:

“While I am gratified by the progress that I have witnessed toward the elimination of hate crimes, I have to share with you that not all of my research into the history of LGBT movements has been pleasant. The hatred and bias that some people continue to express toward others is both painful and shocking to me. In large measure, that is why Thomas Buchanan and I decided to begin our graphic novel series with the story of what happened to the gays of Europe during the Holocaust. I have spent the past month reading horrific first-person accounts from the Holocaust that are so emotionally wrenching that I have oftentimes found myself in tears. The hardest part of my writing the first story arc of our book was constructing prose that could convey the horror of what was inflicted upon well over 100,000 people during the period of 1933-1945, while not being so horrific as to compel people to just drop our book, and walk away.”

Multiversity Comics will provide more details on this potential series and the Harvey Milk bio as further information become available. On a related note, Rozanski has also confirmed that Mile High Comics’ Free Comic Book Day fundraisers for 2018 will benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation in memory of the gay American College student who was beaten and murdered in 1998.


Daniel Balyeat

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