L e w i s R e y n o L d s ( G e d R i s ) page turners The Mandrake Broom, Jess Wells (Firebrand Books): This richly detailed historical novel is set in late 15th cen- tury Italy, a time when women were being burned at the stake as witches or practic- ing herbal medicine. The story ollows the adventures oLuccia Alimenti, the daughter oa medical proessor, who is charged with the responsibility opass- ing herbal lore on to uture generations even though the risks or doing so were deadly. (frebrandbooks.com) —Kamala K. PuligandlaTipping the SacredCow,Ed. Brian Awehali (AK Press): Over the course o11 years, the magazine LiP: Informed Revoltbrought its own orm osubversive politics, sex and culture to the world. LiPis on an indenite hiatus but ans can rejoice at the publication oTippingthe Sacred Cow. With articles on bugs and litterbugs, a treatise on fag burning and a look at the state othe independent media, this is not a book to read beore bed, because you probably won’t get much sleep. (akpress.org)— Jenna V. LoceThe Emotional Lives ofAnimals, Marc Bekoff (New World Library): The animal lover will delight in this intel- ligent, conversational and convincing refection on animals’ capacity or emotion. Though it doesn’t skimp on the tear-jerking stories that make you say, “Aw!” it avoids over-romanticism through the use oscientic stats and research. Iyou’re the kind odyke who just might love the amily dog more than the girl- riend, you’ll devour this, cover-to-cover , in days. (newworldlibrary.com)— Catherine PlatoThe CompassionateCarnivore,Catherine Friend (Da Capo Lifelong Books):A lesbian armer on a sustainable arm, Catherine Friend (who will be interviewed in the November issue ocurve) writes passion- ately about “how to keep animals happy, save Old MacDonald’s arm, reduce your hoo- print and still eat meat.” Her book is packed with tips on how you can avoid vegetarianism in our age oactory arms while remaining an ethical eater. Her words give hope to those ous who crave meat, but are sickened by some mod- ern arming practices. (dacapopress.com) —Kate GoldsworthyThe Candidate, Tracey Richardson(Bella Books): The romance in TheCandidateis intense, captivating and, at times, heart-breaking. Jane Kincaid doesn’t believe she can run or president and have a lesbian lover too. This notion is challenged, raising very important questions about whether out and proud lesbians must sacrice our personal lives or our careers, especially iwe are in the public eye. (bellabooks. com) — KathiIssermanMegan Rose Gedris, a 22-year-old graphic de- signer rom Michigan, isthe writer-artist ot he web comics Yu+Me and I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space. Yu+Me is a very sweet, dreamy, manga-style teen- age romance about a young woman who is nding her way and her sexuality in a series ooverbearing environments. I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space is set in the 1950s, and has a Lichtenstein-esque eel. It is a ribald adventure in space, with many amiliar comic book themes throughout. Gedris eels that Lesbian Piratesis diferent rom anything she has experienced, but she would sure love to live it. — Richard A. Scott What are your infuences and avorite art styles? I like mixed-media art. For me, the art isn’t just about what I’m drawing, but how I draw it. What about your writing? I like writing that’s unny. Iit takes itseltoo seriously, I’m going to lose interest ast. The material in Yu+Me is refective oa Catholic upbringing. People assume I went to Catholic school. I didn’t. It comes rom my dad and aunt telling stories otheir Catholic-school upbringing. When I came out to my aunt and told her about the comics, she was tickled that Fiona’s school experience was just like hers. Some oYu+Me is my own experiences. Y ou received $1,000 rom Prism comics or publishing copies oYu+Me, while Lesbian Pirates is being published through a deal by Platinum Studios. Care to elaborate? I got both the Platinum deal and the Prism grant within a couple months oeach other. I went rom “Oh, I’m a web-comic artist who would like to be published, but I’ll have to spend a lot omy own money to do it, so I’ll do it in ve years when I’m better of...” to “Oh, I have money or printing comics now.” I’ve just accomplished my ve-year plan in less than ve months. What am I going to do or the next ve years? Te next ve years will get spent making more comics. What these two deals did was get me the unds to start my own sel-publishing endeavor, and get me into the industry on a semi-proes sional level. Ever thought about having Lesbian Pirates as a cartoon or a movie? I always thought it would be neat to have a cartoon on Adult Swim. o me, it seems like they’ve given up trying to get gay characters into the mainstream. I want nothing less than to see Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space up there ater Te Venture Bros. II did this, it wouldn’t be done halway. I wouldn’t settle or anything less than total awesomeness. n Q+A Megan Rose GedrisSeptember 2008| 67