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Finding Aid to the Tim Barela Leonard and Larry Comic Strips, 1983-2003 Coll2014.018
Coll2014.018  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Historical Note
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Acquisition
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Scope and Contents
  • Arrangement

  • Title: Tim Barela Leonard and Larry comic strips
    Identifier/Call Number: Coll2014.018
    Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 6.25 linear feet. 5 flat archive boxes.
    Date (inclusive): 1983-2003
    Abstract: Original ink comic strips and cover art from Leonard & Larry, 1983-2003, a gay comic strip created and written by Tim Barela. Leonard & Larry debuted in the pages of Gay Comix in 1984, and was regularly featured in the Advocate (1988-1990) and Frontiers (1990-2002) magazines.
    creator: Barela, Tim, 1954-

    Historical Note

    Tim Barela is a Los Angeles cartoonist and creator of the gay comic strip Leonard & Larry. He was born in 1954 in Temecula, California. He began work as a cartoonist in the mid-1970s. In the 1980s he created the comic strip Leonard & Larry, which focused on the life of a middle-aged gay couple living in West Hollywood. Leonard & Larry first appeared in Gay Comix in 1984. The strip then moved to the Advocate magazine in 1988 where it ran once a month for two years. In 1990 the comic moved to Frontiers magazine where it ran every other week for 12 years. The comic has since been published by Palliard Press in four volumes: Domesticity Isn't Pretty (1993), Kurt Cobain and Mozart Are Both Dead (1996), Excerpts From the Ring Cycle in Royal Albert Hall (2000), and How Real Men Do It (2003).
    The strip focuses on the domestic life of Leonard and Larry and their increasingly diverse group of friends. Leonard is a fashion photographer and Larry owns a leather shop in West Hollywood. The characters age in real time as the strip progresses and follows the couple as they deal with everyday domestic problems, such as parenting; but it also touched on issues that came up in the national media, such as gay celebrities outing themselves.

    Conditions Governing Access

    The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

    Conditions Governing Use

    All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

    Acquisition

    Gift of Timothy J. Barela, July 12, 2011.

    Preferred Citation

    [Box/folder #, or item name] Tim Barela Leonard and Larry Comic Strips, Coll2014-018, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Sarah Wilson, April 2014.

    Scope and Contents

    The collection comprises original ink comic strips and cover art from Leonard & Larry, 1983-2003, a gay comic strip created and written by Tim Barela. Included are the comic strips that were published in Gay Comix, Gay Ink, Advocate, and Frontiers; as well as cover art from Barela's four book collections of Leonard & Larry comics.

    Arrangement

    This collection is arranged chronologically.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Alternative comics
    Cartoons and comics
    Comic books, strips, etc.
    Comic strip characters
    Gay cartoonists