''Gay Heart Throbs'' was an

underground comic Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

featuring gay erotica. Only three issues were published, in 1976, 1979, and 1981. It has been described as the first gay comic. It was edited by Larry Fuller. The short-lived comic struggled to find an audience. It has been compared to the more successful and influential ''

Gay Comix ''Gay Comix'' (later ''Gay Comics'') is an underground comics series published from 1980 to 1998 featuring cartoons by and for gay men and lesbians. The comic books had the tagline "Lesbians and Gay Men Put It On Paper!" Much of the early con ...

'', which debuted in 1980 and opted for more emotionally nuanced content, as opposed to the "campy erotica" of ''Gay Heart Throbs''. The title is thought to be a reference to ''

Heart Throbs ''Heart Throbs'' was a romance comic published by Quality Comics and DC Comics from 1949 to 1972. Quality published the book from 1949–1957, when it was acquired by DC. Most issues featured a number of short comics stories, as well advice co ...

'', a

romance comic Romance comics are a genre of comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military contracts to ...

published from 1949 to 1972. The second and third issue were illustrated by

Mike Kuchar Mike Kuchar (born August 31, 1942, in New York City) is an American underground filmmaker, actor, and artist. Kuchar is notable for his low-budget and camp films such as '' Sins of the Fleshapoids'' and ''The Craven Sluck''. Biography Raised in ...

, who described the artwork in the first issue as "not good". Though already known as an underground filmmaker, ''Gay Heart Throbs'' was Kuchar's first job as an illustrator, and he was contacted for many more jobs involving erotic illustration on the strength of his work on the comic.

References

{{reflist Gay male pornographic comics Underground comix 1976 comics debuts 1981 comics endings