O R E G O N S LE S B IA N /G A Y /B l/T R A N S /Q U E E R N E W S M A G A Z IN E
JANUARY 7 2011
JL J*
local sustainable beautiful
“Growing up. it was really easy
for me to come out because I
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hod o gay older brother and
o gay older sister. So it wasn’t
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hard. Terry come from a military
family, so that was always a
little scary. Bria r Hollow is a lot
kids write and most kids draw but they stop
after a while; they grow out of it. We never
really did.”
While freelance art work continues to be
part of Bias’ and Davis’ careers—including
Bias’art work for cast members from RuPauls
Drag Race and both artists’ work for Hero
novelist Perry Moore and local author Marc
Acito—Briar Hollow is their main focus right
now. Bias and Davis launched a Kickstarter
campaign in December, appealing for dona­
tions to go toward printing costs for the first
half of Volume 1 as well as application fees
and promotional materials needed for this
April’s Stumptown Comics Festival. With
the initial goal of $500 having been doubled
as of press time, the comic’s creators are now
focusing on the direction their story will take
in Volume 2, when one of the established
characters comes out.
Briar Hollow is already anchored by the
engaging coyness of main character Molly—a
self-proclaimed gamer, comic book collector
and cryptozoology enthusiast who’s returning
to college following a soul-searching semester
off. The comic’s cast pegs supporting antago­
nists in the form of annoying little brothers,
sheepish coed confidantes and lots of gaming
lingo. This is all groundwork, claim Bias and
Davis, for a coming out story that will take
the plot in a very different direction than
Volume 1.
“Most kids growing up, you’re not ready to
come out right away, so why do that with our
characters?” explains Davis.
“I didn’t want to push the story forward for
a reason that didn’t feel honest,” adds Bias.
“But I really am excited to get to those story­
lines because they’re going to be a lot of fun
to draw.”
Bias’ own coming out process seems a fit-
2009 SAN
of fun for me. It doesn't relate
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to my life now. but os a kid it
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definitely would hove been my
story for the time."
be m ine
- K I M B A L L D A V IS
ting catalyst for Briar Hollow's plot.
“Growing up, it was really easy for me to
come out because I had a gay older brother
and a gay older sister,” continues Davis. “So it
wasn’t hard. Terry came from a military fami­
ly, so that was always a little scary. Briar Hol­
low is a lot of fun for me. It doesn’t relate to
my life now, but as a kid it definitely would
have been my story for the time.”
“For me, drawing—in Briar Hollow espe­
cially—is therapy,” says Bias. “I can put ex­
periences and things I’ve gone through into
this comic without making it preachy. If it’s
all in my head and I don’t really have another
way to express what I’m going through, then
the best thing for me is to make something
of it, or turn it into something positive, like
this book.”
And that’s exactly what Bias and Davis are
striving for with Briar Hollow—a comic book
for young, gay kids to be able to relate to. A
gift for the gnerds.
“More than anything,” relates Bias, “we
want this to be a love letter to gay kids and
teens and their allies, to give them some­
thing fun to escape into. Anyone who feels
like an outcast needs somewhere to go to
feel accepted. Hopefully Briar Hollow can be
that place.” JK
For more information on B r ia r H o l l o w , Terry
Bias and Kimball Davis, visit hriarhollowcomic.
com. For details on the upcoming Stumptown
Comics Fest, visit stumptowncomics.com.
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