Robert Kirby (comics)
Robert Kirby is the creator of the syndicated comic
Curbside which ran in the gay and alternative presses from 1991 to 2008.
Curbside is the story of two young men, Drew, an aspiring writer, and Nathan, an aspiring musician, who meet and eventually form a tumultuous relationship. The comic is syndicated in several periodicals, including
Chicago Nightlines,
Out In The Mountains,
Lavender Magazine and others, as well as on the internet. The series has also been collected into two books. The first book was published after Kirby received a Xeric Foundation award. A third volume, consisting of a Spanish language translation of
Curbside, has also been published. In 2002, State Representative Nancy Sheltra protested the presence of the publication
Out In The Mountains in the Vermont Statehouse due to its inclusion of Kirby's strip featuring two bare-chested male cartoon characters kissing, which she deemed "pornographic". Kirby, who is openly gay, had his first venture into producing comics with the comic zine
Strange Looking Exile, which also featured work by Diane DiMassa, Roberta Gregory, Nick Leonard and Alison Bechdel.