Celebrated alternative cartoonist Howard Cruse, the creator of Stuck Rubber Baby and Wendel, passed away Tuesday of cancer. He was 75 years old.
Kimberly Kolze Venter, Cruse's daughter, made the announcement on Facebook. "With sadness I share that my birth father passed this afternoon after a too short battle with cancer, with his dear friend Pam and loving husband Eddie by his side, among other friends" she wrote.
Cruse's career began with Barefootz, a 1970s strip that appeared in several underground magazines and titles. In 1980 he created Gay Comix, an anthology that published works by openly gay comic writers and artists. Wendel, a strip about a young gay man in Reagan’s America raised his reputation, earning him critical acclaim.
Arguably, his most significant work came in 1995, when DC Comics published Stuck Rubber Baby. The graphic novel follows Toland Polk, a gas station worker in the Southern American who gets caught up in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Over the course of the story, Polk learns about race and culture, while also exploring his own sexuality. The novel is scheduled for a 25th anniversary release in 2020.
In 2004, he illustrated The Swimmer With a Rope in His Teeth, and both wrote and illustrated 2008’s Felix’s Friends: A Story for Grown-Ups and Unpleasant Children. He also contributed to anthologies such as Juicy Mother and Qu33r.
In addition to his daughter, Cruse is survived by his husband, Eddie Sedarbaum, and brother, Allan Cruse.