Happy Birthday Ken Boesem

No matter how far the amply gifted graphic novelist Ken Boesem goes in this world - and believe me, the potential is enormous - I'll always be able to say I knew him when...

Born in Quesnel on this day in 1971, Ken showed his precocity early, as will happen. Since I am not a naturally pushy person, and he's fairly private, I've never had the chance to interview him at length about his childhood; over the years there have been hints, however, that his memories are not entirely positive. Then again, whose are?

We first met in Kelowna, something like a decade and a half ago now. Contrary to the highly structured rules of gay life in Kelowna he was nice to me from the start; nevertheless, it doesn't seem to have affected his status amongst his A-List friends there, most of whom wouldn't have needed me to have a jellyfish sting as an excuse to piss on me.

He moved to Vancouver at about the same time as I did; again, despite the dictates of Davie Street culture (and what must be the unspoken rules of the male employees of Little Sister's) he continues to talk to me to this day, though once I publish this he may have had enough. For my part, I prefer to contact him through Facebook, which is so much easier than trying to talk to him while looking through a pinhole in a piece of cardboard, as one would with a solar eclipse.

All of Ken's work - including the haunting 1918 and digest versions of his comic strip The Village - are available at his website, Barking Raven Press.

I highly recommend them - and him - to one and all.
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