Greg Fox

CONTACT: National Headquarters, 212-809-8585

Life Without Fair Courts Illustration Contest
First Place: "4 Reasons For Gays To Be Grateful"

About the Artist

Greg Fox was born and raised on Long Island, New York, (with a significant amount of time spent in California along the way), and currently resides in Northport, NY. He has been making comics since he was 12 years old and owes his interest in the field to his infatuation with DC superhero comic books.  Fox's comic strips appeared steadily in his high school and college newspapers. He won the Society of Collegiate Journalists "Best Illustration Award" in his senior year at Geneseo College, where he received his B.A. degree.

After graduation, and a few years playing guitar in several rock bands, his work began appearing in national publications. His comic strip "Manic Music" ran for six years in Music & Sound Retailer magazine. At the same time he was drawing comic books for companies such as Revolutionary Comics ("Rock n' Roll" and "Baseball Superstars"), Triumphant Comics ("Doctor Chaos") and Marvel Comics ("NFL Quarterback Club"). He was also writing and drawing another comic strip, "An Angel's Story," which ran in Creations magazine.

This all was a prelude, however, for his current comic strip "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast" about a gay B&B that he has been writing and drawing since 1998. It is currently syndicated to 21 publications across the country including the New York Blade, Chicago Free Press, Philadelphia Gay News, the Washington Blade and on the web. His first book, a collection of "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast," was published in 2004 and was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist in 2005 for "Best Humor Book."

Q & A with Greg Fox

What inspired you to want to create a comic about why fair and impartial courts matter to you?

Being a cartoonist, working at home, I hear a LOT of talk radio. And over the years I've had to withstand an unbearable amount of antigay bigotry being spouted off by homophobic bigots on the airwaves. You might say my entry in this contest was a response to all of that antigay rhetoric I've been subjected to. A way for me to stand up for other LGBT people in a humorous fashion. In the comic strip I submitted for the contest, even though I'm showcasing some extreme examples of a world where there aren't fair courts for LGBT people, I think also that people looking at this might stop and think, "Hmm…you know, actually, it wasn't all that long ago that gays couldn't adopt…and didn't have any workplace protections," etc. And then, of course, there are places in the USA where we still DON'T have those rights!

What do you think is the most important LGBT and/or HIV issue that the courts are dealing with today or in the near future?

I believe the primary thing is equal protection, (the constitutional right to have the same access and be treated equally by the law…yes, I learned the definition of that on the Lambda Legal website!).  While we've certainly made huge strides in this country, we've still got a ways to go. That includes workplace discrimination, that includes the right to marry and that includes adoption rights. These things vary widely depending on the state you live in. But, what it all boils down to for me is this, (and it's quite simple): LGBT people deserve the same rights as everyone else. No matter what anyone's religion or personal beliefs happen to say or not say about homosexuality. And then, on an international level, I believe what is most vitally important is the fact that in many countries, LGBT people are being imprisoned and/or tortured just for being gay! That this is occurring in numerous countries across the globe is an outrage. Even if it were occurring in only one country, it would still be an outrage. We've got work to do.