BALLYHOO

from chapter one:

Chapter One was originally printed in a limited art-book edition, pictured in the samples shown here. The color palette in this sample was black and blue, rather than the deep purple and red of the final book.

from chapter two:

additional photos:

While traveling to a new city to see the opening of her new play, The Bally Girl, writer Oretta Adams stumbles back into communication with two old friends. Marjorie Miller, previously an unruly and gay circus performer, has now settled into her role as a classic mid-century American housewife,  much to Oretta’s surprise. Evelyn Gold, on the other hand, has transformed her entertainment skills from the trio’s carnie days into a successful career in Portapolis’ lesbian bar scene.  Evelyn and Marjorie, once lovers, no longer have contact with each other. Oretta finds herself tiptoeing across the city, trying to keep Marjorie and Evelyn apart while hiding her own secrets about what really brought her to Portapolis in the first place. 

Ballyhoo (2023) is a queer-noir comic, twisting together mid-century mystery with historical queer and lesbian subcultures. Explore a city full of secrets and the shady characters that occupy it. Watch as the shared past between Oretta and her friends starts to unravel into present-day consequences. 

You can order a copy of Ballyhoo: Book One here.

Ballyhoo is part of a larger series of queer-noir comics, the Twilight Hours. Other comics in this series include Beatrice and other queer-noir mini comics.