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| Tony Arena | |
|---|---|
| Born | Circa 1965 Franklin Square, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Anonymous Boy |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, writer, filmmaker |
| Known for | Queer and punk media |
Tony Arena (born circa 1965), also known by his pen name Anonymous Boy, is an openly queer artist, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his comics, his involvement in the queercore movement, and other contributions to queer punk zines, his column in Maximum Rocknroll magazine, his public-access television program The Wild Record Collection, and animation such as his film Green Pubes.
Career
Comics and artistic work
He adopted the pen name Anonymous Boy after G.B. Jones, the editor of queer punk zine J.D.s, credited an illustration he'd submitted to "an anonymous boy".
Anonymous Boy was a queer punk zine that Arena began in the 1980s and ran through the early 2000s with nine known collections.
Film and animation
After this, he and boyfriend Ron Grunewald began producing a regular public access television show called The Wild Record Collection which appeared on Manhattan Neighborhood Public Access Television on Friday nights. Public Access pioneer George C. Stoney, widely regarded as "the Father of Public Access" was in attendance to vehemently criticize the featured programs as the "worst" of what Public Access had to offer.
Writings
In 2001, Arena began writing a regular column for the long running punk rock zine Maximum Rocknroll. His column lasted until 2004. He continues to draw comics, contributes to books and publications, and produces his own fanzines Homopunk World, created in 1997. Homopunk World featured interviews with many queer punk comics and musicians, including G.B. Jones, C. Bard Cole, and Joe Butcher of the American Band Ludichrist. Arena would also include reviews of punk fanzines and music.
He is a regular contributor to the anthology Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly. The last issue to be released as a zine, the 10th Anniversary issue of Boy Trouble appeared in 2004. Since then, two volumes of the anthology have been published, the first, The Book of Boy Trouble, in 2006, followed by The Book of Boy Trouble Volume 2 in 2008.
Personal life
Arena resides in New York City. He has been in a relationship with Ron Grunewald since 1986.
Works
Books
- The Book of Boy Trouble 2: Born to Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Green Candy Press, October 2008 ISBN 978-1-931160-65-0
- The Book of Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Green Candy Press; 1st edition (September 28, 2006) ISBN 1-931160-45-7
- Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Boy Trouble Books, 2005, ISBN 0-9748855-0-9
- What's Right?: Graphic Interpretations Against Censorship, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2003, ISBN 1-55152-137-7
- What's Wrong?, edited by Robin Fisher, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002, ISBN 1-55152-136-9
- Queer Zines 2, edited by A.A. Bronson and Philip Aarons, Printed Matter Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-89439-039-5
Film
As Director
- Green Pubes, 1995
As Actor
- The Lollipop Generation directed by G.B. Jones, 2008
References
- ^ Schulman, Sarah (September 22, 2012). "ACT UP Oral History Project, interview with Tony Arena, Ron Grunewald" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- Miller, Michal H. (February 23, 2011). "Public access betrayed". Observer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Various, The Book of Boy Trouble - comic review | The List". 2017-03-06. Archived from the original on 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "The Book of Boy Trouble Volume 2 « The Gay Comics List". gaycomicslist.free.fr. Retrieved 2022-12-06.