Jayson

Funny slices of gay life. This collection follows Jayson's rise from the "Philadelphia Gay News" to "Gay Comix," "Meatmen," and beyond. Contains all the stories that inspired the off-Broadway musical.

Jeff Krell created the groundbreaking comic strip "Jayson," which debuted in the "Philadelphia Gay News" in 1983. By 1985 "Jayson" had achieved national prominence in "Gay Comix," where the strip was named Most Popular Feature. "Jayson" has since become a staple in Leyland Publications' "Meatmen" series of gay comics anthologies, now comprising more than twenty volumes. "Jayson" has also appeared in New American Library's "Gay Comics" anthology, in "Strip AIDS USA," and in syndication. A complete retrospective of Krell's "Jayson" cartoons entitled "Jayson: A New Collection" is in bookstores now.

In 1995 Krell began collaborating with singer/songwriters Ron Romanovsky and Paul Phillips on a "Jayson" stage musical. Two wildly successful readings held at The Actors' Playhouse in New York City paved the way for "Jayson"'s off-Broadway debut on July 10, 1998 at The 45th Street Theatre, which the venerable "New York Times" praised for its "tart, keenly observed humor."

Krell is the founder of Ignite! Entertainment, a company dedicated to developing gay-positive entertainment for mainstream consumption. Ignite! is the producer of the "Jayson" musical and the publisher of "Jayson: A New Collection." Ignite! recently acquired the right to translate and publish English versions of five works by famed German gay cartoonist Ralf Knig; the first, "Maybe...Maybe Not," the basis for Germany's highest grossing movie ever, was published in early 1998, with Krell providing the translation. The sequel, "Maybe...Maybe Not Again!," followed in 1999.