Hazel Newlevant

Hazel Newlevant is an American cartoonist and editor known for creating and editing comics about queer history, bisexuality, polyamory, and reproductive rights.^[1][2][3] Raised in Portland, Oregon, Newlevant lives in Queens, New York.^[4]

Newlevant's thesis project for the School of Visual Arts was a comic about Harlem Renaissance blues singer and drag performer Gladys Bently called If This Be Sin.^[5] The comic won the 2013 Queer Press Grant from Prism Comics.^[6]

In 2016, Newlevant edited and self-published the comics anthology Chainmail Bikini, which collects experiences of female and nonbinary gamers.^[7][8] The name of the collection refers to the "chainmail bikini" trope, criticizing to the over-sexualization of female character design in video games.^[9] In 2017, they co-edited (with Whit Taylor and OK Fox) reproductive rights anthology Comics For Choice, a collection of 42 comics about abortion, gender, and reproductive rights.^[10][11][12] Critic Catherine Baker described the collection, which won the 2018 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology, as "a remarkable set of testimonies that are both collective and personal."^[13] Publishers Weekly praised the book, saying, "The book is at once a rallying cry, a tender lament, and song of liberation that will resonate long after the final page is turned."^[14]

In 2017, Newlevant wrote and drew Sugar Town, a polyamorous queer romance published by Alternative Comics. The comic received positive reviews for its tender approach to relationships.^[15][16][17] Kirkus Reviews described Sugar Town as a "lushly illustrated comic that explores bisexuality, queer culture, and unconventional sex."^[18] Critic Tegan O'Neil of The Comics Journal reviewed Sugar Town saying, "Emotional honesty, more than anything else, that elevates Sugar Town beyond the reader’s expectations. It’s a book that deals frankly with some very tender feelings – deep vulnerability, yes, but also embarrassment, passion, anxiety, and finally genuine love."^[19]

At Oni Press, Newlevant co-edited the comics anthology Puerto Rico Strong, a collection of comics about Puerto Rican history and identity which raised money for Hurricane Maria recovery efforts.^[20] The book won the 2019 Eisner Award for Best Anthology.^[21]

In 2019, Lion Forge published Newlevant's memoir No Ivy League, a coming-of-age story that examines queer identity, male privilege, and white privilege.^{[22][23][24][25][26]} Critics noted Newlevant's "sensitive brushwork and attention to body language" and their ability to combine "sheer talent with the supple versatility of an adroit graphical storyteller."^[27][28]

• 2019 Eisner Award "Best Anthology" for Puerto Rico Strong ^[29]
• 2018 Ignatz Award "Outstanding Anthology" for Comics for Choice^[30]
• 2017 Ignatz Award "Outstanding Mini-Comic" for Tender-Hearted^[31]
• 2013 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant for If This Be Sin^[32]
• 2012 Xeric Grant for Ci Vediamo^[33]

• Official website