I had the opportunity to ask Bryan Knight 10 Questions about his new Kickstarter project Velvet Collar. This is something very personal, important and what he’s passionate about. We’ve never seen a story like this that’s accessible to everyone, that gives a voice to those affected by what happened in the Rentboy.com raid. This project very much adult oriented as it deals with men in the sex trade and a mature readers label should be applied. This is a story culled from real men with real lives, hopes and ambitions this is not a pornographic publication.
1. what made you decide to do this project?
A: Between 1996 and 2015, male escorts enjoyed a prosperous and relatively safe time doing their job. Then, in August 2015, 2 weeks after Amnesty International called for the decriminalization of sex work, the NYPD in cooperation with the DHS raided the New York City office of Rentboy.com (the largest, longest running male escort advertising company in the world), arrested the staff, and resulted in the end of the business. This also came on the heels of the Ashley Madison hacking, and right-leaning political actions that came to dominate the modern environment.
Sex workers are among many of my friends and loved ones. My mother was an exotic dancer in Times square in the 80s and she faced many difficulties as well. So when this event happened, it had a large effect on the people I care about, and gay culture and sex culture that I experienced.
The stories of the men who are workers, in all their diversity, inspired this work.
2. how personal are the individuals used in the story--based on real life folks
The stories are very personal. The main characters are drawn from real men inn the adult industry. Abel Rey, Will Foster, and Scott Reynolds have been or are involved in the adult industry as porn performers. Rica Shay is an advocate and friend of the community.
The characters have their own histories in the timeline of the book series. These are often composites of experiences from one or more men in the sex industry. For example, Scott is a composite of three escorts who have been full time professionals for as long as 50 years. He agreed to play their roles, but the escorts themselves did not want their faces or names immediately attached to the drawings because of privacy concerns.
3. Did you try to find a publisher or just opted automatically for self publish?
Self-publishing felt like the right way to go because of the unique content and format. Moreover, modern tools made it very possible to act effectively without a formal publisher.
4. How did you find your artist and how closely did you work together to get this to look a certain way, the likeness of character to real people or to make it similar yet different?
I learned about Dave Davenport, the artist (www.marginalizedproductions.com) through our mutual contact Justin Hall, another comic book artist and teacher of comic book studies in San Francisco. We worked pretty closely form the beginning to get images that are vibrant and engaging. He was very respectful and patient with me as a new comic book writer. I'm very happy we are working together, he is an excellent partner.
Whether simple or realistic, we wanted the people and conversations to feel alive.
5, When did you realise that this was a viable thing that could be done?
We didn't know until we actually tried to do this. We did know that the topic has long been popular, controversial and had not yet been brought into the comic book world like this.
6. was there any kind of resistance from anyone when you were trying to do this story?
Actually there was a lot of support and encouragement from the LGBT and sex-worker community who heard about the initial idea.
7. Is this just a tale based on real events or are being and advocate in some form?
The events of the first issue are based on the history and raid of Rentboy.com by the Department of Homeland Security. After the first issue, it's a fictional political adventure with characters based on real people making real decisions with their life histories guiding their actions and motivations.
8.Have you written like this before and if so what and if not how did you find the experience becoming a writer?
This is my first time writing for a comic though it's not my first time with an interest in writing.
9. what is your ultimate goal with this?
The ultimate goal is to tell an interesting story that people will find sexy, fun, and informative. It really depends on how enthusiastic the crowd is and how far they want to take it.
I've mentally mapped out where the series is likely to develop and end. I believe stories need a definite beginning, middle and ending. We will be accepting input from readers to make the story more about their enjoyment. The readers are first priority.
10. How much of this is what you've personally gone through
I experienced the hope and excitement of an age where sex, community, art and adventure were all thrown lopsided. I've been shunned by hypocrites; I've had to have awkward moments of explanation where I was not sure my loved ones would understand or accept who I am; I've been slut-shamed and called ugly, and called beautiful and exotified. I've had to hold back crying when I've had to be strong for someone and held my temper when I've had to be professional. I've been afraid when my life plans have had a monkey wrench thrown in.
So read the series, be excited, and want to follow them into issue 2.
You're going to like where they take you.
You can find the kickstarter here and please pledge if you can the first in a groundbreaking new series that humanises an issue many don’t want to admit exists.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/honeybrute/velvet-collar-issue-1-unhappy-endings
1. what made you decide to do this project?
A: Between 1996 and 2015, male escorts enjoyed a prosperous and relatively safe time doing their job. Then, in August 2015, 2 weeks after Amnesty International called for the decriminalization of sex work, the NYPD in cooperation with the DHS raided the New York City office of Rentboy.com (the largest, longest running male escort advertising company in the world), arrested the staff, and resulted in the end of the business. This also came on the heels of the Ashley Madison hacking, and right-leaning political actions that came to dominate the modern environment.
Sex workers are among many of my friends and loved ones. My mother was an exotic dancer in Times square in the 80s and she faced many difficulties as well. So when this event happened, it had a large effect on the people I care about, and gay culture and sex culture that I experienced.
The stories of the men who are workers, in all their diversity, inspired this work.
2. how personal are the individuals used in the story--based on real life folks
The stories are very personal. The main characters are drawn from real men inn the adult industry. Abel Rey, Will Foster, and Scott Reynolds have been or are involved in the adult industry as porn performers. Rica Shay is an advocate and friend of the community.
The characters have their own histories in the timeline of the book series. These are often composites of experiences from one or more men in the sex industry. For example, Scott is a composite of three escorts who have been full time professionals for as long as 50 years. He agreed to play their roles, but the escorts themselves did not want their faces or names immediately attached to the drawings because of privacy concerns.
3. Did you try to find a publisher or just opted automatically for self publish?
Self-publishing felt like the right way to go because of the unique content and format. Moreover, modern tools made it very possible to act effectively without a formal publisher.
4. How did you find your artist and how closely did you work together to get this to look a certain way, the likeness of character to real people or to make it similar yet different?
I learned about Dave Davenport, the artist (www.marginalizedproductions.com) through our mutual contact Justin Hall, another comic book artist and teacher of comic book studies in San Francisco. We worked pretty closely form the beginning to get images that are vibrant and engaging. He was very respectful and patient with me as a new comic book writer. I'm very happy we are working together, he is an excellent partner.
Whether simple or realistic, we wanted the people and conversations to feel alive.
5, When did you realise that this was a viable thing that could be done?
We didn't know until we actually tried to do this. We did know that the topic has long been popular, controversial and had not yet been brought into the comic book world like this.
6. was there any kind of resistance from anyone when you were trying to do this story?
Actually there was a lot of support and encouragement from the LGBT and sex-worker community who heard about the initial idea.
7. Is this just a tale based on real events or are being and advocate in some form?
The events of the first issue are based on the history and raid of Rentboy.com by the Department of Homeland Security. After the first issue, it's a fictional political adventure with characters based on real people making real decisions with their life histories guiding their actions and motivations.
8.Have you written like this before and if so what and if not how did you find the experience becoming a writer?
This is my first time writing for a comic though it's not my first time with an interest in writing.
9. what is your ultimate goal with this?
The ultimate goal is to tell an interesting story that people will find sexy, fun, and informative. It really depends on how enthusiastic the crowd is and how far they want to take it.
I've mentally mapped out where the series is likely to develop and end. I believe stories need a definite beginning, middle and ending. We will be accepting input from readers to make the story more about their enjoyment. The readers are first priority.
10. How much of this is what you've personally gone through
I experienced the hope and excitement of an age where sex, community, art and adventure were all thrown lopsided. I've been shunned by hypocrites; I've had to have awkward moments of explanation where I was not sure my loved ones would understand or accept who I am; I've been slut-shamed and called ugly, and called beautiful and exotified. I've had to hold back crying when I've had to be strong for someone and held my temper when I've had to be professional. I've been afraid when my life plans have had a monkey wrench thrown in.
So read the series, be excited, and want to follow them into issue 2.
You're going to like where they take you.
You can find the kickstarter here and please pledge if you can the first in a groundbreaking new series that humanises an issue many don’t want to admit exists.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/honeybrute/velvet-collar-issue-1-unhappy-endings
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