Customer Reviews

Ethan Exposed: Further Adventures From Ethan Green's Unfabulous Social Life

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Ethan Exposed is the third in the published series of the cartoon adventures of thirty-ish gay guy whose life is so instantly recognisable to all of us, and the friends and lovers who share his social circle somewhere in New England, judging by the odd clue - Cambridge Massachussetts, perhaps? The drawings are well draughted (English spelling - I'm English), and the real joy lies in the tiny incidental details, which means that to get the most out of an Ethan Green cartoon, it needs to be revisited constantly, and this is always a pleasure.

The character of Ethan himself, who is sympathetic but by no means perfect, just like the rest of us, is the true reason why these cartoons are so good. We see him coping with his ghastly Jewish family on compulsory visits home, consulting the mercenary (though Eth doesn't realise this) Madam Zolna about the future, trying to persuade his on/off lover Doug to commit himself and buy a house with him, and indulging in cybersex only to be interrupted by a chatty instant message from his adoring mother.

Other joys include the Hat Sisters, supportive of Ethan at all times, Ethan's almost-human cat Lucy, who acts as a kind of Greek chorus on much of the action, and the odd cartoon which does not involve Ethan at all, but is a kind of commentary on other aspects of gay life.

This book, and the other two, are collections of cartoons published in the Washington Blade and elsewhere, and long may Eric Orner continue to draw them, and observe the gay scene so realistically.

I will be brief. This book by Eric Orner is often hysterical; but it goes beyond being funny and those who have read Orner's three previous books know this. It is a journey into a world where humor, love, death, and relationships are explored in entirely new and different ways. A book that will make you laugh at loud and then rush to mirror asking is this me? Is this my life? And it is, in all it's saddness, comedy, and moments of bumbling glory.

Poor Ethan.

Orner watches his world carefully and with sympathy and empathy he brings his characters to life and makes me laugh.

A few of things spouted by characters in Ethan's world are direct quotations from my ex-boyfriend (Who now, by the way, has frosted his hair and gained 30 pounds---he looks like a bloated Vanilla Ice. I'm not even vaguely bitter.)

I bought all the Ethan books at once and never tired of his antics.