Max and Sven [Paperback]

Tom Bouden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2004

Max and Sven are childhood friends who maintain their friendship into adulthood despite Sven's being straight and Max's being gay. With equal doses of laugh-out-loud humor and wry insight, artist Tom Bouden highlights and dispels many misconceptions about gay and straight culture. Created in 1990 as part of an advertising campaign for a gay youth club, Max and Sven quickly rose to stardom with leading roles in their own comic.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Belgian comic artist Bouden's U.S. debut is a breezy and refreshingly angst-free tale that traces Max's gay sexual awakening from preteen friskiness to furtive all-boys school rendezvous and, finally, full-blown love when he meets Sven. When Max finally summons up his courage to confess his feelings, he must deal with the fact that Sven's feelings are not mutual. The friendship survives and grows. Along the way, Max's awkwardness and youthful paranoia are played for laughs, sometimes outrageously. The first 60 pages are Max and Sven's tale; the rest of the book is composed of one- or two-page sexy and humorous vignettes from Bouden's syndicated work, some of it dating back to 1994. One episode shows two men having sex while thought bubbles betray their complaints of sandpaper kisses, awkward positions and aching jaws only to end with both exclaiming, "That was the best sex I ever had!" Bouden's agreeably friendly drawings somewhat resemble Howard Cruse's Wendel strip. Both artists chronicle the social, political and sexual life of a gay community filled with witty, attractive (but not overly buff), sexually active men with normal neuroses and strong camaraderie. The art is sexually explicit (especially in the later vignettes), but the images aren't meant to be erotic. The playful frankness seems designed to demystify and normalize sexual activities between two (or among 10) men.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Green Candy Press (June 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931160295
• ISBN-13: 978-1931160292
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic and sometimes hilarious comic, May 28, 2008

By 

Christian Otto (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max and Sven (Paperback)

This comic is just brilliant. It describes in a very sensitive way the gay sexual awakening of Max and his growing friendship with Sven. Along the way we learn about Max's experiences in an all-boys school and later as a student at university. The black and white drawings are very nicely done and sometimes just hilarious. My favorite quote: I think my Pipilala is getting a claustrophobia attack.

Fantastic comic and with 96 pages more than worth it's price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite gay awareness story, September 6, 2007

By 

Ventura Angelo (Brescia, Lombardia Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max and Sven (Paperback)

Tom Bouden's touch on the issues of coming out and sexual self-awareness is unique. He unites a deep understanding of the young gay soul with a sharp sense of humour about the conventions and cliches surrounding the sexual and gay comingg of age. The enduring friendship between ha nmax and hetero Sven is a clear message on the importance of understanding and on what means to be a true friend. A great work!