My essay, “Around 1987: Don Melia and HIV/AIDS Comics,” has been published in Comic Velocity: HIV & AIDS in Comics (2021), a catalog for a Visual AIDS exhibit curated by artist Paul Sammut. In this essay, I recover the legacy and memory of British cartoonist Don Melia, who brought communities of artists together to advocate for LGBTQ people and those living with HIV/AIDS across his career, which notably included his creation of Matt Black (1986-1987) and his editing of Strip AIDS (1987), Heartbreak Hotel (1987-1988), and Buddies #1-2 (1991). My essay and the volume as a whole reprints some fairly rare American and British comics that deal with HIV/AIDS.

Photograph of cover page for my essay.