Oh for the love of... - FOLLOW UP

IT WAS EIGHTBALL.

You have got to be KIDDING me.

Yes, there is a lot of nudity and discussion of sex in Eightball, but none of it is gratuitous or pornographic. Of course, it contains just the sort of sexual realism that sends nervous hands to clutch at strands of pearls.

The thing I find most amusing about this revelation is that Eightball was handed to me when I was 16. I was already reading comics at that point, Strangers in Paradise, Young Heroes in Love, and Gen13 being my favorites. (That I can recall.)

And who, pray tell, handed me Eightball?

A counselor at my camp where I was a CIT.

It was a David Boring story, the one where he dates a girl because of her big ass. I loved the story so much, I went out and bought my own copy at Million Year Picnic on CIT Night Out. (The camp was in Boston, obviously.)

While a camp counselor/CIT relationship isn't quite comparable to a teacher/student one, the similarities are there.

I imagine my parents would have been much more upset about the teacher handing me Hothead Paisan than a "fellow" counselor handing me Eightball. Knowing my mom, she probably would have liked the Eightball story.

In the case of the teacher and student, I'm curious as to what inspired him to give her that comic in particular. If there was discussion and a relationship that would have inspired that choice, then what's the problem? Just as my teacher from junior year wouldn't have given me Hothead Paisan without us talking about queer culture and sequential art, I doubt this guy would have done the same with an issue of Eightball.

That said, if a teacher gives a student any kind of reading material (questionable content or otherwise) out of nowhere, then it's time for some questions.