ALL-STARS: Episode 5

Okay, sorry, you've got to forgive me, but I'm still in a lovey-dovey daze from this episode. Seriously, it was just too much. Comics, drama, costumes--what else could a boy want? Though honestly, the episode's beginning was a little rough--playing F-I-S-H on the basketball court? Ugh, seriously, drudging up all sorts of childhood trauma for this nelly-boy artist. For an episode based entirely around comic books, focusing on basketball for the mini-challenge felt pretty random. Why not have a fun comic challenge to start things off? Like, maybe have a comic book artist show up who is also totally into drag queens and drawing them and he'd just hang out with the girls and feel special and loved and he'd be on TV finally, FINALLY on the Drag Race, andhe'ddrawthemall and itwouldbesomagical andthen......

Whoops, sorry. Totally should have been on this episode. Just saying. And why didn't we get a few shots (or ten) of the Pit Crew shooting some hoops? Come on, Drag Race producers! GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!

Shad
Shad

In any case, the comic theme was lots of fun. (I should point out that my buddy Justin Hall wrote a whole graphic novel starring a drag superheroine, Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny, and it's great!) It was also great to see the queens puzzle through their various origin stories, despite their difficulties with the challenge. Seriously, girls, you ever need help writing up some comic stories? I'm your man. Call me. Please.

Favorite line of that segment? Shannel: "He's the Disney bitch. And... I'm just an evil c*nt."

Favorite observation of that segment? Raven's mom is a fox! Must run in the family...

ANYWAY! I loved all the runway looks. The queens are sickening, and it's great to see them having fun with their giant-sized superhero personas. And Ru was looking her absolute best--I nearly drew her, but I already had four outfits to illustrate, so we'll just have to make do without. Also, it was a thrill to see Wendy and Elvira get so into the judging process. Right?

Rujubee-archenemies
Rujubee-archenemies

The lip sync between Raven and Jujubee was, of course, intense and wonderful. Some folks seem to think that the queens essentially broke down on stage and failed to perform. But the way I saw it, both of them, wracked with emotion, performed the song the only way they could: as a wrenching tribute to each other.

Chad brings up the Hunger Games a lot, and Rujubee essentially pulled off Katniss' trick at the end of the first book--manipulating the judges to let them both live.

And for that, I'm grateful.

As Chad said in Untucked: "Each of you bitches is on point."

--Prints of this week's queens are available right here in my online store!

ALL-STARS: Episode 4

Okay, I'll say it: I liked Team Yarlexis. They kicked ass at the cheer-reading challenge, sported colorful, fun outfits for the "girl group" performance, and worked best as a team among all the All Stars. But, yes, they were highly polarizing among viewers, and the whole "she-mergency" debacle totally derailed things. In any case, one last portrait of Alexis and Yara, because I love them, no matter what you say.

Yarlexis
Yarlexis

Also, I was privileged to join in on a Drag Race discussion at SLATE withBryan Lowder, soclick here for some especially catty commentary on this week's show.

I thought the overall "girl-group" challenge was pretty great, and although I prefer the focus to remain on the queens, their "celebrity" guests did allow for some good drama, as well as an outsider's perspective on our All-Stars. (Obviously, the candor with which Chad and Shannel discussed their tumultuous relationship was particularly moving.)

It was fabulous to see the queens perform for live audiences, because these girls know how to work a crowd! I thought all the teams did well--the editing made it hard to really evaluate each queen's performance. But for me, the standout was Jujubee, who does, indeed, "give good mouth."

Jujubee
Jujubee

 As we saw last week, this competition is brutal and unforgiving (still can't believe Latrice and Manila are gone!) and this episode's lip sync was especially rough--we've been dying to see someone push the "she-mergency" button all season, but its debut was a dud. Ah, well! At least we got to see a whole lotta Raven!

Raven
Raven

As always, I have a million prints of my Drag Race work available here! You can also buy print collections of the third and fourth seasons of RPDR right here!

ALL-STARS: Episode 1

Hey girls! You miss me? Yes, I'm back to illustrate the ALL-STARS, and it's gonna be SICKENING. I would have loved to pose these new pieces sooner after the first episode aired, but I was a little busy finishing up work on a fabulous new iPhone game calledDRAGOPOLIS. Sorry 'bout it! I also did an official All Stars comic for Logo, so this boy has been busy!

Anyhoo! On to the main attraction: the ALL-STARS! Was anyone as thrilled as I was to see these girls gathered together? They were all sporting luscious-lady-looks, but I was dying to draw Manila in her smokin' outfit. (Seriously, best headpiece in Drag Race herstory!)

Manila
Manila

For me, a lot of the fun was seeing what dynamics emerged between all these fan-favorites, guessing at the crazy, interweaving histories they all had. And having the girls pick teams certainly revealed some interesting tidbits: Who expected Tammie and Nina to pick each other in the first round? Alexis wanted Shannel as her top choice? Latrice wanted Nina? Sheer insanity!

But still, compelling TV, amirite? Pandora's pairing with Mimi was rough, providing ample tension and drama for everyone. I felt bad for Pandora, who saw her hopes for the competition dashed, but I also felt a lot of sympathy for Mimi, who was earnestly trying to make the best of things.

Yara
Yara

(For anyone who wants more Boxx in their life, check out DRAGOPOLIS, in which Pandora Boxx wields a giant sword to take out her fiendish drag opponents. Seriously. COMING SOON! Also starring in Dragopolis? YARA SOFIA!)

The first episode's main "challenge" was a pair of photoshoots, but it ultimately felt like an afterthought--clearly, the focus was on the girls and their drama, as it should have been. But unfortunately, that deflated some of the stakes during the runway evaluations--it seemed pretty arbitrary which teams were in the top or bottom, but maybe that's just me. I'm sure, however, that we can all agree that the queens were SERVING IT on the runway, especially Team Ruji!

Raven_and_Juju
Raven_and_Juju

Ugh! GAGGING!

Honestly, I was hoping Pandora and Mimi would prove to be a scrappy underdog team who would prove everyone wrong about their chances. Sadly, Mimi was matched against Chad Michaels. And hunty, if you're lip synching for your life against Chad, you're gonna end up dead.

Chad
Chad

Be sure to check out my Print Shop to see which of these and other Drag Race images I offer as 11" x 14" art prints!