book collection "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: Hot Off the Griddle". (This is the first Kyle's B&B book
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there is also a special black & white edition available of the third book, too!
Both are easily available to order on Amazon. Just click on either of the banner links below to get there!
Additionally, if you want to see the strip from the very beginning, you can order the first two book collections,
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Also, take a few seconds to vote in the NEW Poll, (upper right hand corner). Who's your Supporting Character dream date? See how your answer matches up with everyone else! (If you want to see the results of the last poll, "Who's your B&B Dream Date", just scroll down to the next post).
44 comments:
Oops! I'd rather been hoping that the kiss was Jeff's attempt to get Matt and Brad back together, but apparently not!
So what happens now? I'm guessing... that Greg will switch to a storyline involving other characters for a while and let us stew!
I don't like the feel of this. It looks almost like Brad is the victim. Screw that!! He messed up with both of them. He should have connected with Matt better than he did. I can see Matt feeling guilty but Jeff is hot and he's feeling bad. Sometimes we need "fast food." Jeff is a good guy and nice looking. He's smart and well spoken. He can get anyone. Lets see some emotion from him instead of all that ruggedness and hardass mentality. maybe he's falling for Matt. He has a heart too.
Man, Jeff is hot. I love his hunky body and hairy chest. I can see why Matt has fallen for him. Brad had his chances with both Jeff and Matt. It's propbably time for Brad to find someone else. But how are they going to break the news to him? Brad is going to be devastated now that he's lost the two loves in his life. I almost feel sorry for him.
I'm surprised that Matt slept with Jeff. Matt's always seemed like a very sound guy, for example, he didn't take any smack off of Lance, and he wanted to go slow with Brad; so this seems so out of character.
Didn't Matt tell Brad that he doesn't have sex on the first date?
And now he's done it twice.
This is just a thought, but, isn't it strange the way Jeff was always showing up when Matt and Brad were together. And except for the nurses outfit, it was almost always in something hot and skimpy, showing off his body.
It seems to me that the only way Brad ever had a chance with Jeff is if he were to come out of the closet.
Being "out" didn't exactly help Jeff. Why would he think Brad would be rushing forward to "come out".
And yes I agree. I'm thinking we may have to wait to see how this plays out.
This is Brad's first relationship (Vincenzo was too short to count in my book), so no wonder he screwed things up so badly. Sucks that he's gotta get his heart stomped on -- but that's how newbie relationships go...
That said, it didn't seem like Brad and Matt were ever in love, so the whole situation makes some sense to me.
I didnt think Matt would sleep with Jeff either, it seems out of character to me also. I dont like Matt and Jeff together. How could Matt do something like this? He has to know how much it will hurt Brad. This is way out of character for him, but he was drinking,so...- Tevans
Another thing that upsets me is that Jeff has the nerve to say Brad is one of his "best friends" .-Tevans
Why are you all pset at Jeff? the two would never of hooked up IF Brad had treated Matt with respect! Now his heart is broken? So? He did it to himself! You can't just toy with people. For the record, I would have done it too.
BM
I hate that this happened! Brad deserves a chance at happiness, whether he's in the closet or not. Sure he's young, naive, and still dealing with way too many insecurities, but who hasn't been in his shoes at one time or another?.
While it's disturbing this happened, Matt and Brad were officially broken up. I'm not justifying Matt and Jeff's hook-up, but Matt was well within his right.
I love the Jeff Olsen character, but I'm inclined to agree with Makkari, this seems like a set up, although, Jeff is Brad's friend (supposedly). Also agree that Matt and Jeff shagging on the first date does seem out of character for Matt, drunk or not.
Brad says that a few days have passed since he and Matt broke up, so Matt has had at least 3 days to meet up with Jeff for lunch or dinner and a couple of phone calls. There really isn't anything in the strip to to imply that tonight was not Matt and Jeff's first sex date.
Besides which, doesn't this situation have a precedent in Ross and Rachel's "we were on a break"?
Well, if Brad had paid attention to his man and not disrespected him( which is obvious to everyone around him )then he wouldn't have lost Matt. I think that the pairing of Jeff and Matt is a lot better than that of Brad and Matt. Besides, who here has not had sex on the first date before?
BM
Aw, Sookie Sookie, now!
Wow -- not only loving the story line, but your skill in drawing the human anatomy is outstanding. Not talking "sexually enticing", either.
You are truly skilled as an artist. Your drawing are truly artful -- particularly Jeff in cell 8.
Phil & Mike Boila-Elam,
Justus Boyz
i wasn't going to post. but i changed my mind. when i saw the first panel i already knew the rest of the strip and was upset that i was right when i finished reading the final panel. i am a member of the i heart brad fan club and yes i feel bad that this happened to him. i didn't dislike jeff that much before but i truly don't like him now. matthias should feel bad and guilty if he ever loved brad. remember brad is in the closet and i don't think he has really felt the way he does for anyone like he does for matthias? talk about walking around the house being awkward after that sexcapade. i guess matthias and jeff have no shame when either one of them run into or see brad. brad's not dumb. he'll be able to put two and two together. but what will be his reaction? if he really loves matthias he'll forgive him. but will matthias now want a relationship with jeff? in my fantasy i would have richard reprimanding - brad or jeff or matthias or jeff and matthias at the same time or brad and matthias at the same time. and what could kyle say to his best friend brad that could make him feel better? and lance could possibly laugh at matthias for his behavior.
Why is everyone so surprised that men are immature, selfish and self-centered when it comes to relationships and commitments. It's not like this is news.
M.
This is the last episode of Kyle's B&B I'll ever read.
I was speechless in the last update and felt drawn in to the emotional twists you've introduced in this one.
Thank you for bringing all the highs and lows that can come along in any relationship. I am curious as to how things will continue to unfold between these three---individually and mutually. It looks like all parties involved have a bit of growth ahead...something, in my mind, is always a welcomed thing--whether we realize it at the time or not.
Bravo Greg!
Keep up the amazing work.
~Z.
For months we've watched as Brad repeatedly stepped all over Matt feelings and most people were conspicuously quiet. The very second that Matt exacts some kind of revenge on the "so called" dream man (i.e. blond haired and blue eyed) people are up in arms. Could it be that people are upset that a person of color would finally stand up for himself and determine that he's worth more than just a hot lay?
I still think we're going to see Matthias wake up and realize it was all a dream--and then have a long, serious talk with Brad.
9:24, could it be that race has nothing to do with it at all? Rather it's more about the character of the individuals and how none of the actions of these guys make sense? The jump to the race angle is tired.
Intriguing discussion about this episode. For the few who mentioned that this seems out of character for Jeff and Matt, I think it's VERY in character for both of them.
If you go back to the early episodes of the comic strip, Jeff has always been a bit of a player. Remember how, during his first visit to the B&B, he was hitting on Kyle in a big way, even making out with him on the couch? And later on, how he blew off Brad, ignoring his e-mails, when he was back in South Carolina, presumably because he'd hooked up with somebody else?
And Matt seems to be a guy who has an ideal of finding the right guy and taking things slow, but like many gay guys, tends to go right to sex once the drinks are flowing and the mood is right. It happened with him & Brad, it almost happened with him & Richard, and now it's happened with him & Jeff. Coupled with the fact that Jeff was the object of Brad's obsession, I don't blame him at all for spending the night with Jeff.
Sean
The race angle never even occured to me. Maybe it should have but I think the reason we are all upset is that everyone, including Matt, understood that Brad was immature and inexperienced. He was making the mistakes all of us made when were were new to the dating scene and to the hard work relationships can be. I think we felt that Matt was on the same page, he was giving Brad some room for mistakes.
Then Brad crossed the line. He is like a boig baby who can't think before he talks. Matt's feelings were hurt and with reasons. I think we were all hoping that a cooling off period will give both of them better perspective on their relationship.
The reason everyone is so shocked is because we didn't figure out the Jeff angle. And, as a previous poster said, Matt is human with his own imperfections.
I really don't see a race angle here at all.
M.
Me again, the I heart Brad fan club member. Regarding the perceived race angle, I've been reading this comic strip for a very long time; well a long time for me and I bought and read the book when it first came out. After finding out about a previous strip that Greg wrote, something about an Angel, I found and read each one of those strips and even asked Greg if there was a book I could purchase about that strip; nope. LOL. But I must say I have not seen another gay comic deal with race as an after thought like this strip. Bi-racial dating is a non-issue in this strip. Opps. I feel that this is going to be a long post so forgive me and get settled in. Remember Brad and Matthias's first date? Both knew each other in passing and didn't really know each other. They had answered each others ads on the Internet. No photos were exchanged and they were surprised when they realized that they had set a date with each other. And surprised again that they had so much in common. After having a long talk into the wee hours of the morning they began a relationship (leaving stuff out but you can check the archives). If my memory serves me correctly, Matthias and Lance either met for dinner or had a date that didn't turn out well, long before Brad and Matthias hooked up? Again, please check the archives. Matthias got angry/left the relationship because he felt Brad was not in love with him but still in love with the guy he was being compared to - Jeff. And I think this is Brad's first real love because the other guy, Jeff, didn't really date Brad. I could be wrong? Check the archives. Greg, the artist/writer deals with a lot of issues in this comic strip, religion, interracial dating, butch camp, gossip, race, hypocrisies, gay men that don't have perfect or gym cut bodies (Ferrelli), disabled gay men, Canadians (I'd date one), etc. I can understand perhaps from your life perspective you might see that race could have been the reason that Matthias left the relationship. But from my historical reading of this comic strip, to me, that would not be the issue - just wouldn't fit in I don't think.
-Choc
It's interesting to see you list all the issues Greg DOES deal with. I think he does present bi racial couples but I don't recall him ever "dealing" with it. It's almost like he is color/race blind. But the real world is not blind, even the most liberal world. Wouldn't there be some discussion? Clearly it's not an issue for Brad and Mattt and Jeff, but you would think Brad and Matt would have discussed it at some point.
I'm disappointed that this happened between Jeff and Matt. First of all, remember that Jeff is HIV+, and I wonder if he has even told Matt about that yet. He may have, but we don't know for sure (help me out if Matt has been present in a previous episode where Jeff disclosed it). It's Jeff's duty to tell Matt, and it's on both of them to protect themselves. Also, it seems predatory of Jeff to have forced the issue in the bar. That being said, Matt should be mature enough to resist Jeff if dating him would bother his conscience. Apparently it hasn't; it's almost as if Matt is doing this out of anger or spite or revenge against Brad. Or maybe Matt was just curious about Jeff's red pubic hair(LOL!)? Whatever the case, Matt is a bright, decent, and very HOT man, with a beautiful face, the body of life, and a worthy profession as an EMT, and I hope he sorts it all out soon so that readers of the strip may learn lessons themselves and apply them in practice to their own lives.
MD
As an African American myself, I really don't see any exaggerated race issues here where the "man" is stomping a brother down. Matt is just being a full blooded hormonal guy, like we ALL have been at times.
Please let's not drag "Blue-eyed Blond White Boy blah blah blah" into this. Greg has handled this strip really well in terms of race relations. You have men who are disabled, African decent, European decent, Hispanic diescent, Asian decent, etc etc, coming together as a whole. Believe me, there are enough comics out there with really negative portrayals and racist stereotypes! Let's not project it on to Kyle's B&B.
Would the world be so bad if we were color blind? This doesn't mean giving up cultural herritage and pride, but understanding and accepting our differences. As someone indicated earlier though, our world is not so "color-blind" and a few people might not be "feelin'" the interracial dating thing.
Matt is human. He's entitled to screw up every now and again.
While I dislike this current story line, everything happening has been a reality in some gay man's life somewhere in some fashion. I can't say I wasn't Mr "Wholesome" in my 20s or early 30s ...who can?
If I were in the situation, I don't think, today as a late 30-something guy, I'd forgive Matt or Jeff, but I know people who forgive, forget, turn the page, and go on like nothing happened.
I'm curious to see how this will play out.
I see the race issue. Never have we seen white men going to bat over a black man in any comic strip. I truly think that it's one of the main reasons to which People are so upset. If it were not the case, then those same people would have been just as upset when Brad continued to disrespect Matt IN FRONT of everyone.
There are people who state "I will never read this conic strip again" over this. Why? They didn't state that when Brad insulted Matt so why this?
Everyone here wants to pretend that race does not play an issue within the gay community when we all know that it's a lie. ANYWAY, Matt did not make any mistakes, Brad did when he took Matt for granted! You all want to come down on Matt for being human, how about coming down on Brad for comparing Matt's pubs to Jeff's! That is low and crass. If I were Matt, I would have slept with Jeff too. Jeff is hot and available so why not?
I like this storyline and I hope that Jeff and Matt become a couple!
BM
I don't think anyone is upset at Matt because he is black. If we are upset it's because good relationships are hard to find in the American gay community. We always have this romantic notion that we hope will happen to us, but the reality is that it's hard to find a good man who wants to be with you as much as you want to be with his ... and that you feel that way at the same time.
I think we were all rooting for Brad and Matt , they seemed so sweet. We were hoping that Brad will wake up and realize what a good man he's managed to snag and that he stop screwing it up. We were disappointed that Brad indeed managed to screw it up.
Still we had hopes that they will get together. But Matt is human and Jeff can be selfish and now we are upset that a relationship that was worth salvaging may have been fractured beyond repair.
If anything, I think the guy who said he won't return was upset at Greg for "daring" to take the plot in this direction.
I don't see a race issue. Sometimes I even feel that Greg has people of different races just to make his drawing more interesting. I don't recall race to ever be directly addressed in the strip, but I may be wrong.
Don't like too much this storyline, mainly because Brad, who didn't behave nicely in his relationship with Matt (to say the least), in this way is being shown as a complete victim.
I would like to remind that Brad was the guy that commented on Jeff's pubic hair in a sex session with Matt, speaking about faults.
Actually, I didn't like the Brad-Matt couple, it looked a bit artificial, and indeed Brad's behavior in the last strips before the breakup sounds like a confirmation to this. I wouldn't like to see them together again.
I have the feeling, anyway, the Matt-Jeff couple will not last too much, I see it more as an ONS.
The feeling that you get from the whole story is thatBrad's still too immature for any kind of long-lasting relationship.
No, race isn't an issue. Why just look at the "Who is your B&B dream date?" poll results. The only person that places lower than Lance was Richard. But I'm SUUUURE that's not because Lance is black.
Lance was low because of his personality (that personally I find intriguing, but he's doubtless a bastard), not because it's black
- L -
I wonder what Greg's thoughts are about all the feedback with the current storyline? I had emailed him with my thoughts, but never got an answer.
This is probably one of those subjects best not to answer, lest give it more fuel, and I don't know Greg personally, but I doubt he'd have an ethnically diverse comic strip, if he were racist.
Still, Greg if you're reading the comments, throw us a bone and please put this issue to rest....
Only a few more days till the next episode.
L, You state Lance is a bastard and that's why his score is low. Yet Richard is a nice guy and his score was lower. Moreover, In the most recent poll, Jeff, who sleeps with his best friends ex, mere days after their breakup is currently leading. Just an observation, but it kinda throws a monkey wrench in your theory.
But isn't this why gay men have such a hard time sustaining a meaningful relationship? The whole color issue is prevelant and it is something that is alive and well within the gay community. I DARE any of you to google : gay racism...That said, Brad INSULTED Matt on every level. He acted as if he didn't want Matt and then when he lost him, he was all sad. What did he think was going to happen? How many of you here have broken up with your respective boyfriends because he couldn't stop thinking about someone else?...What was Matt supposed to do? Be a stool pigeon? Everyone here thinks that Jeff is hot without regards to Matt's attractiveness. Brad thought this and Matt sensed this and then stood up for himself and walked away. THAT'S what a mature person would and should do...A lot of gay men get treated like crap and they are afraid to walk away because they are afraid of being alone. Well, they are still alone anyway because in their boyfriends minds, someone else is in their place...We should applaud Matt for DARING to do the thing that a lot of us are afraid to do: walk away UNTIL he is treated like the beautiful man that he is. Black or white.
BM
Yes I agree, my main point was only that Lance wasn't low because black but for other reasons.
Richard came last in the poll possibly because people here don't like the "queer attitude", for Lance is was possibly his character (and actually they kind of disappeared from the strip, at least for dedicated storylines; this is valid for Eduardo too, however)... the reasons can be various, I don't really see it as a race issue.
I must say though I'm not American, so perhaps I have a different perspective.
- L -
Brad is NOT the victim!!
The bastard didn't know a good thing when it was in face,he was too busy looking for greener grass......
The hell with him!!
BM,
I agree with you that racism is very much alive and well in the gay community, as is in mainstream society (experienced waaaaay too many times to count from both sides of the fence). I'm not disagreeing with that. Nor am I disagreeing that Matt had every right to walk away from a negative situation where he was being compared to someone else. He should have, he did, right on brother!
My "concern" about the whole thing, when you look beyond Matt being Black, Brad being white, is if you take race out the equation for a second, and I know its hard because African Americans live with being Black 24/7 (to remind you, I myself am African American, so don't get offended), it's a matter of betrayal on a level we can all identify with, the human heart.
Would you like it if your boyfriend you broke up with got together with your best friend, saying you were all African American? I've had the situation happen to me, and believe me, it hurt.
Now as to Matt's attractiveness, damn straight Matt is a hot character! More so than any of the other characters for me. Matt adds to the strip where I see Lance detracts from the B&B (I see Lance as a negativity to further prejudicial attitudes, but that's my take).
Ours is not a perfect world, unfortunately. I'm curious to what suggestions you might have this storyline go. Email if you would like to discuss this further. Just Check out my profile for my email.
Ian
To whomever raised the race question: Thank you.
I don't agree with your point of view, but raising the question turned this discussion to a very intelligent insightful commentary on the comic strip. It's so refreshing given that most blog discussions on the internet are quickly reduced to "shouting" matches and put downs. It is to Greg's credit that he has created characters that bring out the best in us even as they display the worst in themselves.
Thank you all, I really enjoyed these last two weeks.
Ian or Darktomahawk:
I tried to e-mail you but couldn't get through. My e-mail:bjmorr170@yahoo.com...Now, on to the post: I see this happening all of the time between black and white men. The amount of racism between the two when they form a couple is astounding! The dynamics is something that is shocking as well. How often has you or anyone gone through this type of racism? When you come out, you are supposed to be represented by a rainbow of MULTIPLE colors and not just one.
Evidently, Jeff is not Brad's friend because if he could make the moves on Matt that quickly then he is not really a friend is he? A friend is someone that would be there for you and not betray you. BUT He and Matt were broken up due to BRAD'S negligence and admittance that he too thought about what it would be like to be with Jeff. Brad did this to himself. Noone but him. I read some of these comments that stated that Brad was: "naive," "kind-hearted." But when it came to Matt is was: "how could he do this?"
With regards to Jeff, everyone here thinks that he is hot despite him being HIV+. He was voted the "hottest dream date" despite him sleeping with his "best friends" man(?)" Why is there such a disparity of how he is treated as opposed to Lance who is a dog and is OPEN about it? PLEASE don't insult my intelligence and state that color or race has nothing to do with it.
BM
BM,
I'll send you a private email regarding my response. I do agree with some of what you're saying, and then again, there are somethings I don't. I don't want to make this issue any more messier than it has become.
The current strip has me a little unsettled, but I chalk it up to life in "Gaydom" where anything goes and most people have thrown words like "trust," "loyalty," "honesty," "friendship,"and "committment" out the window, where everyone is out for themselves. I'm seeing this even in the smaller gay communities, like where I live. (Maybe I'm just becoming more aware of it now that I'm almost 40?)
Of course straight folks do this all the time, so let's not make this a gay v. straight thing, LOL.
Perspective, Interpretation and Accountability (or lack thereof)...these are the sum of the myriad of thoughts and feelings that come to mine on a whole from what I've observed here (story-wise and from the commentators). One of the wonderful things about life is that we have the opportunity to learn and grow from our mistakes--regardless of wherever we may have started from.
I see that in the case of Brad (with much more still to learn--he's not even out to himself, remember?)--and more thoughtfulness in the futures of both Matt and Jeff. I have an interesting perspective on this because I have experienced the betrayal of a best friend who was like a brother to me with a former boyfriend---while he was still my boyfriend. I am a multi-ethnic man who has a perspective of both "black" and "white" in America. ("Race" is superlative---we're ALL "Human.") I am an HIV negative man who's had relationships with both HIV positive and negative men.
I am now in the relationship of my dreams and my spouse happens to be a blue-eyed, blond haired man--who treats me as I treat both him and myself--with the utmost in dignity, love and respect.
Given our collective experiences, perspectives and lives...let's give these characters the opportunity to "breathe" a little to do the same. :)
~Z.
A guy's "best friend" doesn't do to the guy what Jeff did to Brad.
If Matt really had any feelings for Brad, he'd have pushed Jeff away, even if he were attracted; three days isn't enough time to get over strong affection for someone.
Brad needs not only to come out, he needs a new "best friend" and a new lover and partner.
What these two guys did to Brad will hurt him beyond imagining.
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