My Brain Hurts (comics)

My Brain Hurts is a series of ten comics written and drawn by Liz Baillie and published in 2007 by Microcosm Publishing.^[1] It followed the lives of several queer teenage punks living in New York. It was notable for its overt politics (for example, a sticker shown on the cover of My Brain Hurts: Volume One reads 'STOP BUSH') and for its frank depiction of teenage sex, drinking and drug abuse. It also referenced many punk and queercore bands less known to mainstream audiences, such as Crass, Limp Wrist, The Haggard and Team Dresch. The series was collected into two trade paperbacks.

Characters

• Kate Callahan: The main protagonist of the story, thirteen year old Kate begins to question her sexuality early on, and through the series comes to accept it.
• Joseph Augustus 'Joey' Kaiser Jr.: Kate's best friend, Joey attempts to teach Kate to embrace her sexuality , as he has his. He is promiscuous and drinks heavily.
• Verona: An older teenager known for her promiscuity. It is Verona's kiss during a drunken game of spin the bottle that causes Kate to question her sexuality. She and Kate enter into a casual relationship following this kiss, but it ends when Verona kisses an man at a gig.
• Desdemona 'Desi' Machado: A girl who attends the same Gay-Straight Alliance meeting as Kate. The two hit it off and become girlfriends, but split up when Desi's religion and reluctance to sleep with Kate get between them..
• Nate: A skinhead with anger management issues who takes a shine to Kate. After she rejects him and Joey blows him a kiss, a group of his friends beat Joey so badly that he ends up in a coma. He gets help for his anger issues but is reluctant to turn himself in to the police to clear Joey's father's name of beating his son. Eventually he does, and becomes something of a reformed character.
• Joseph Augustus Kaiser Sr.: Joey's father. Although he is initially very intolerant of Joey's sexuality, and resorts on one occasion to violence towards him, he cares deeply for his son and is appalled at the suggestion that he beats Joey.

Collected Editions

• My Brain Hurts: Volume One: Collects issues 1-5. Thirteen year old Kate begins to question her sexuality after a drunken kiss with Verona at a party. She begins a tentative relationship with her, but this ends when she catches Verona kissing an older man at a gig. She dumps her and later meets Desi at a Gay-Straight Alliance at school. The two of them begin a relationship and Kate comes out to her mother, who is very accepting. Joey comes out to his father, who gives him a black eye and, when Joey attempts to steal his wallet, injures his arm. Joey lives rough for a while, before making an uneasy peace with his father and moving back home. He is then beaten by a group of skinhead youths and falls into a coma whilst giving an interview for an exclusive Catholic school. At the end of the volume, he is just beginning to awaken from it.
• My Brain Hurts: Volume Two: Collects issues 6-10. The series concludes. Kate and Desi argue over religion and Desi's reluctance to sleep with Kate, eventually breaking up. Joey leaves home permanently and ends up a barman.

References

1. ^ [1]