Ampersand was born in 1968 and read "Harold and the Purple Crayon" not long afterward; further updates as events warrent. ... and a proud member for 2 years 49 weeks

I (Ampersand, a.k.a. Barry Deutsch) was born to a queen in 1968. Well, not really, but I was born in Queens, which is even better.

I’m a cartoonist; you can find more about my cartooning on my home page. Of particular note is my current, but for now apparently abandoned, comic book project, Hereville, and my ongoing political comic strip Ampersand, published in the lefty economics magazine Dollars and Sense.

Some favorite movies: Mulan, Fanny and Alexander, Ran, Henry Fool, Duck Soup, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Cyrano de Bergerac, Bullets Over Broadway, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Sideways, Singing in the Rain, West Side Story, Pulp Fiction, City of Lost Children, Brazil.

Some favorite TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Deadwood, The Sopranos, Absolutely Fabulous, WonderFalls, Dead Like Me, Roseanne, Pennies From Heaven, Six Feet Under, West Wing.

Some favorite musicals: Sweeny Todd, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Company, Merrily We Roll Along (notice a pattern?). Also Falsettos, The Secret Garden, Candide, Parade, Avenue Q.

Some favorite comics: Cerebus (despite itself), From Hell, Zot!, Dicebox, Maus, Dykes To Watch Out For, Stuck Rubber Baby, Love and Rockets, the Weirdo-era R. Crumb, Peanuts, Pogo, Calvin and Hobbes, Krazy Kat, Barnaby, Cages, Understanding Comics, Finder.

Some favorite books: Guns, Germs and Steel, The Riddle Master Trilogy, The Secret History, To Kill a Mockingbird, Too Late To Die Young, The Accidental Tourist, Breathing Lessons, Red Mars, Duluth, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, all the Harry Potter books (but especially Prisoner), Misery, Doomsday Book.

I live in a big house with a bunch of my friends (including “Alas” posters Kim (basement variety!), Bean, Charles, and Elkins) in Portland, Oregon; the house is painted bright blue with bubble-gum pink trim. Aside from that, I watch too much TV, work for a non-profit historic society (among my other hats, I’m a wedding coordinator), write about feminism, fat equality, and whatever else catches my interests, and beyond that I just hang out a lot.