In this week’s Illustrated PEN, Guest Editor Meg Lemke presents cartoonist and fellow Guest Editor Robert Kirby’s, Marry Me a Little. 

Lemke writes: In celebration of Pride Month, I’m delighted to feature the fantastic artist, human, and fellow Illustrated PEN series editor, Rob Kirby.

In this meditation on the institution, impulse, and rights of marriage, Kirby shows off his signature wit and empathy (and playful use of color). Why do we marry? (And why, sometimes, do we hesitate?) Straight folks have had the indulgence of ambivalence towards this tradition for long enough, LGBTQ folks need to be allowed space to worry over it as well as celebrate.

Let’s make room for feelings that aren’t slogans, that in-between of life and love. And keep a look out for Kirby’s forthcoming memoir, Marry Me a Little, which will continue this conversation . . .


Robert Kirby is a cartoonist, editor, and reviewer living in Minneapolis. Among his books are Curbside Boys (Cleis Press, 2002), The Book of Boy Trouble (Green Candy Press, 2006), the Ignatz Award-winning anthology QU33R (Northwest Press, 2014), and his latest, What’s Your Sign, Girl? Cartoonists Talk About Their Sun Signs (Ninth Art Press, 2015). His reviews and features appear in The Comics JournalPanel PatterRain Taxi, and other publications.