As gay men, there are monsters in our closets that are frightening and the comical. For most of us the monster of coming out is one that terrifies and terrified us the most. Capturing the essence of that journey, in comic book form, Author Mark Julien joins us to share about his desires to use his creativity to help us discover the nurturing power of love, and the belief in one's self, can act as a catalyst for healing and self-acceptance in his new graphic novel - Becoming Abel.

Showcasing the importance of self-acceptance, this episode covers:

• Ways to activate self-care and self-love


• Candidly discusses the power of mental health therapy


• How the love of what you do can be the catalyst for being a beacon of light in the world

About Mark

Mark Julien is a Canadian writer and illustrator of the LGBTQ graphic novel Justin Case and the Closet Monster: Hope (2018). Named as one of the best LGBTQ graphic novels of that year by The Advocate magazine, Mark’s debut book dealt with the trial and tribulations of living in the closet. He has followed up with Becoming Abel (2024), a graphic novel set in the same fictional universe.

A 1999 graduate of the renowned Illustration program of the Ontario College of Art & Design (now OCAD University), Mark was a longtime contributing artist to Genre magazine, as well as to Men’s Exercise and Exercise for Men Only magazines, and an illustrator of greeting cards for Village Lighthouse and children’s books for Curriculum Plus. Mark earned his B.Ed. from Queen’s University in 2008 and is an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT), having taught visual arts and drama at the secondary school level. Mark married his husband Stacy in Kingston, Ontario in August 2009.

Connect With Mark

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