of the narrative, but he had a "sense of improvising" as he did not script it out beforehand. The serialization appeared under the title Disgust in issues 21–23 of Yummy Fur, at the time published by Vortex Comics. With the twenty-fifth issue of Yummy Fur in 1991, Brown switched publishers to the Montreal-based Drawn & Quarterly, who published a collected and revised edition of The Playboy in 1992; this was the first graphic novel from the publisher. Brown rescripted, relettered, and reformatted the book for an annotated edition in 2013, also from Drawn & Quarterly. Reception and legacy The story gained praise from fans, critics, and other cartoonists, and earned a Harvey Award nomination in 1991 for Best Single Issue or Story. The Playboy, I Never Liked You, and several shorter pieces placed No. 38 on The Comics Journals list of the best 100 English-language comics of the 20th century as "The autobiographical comics from Yummy Fur". Cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez asserted, "The Playboy and I Never Liked You are probably the best graphic novels next to Maus". Critic Frank Young called it a "pivotal work" in the autobiographical comics trend of the early 1990s. Critic Darcy Sullivan considered it required reading for those who are serious about comics and a "landmark look at an artist's growth", referring to the pace with which Brown's work matured over the course of the three issues of its serialization. Brown stated that several women took offense at the book, saying it glorified pornography. Hugh Hefner sent Brown a letter after The Playboys publication, showing concern that someone who grew up during the sexual revolution could still suffer such confusion and anxiety. Darcy Sullivan compared the pornography-obsessed autobiographical work of Joe Matt in Peepshow unfavourably to The Playboy in an issue of The Comics Journal, to which Brown responded with a defence of Matt's work in a later issue. Brown's attitudes towards pornography have since changed greatly. When he made The Playboy he was struggling with his embarrassment over buying pornography; two decades later he vocally advocated for the decriminalization of prostitution in Paying for It (2011). See also Autobiographical comics Confessional writing References Works cited External links PDF preview at Drawn & Quarterly's website 1992 graphic novels Autobiographical comics Autobiographical graphic novels Canadian graphic novels Drawn & Quarterly titles Books by Chester Brown Comics by Chester Brown Playboy Comics set in Canada Comics set