Gay comics are a varied realm. There are many interesting variations...

I love Greg Fox's Kyle B&B because there are so many endearing characters, and a sparkling dialogue. You'll feel home, with your Friendly Neighborhood Gay family (not to mention Steve's!) I also love Wendel by Cruse...maybe Oliver and Wendel or Sterno may drop at Kyle's? That should be fun!
Third Ralph Konig, outrageously funny, grotesque and satyrical.
Then the naughty Brad Parker and the alas late Mills of Poppers. He could have been another Cruse. Eric Orner is very funny and poignant, a sort of gay Jon (with his cat Garfield), relationship-wise.

All of the other choices are better for plot and humor ... without a doubt. But I still have a fondness for Tom of Finland because his were the first gay cartoons I'd ever seen ... well, and they're sexy. Not that others (e.g. Kyle's B&B) aren't sexy. Still, it wasn't until I'd see Tom's stuff that I realized that there were overtly masculine gay men out there. He also opened by eyes to what could be done with art. I studied the way he shaded things to make them look shiny, for instance, and copied those techniques in my own drawing.

Oh, surely. I too love Tom's sexy men (apart for his uniform and leather fetish that leaves me cold). But a "Comic" IMHO should be more than the "slam, bang, thank you sir(s) -and occasional madam" that I fear KAKE stories are all about.

I’d say that depends on the goal of the comic. Tom’s stuff is essentially porn … with occasional humor. I don’t know that I want my porn to have more than a pretext of a “scene” for the plot and then a bunch of sex. While romance melds well with plot and character, for porn, those things tend to get in the way, at least for me. It’s like I’m thinking with a different part of my brain, and I don’t want to shift back and forth.

This isn’t to say that in many ways other works by other cartoonists or authors who are very successful with engaging my … umm … high brain functions. I have a fondness for Tom because of my history with him, but I wouldn’t say that he has produced great stories or great art. Most of the other works/artists you mentioned I like, but I can’t say that I’ve really gotten a strong emotional connection to them. They mainly seem to be those slice of life, humor comics, which are fine, but they don’t tend to draw me in for a substantive length of time. Those that emphasize character and plot, don’t usually have the kind of deep characterization or compelling plots that graphic novels have. I think this is in part a structural thing. The strips have to support a reader’s interest every time they appear, so they can’t have a few weeks where character development is going on but the plot isn’t moving forward much and the humor is put aside. When they empahsize the plot there is a little plot and resolution almost every time, but there doesn't tend to be that building comflict that ends in a big climax. (Well, Tom's books do.)

And those that emphasize the humor, I tend to find more “amusing” than “really funny.” I think that the “build” in humor, where the conflict keeps getting worse and worse for our protagonist (e.g. Lucy in the candy factory), has trouble appearing in those strips because they aren’t structured in a way that allows it. I’ve found that I enjoy them more as weeklies or monthlies than I do in collections. Perhaps because they were intended to be read originally in periodicals, their structures are such that they don’t work as well for me in collected forms where they can’t have a building conflict.

I haven’t read all of the works you mentioned, however, like GREAT ACTION YARNS, and that might buck the things I’ve been talking about. It seems entirely likely that they could have that build of conflict that works so well in humor and adventure pieces.

To each his own. I didn't want to diss Tom'a art, far from it, but I think Tom is more an erotic artist than a cartoonist.
Brad Parker's "Great Action Yarns" were a sort of burlesque, erotic-sci fi panels published in his book Oh, boy! Really funny.
What I mean is thatsome comics, like Kyle B & B develops characters in the course of the story, depicting relationships and tranches de vie introducing you in an interplay of lives you can compare with your own.
And what's more endearing than Cruse's Wendel, Ollie and Sterno's antics whilst they fight for gay rights in Reagan's era?

Actually, I think the subject of ToF's books have prevented greater appreciation of his comic storytelling skills...

I was once discussing about role of story vs art in comics, where someone pointed out that there are great comics out there which rely solely on quality of story and where art is, while not actually bad, is clearly subservient. Then the question was raised if there are examples where the opposite is true, and the answer is: Tom of Finland.

As far as stories go, they are quite good. Dramatic structure works, there is beginning, middle and ending (sometimes, but not always, literally a climax). Humor is thrown in to spice it up, body language and connections between characters are usually handled superbly (especially considering that the comics have little to no lines). But let's face it, the main point is the art and because of this the stories show admirable constraint (and even with page-size panels he still packs more story in one issue than Marvel or DC nowadays...). Comics are clearly art-driven but ToF is still one of the better writers in erotic comics too.

But nevertheless, I voted for Konrad & Paul.

I agree with everything you said. Very well put.

So why did you vote for Konrad & Paul. I'll have to admit I'm not familiar with the series.

I too think Maajumala has good points.
Paul & Conrad is a German comic by Ralf Konig ( see alphabetical index on site here
http://www.prismcomics.org/profile.php?id=902)
very funny, satyrical and grotesque. Aso hot, at some points.
I advise you to try reading it. It's good stuff!

Is it okay for me to comment, since I was once this artist's editor?

I LOVE "Poppers." I loved it long before I met Jerry Mills and got to know him and call him my friend. "Poppers" had it all: It was funny and sexy and deep (a rare combination) and really nailed certain truths about the '80s in L.A. I always called Jerry the "Carl Barks of gay cartooning" because his work was so well done and effortlessly funny and just plain cartoony.

Frankly, it's useless to name a favorite. Sometimes it depends on what mood one is in. I also love Howard Cruse's work, for instance, it takes my breath away and has inspired me in many ways. Then there was Tim Barela's "Leonard & Larry," which was the first real gay sitcom. Rob Kirby is another who tells meaningful stories in a humorous way with a hilarious drawing style; I wish I could do continuity strips like his. David Kelly, Eric Shanower, Tim Fish -- they're all geniuses in their individual ways. And the women cartoonists! Roberta Gregory, Jennifer Camper, Alison Bechdel -- what's not to like?

Fortunately, no one has to choose a favorite of anything. What's your favorite musical note? What's your favorite molecule in the universe? I say, enjoy it all. And give the artists more money!

I never thought that there's any gay comic