ALL DOLLED UP: Anderson's "Dress Up" is one of many featured in his concept show "Only Dick, No Jane" currently on display at the W Midtown Hotel

This year’s Pride celebration began not with a bang but a statement Wednesday night with a conceptual art exhibit at the W Atlanta -Midtown Hotel. The show entitled Only Dick, No Jane is a series of works by artist Larry Anderson that explores the labels and stigmas projected on gay men through light and somewhat humorous concepts.

As host of the event, W Midtown provided attendees with Asian inspired hor devours, progressive music via the house DJ and Pride-tini’s, a cosmopolitan-based martini drink made with Skyy Passion Fruit vodka, X-Rated liqueur and cranberry juice.

Anderson, who teaches art classes at SCAD in Atlanta compiled this series to inspire candid dialog about prejudices which he eludes to in his show introductory statement as “redefining the argument.”

“To redefine the argument is to take sex out of the equation and just have us be people,” explains Anderson. “The whole religious right thing is over the sex issue and that’s such a small part of our lives. When we’re young its not any part of our lives, its about desire.”

In his works, Anderson positions Dick, a primary character in the Fun with Dick and Jane reading development books of the ’30s in several translations of well known homophobic slurs.

Only Dick, No Jane is on display in the W Atlanta-Midtown Hotel mezzanine throughout Pride weekend, Fri. October 30 through Sun. November 1.

(photos by Edward Adams and Lisa Baxter)

As we near the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, all you Obamaphiles may want to swing over to your local comic shop on Wednesday and pick up a copy AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #583. In this issue, Spider-Man is in D.C. on Inauguration Day and teams up with the “Yes we can” man himself to stop a plot to thwart the swearing in of America’s 44th president.

Obama has been a long-time collector of Spider-Man comics so it seems only fitting that Marvel will give him some props. Now don’t expect to see Obama in a super suit, but you you’re sure to see an “Obama bop” between he and the web slinger to show up in a frame or two.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #583 hits the shelves nationwide Wednesday, January 14, 2009.  Look for special variant covers featuring the President-Elect and Spider-Man to be featured on nearly half of the printed issues.