LOS ANGELES — GayPornTimes.com Editor JC Adams has released “Gay Porn Heroes,” a top 100 of gay adult stars, through Berlin-based publishers Bruno Gmunder.
“‘Gay Porn Heroes’ celebrates 100 iconic men who rose above the pack and have inspired us for over four decades,” Adams said in a press release. “From early icons Casey Donovan and Fred Halsted, to current skinflick studs like Reese Rideout and Chris Rockway, they remain constant. They soothe and provoke, flirt, irritate and tease. They are the models, the actors, and the fuel for our fantasy. No matter how dramatically the world changes, we always have a need for heroes.”
Adams told XBIZ that “Gay Porn Heroes” is a photo-book with text; and the top 100 performers — which are arranged in 10 categories, including The Bodybuilders, The Macho Men, The Boys Next Door, The Superhung Studs and The European Fantasy —were all chosen by him.
Featured stars range from Al Parker to Brent Corrigan, Jeff Stryker to Matthew Rush, Lukas Ridgeston to Pierre Fitch, and each is honored with a mini-essay written by Adams, who also penned an essay explaining each of the 10 sections into which they are sorted, he said.
"As with ‘Porn: From Andy Warhol to X-Tube,’ Bruno Gmunder wanted more bang for the buck (no pun intended),” Adams said. “They wanted some more depth and heft to the photobooks, so they sought out editors with a writing background and experience in the industry who could provide some context to the photos.”
According to Adams, the book deal with Bruno Gmunder began with a profile in last year’s "Porn: From Andy Warhol to X-Tube" — another Bruno Gmunder photobook with text written and edited by Dr. Kevin Clarke.
“That interview led to my contract with Gmunder,” Adams said. “The ‘Porn’ book explored the history of all-male adult entertainment and sold very well. Gmunder wanted to do a follow-up and I pitched the idea of focusing on some of our iconic models over four decades.”
Adams and the Gmunder design team worked over a period of several months earlier this year, he said.
“It came together very, very quickly,” Adams said. “In seeking out artwork, only two companies turned me down, which unfortunately meant that I had to drop from the book some classic stars from the early days of porn, if I was to meet my deadline. It can be tricky finding print-quality artwork from the early days of the industry. But everyone else was very cooperative.”
“Gay Porn Heroes” is available for purchase at Amazon.com and TLABooks.com; and retails for $69.99.