Al ShapiroAl Shapiro.

Allen J. Shapiro (February 7, 1932-May 30, 1987), better known as Al Shapiro and by his pen name A. Jay, was a gay Jewish American artist active from the 1960s through 1980s. He is credited with the creation of the first-ever gay comic strip, The Adventures of Harry Chess: The Man from A.U.N.T.I.E. Shapiro is well-known for his erotic art, not only in Harry Chess, but also for Drummer magazine, the Caldron (a sex club in San Francisco), the Leatherneck (gay bar), and numerous gay bathhouses (some of which he often visited). Shapiro was Drummer's founding art editor.