Although dismissed by many underground fans as overly "cutesy", others found it a refreshing change of pace from "edgier" comix.

[5] For much of the 1980s, he created Wendel, a strip (1–2 pages per episode) about an irrepressible and idealistic gay man, his lover Ollie, and a cast of diverse urban characters.

In 2003, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art featured Cruse alongside Bill Schmeling, Michael Kirwan, Rob Clarke, and Adam (Jack Bozzi) in its Deliciously Depraved exhibit.

[6] Cruse contributed to the queer comics anthology series Juicy Mother, edited by Jennifer Camper, which first appeared in 2005 and then in 2007.

On March 17, 2010, an original one-off titled Lubejob penned by Cruse was published in Nib-Lit comics journal.

[8] Cruse was chosen as a keynote speaker, alongside Alison Bechdel, for the inaugural Queers & Comics conference in 2015.