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Best of Comics List is up
Jan. 7th, 2024 10:35 pmAs promised, the best of comics list has been posted and can be accessed on the No Flying, No Tights site.
Favorite Queer Fiction and Comics
Aug. 11th, 2019 06:44 pmI think it's important for people to find themselves in the media they consume, and one of the things that's excited me lately is the increasing availability of fiction and comics that feature queer characters. I wanted to share some of the queer comics and fiction that I have enjoyed. Note this does not include the score of webcomics I read; I might do a separate entry on those if folks are interested!
Comics:
Fiction:
Comics:
- The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag (starts with The Witch Boy): Aster wants to be a witch, but his family tells him that he must be a shapeshifter because he is a boy. When something starts attacking his family, it might be up to Asher to save the day with his unique perspective. I adore Ostertag's art, and the stories are full of adventure and heart. (genre: fantasy; representation: no specific representation but addresses the challenge of not being able to live authentically because of rigid gender rules)
- Check Please by Ngozi Ukazu-Eric Bittle, a gay Southern boy, travels north to join the Samwell University hockey team. Among the boisterous hockey team, class, and copious amounts of baking, he finds love and strength. This story is super sweet with a well-developed romance that I (who has a lot of trouble with many romances) can get behind. (genre: "sports"; slice of life; representation: gay; bisexuality)
- Nimona by Noelle Stevenson--A former knight turned villain harasses the Institute; one day he gets a new sidekick:Nimona, a young shapeshifter, and things get crazy. This off-the-wall fantasy adventure will appeal to those who love (and can read) gay subtext and monster girls. It's one of my favorite books! (genre: fantasy; representation: gay protagonist and amazing shapeshifter)
- Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani: After his classmates find out he's gay, Tasuku Kamani contemplates suicide. Instead he meets the mysterious Someone-san and finds himself meeting with people with similar questions. (genre: slice of life, with some surreal aspects thrown in ( I say this because Someone-san does some really weird things that might or not be superpowers); representation: protagonist is gay and one lesbian couple so far)
- The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg: A young woman must protect her lover from a man's leacherous attentions by telling him stories. Consider this a lesbian version of Arabian Nights--however, it has its own unique, feminist mythology. (Genre: Fantasy, with strong mythology/folklore overtones; representation: lesbian)
- My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame: This story follows a stay-at-home dad, Yaichi, who meets his dead brother's husband for the first time. Yaichi will have to confront his own prejudice as he tries to connect to his new family member and learn more about his brother, with whom he hadn't been close to for some tiem. This is a sensitive look at an individual trying to work through his own prejudice, but it doesn't get awful and depressing ( I can promise a happy ending!). (genre: realistic/slice-of-life; representation: gay)
- Lumberjanes: The Roanoake cabin girls get into all sorts of magical adventures during summer camp. I love the zany storylines and awesome, strong female characters. (genre: fantasy; representation: lesbian, transgender (both mtf and ftm)
- On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden-While at boarding school, Mia falls in love with Grace. When Grace suddenly vanishes, Mia feels directionless until she joins a team, who restores old areas of space. One day she gets a chance to see Grace once more. I really related to Mia's intense feelings of depression and uncertainty. Walden's art is also gorgeous with flowey panels and neat uses of color. (genre: science fiction; representation: lesbian relationship, nonbinary character).
Fiction:
- Tensorate series by J.Y Yang (starts with The Black Tides of Heaven): A series of novellas that follows a sibling pair whose mother is a brutal ruler; the siblings find themselves confronting monsters and getting mixed up in a rebel group. The setting is extremely imaginative with Asian influences, and the stories are short and action-packed. (genre: fantasy; representation: nonbinary/genderqueer)
- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon:Two nations with very different outlooks will have to unite in order to subdue an ancient evil, and it's up to an aloof queen, a witch disguised as a lady-in-waiting, and a disgraced dragonrider to make this happen. This brick of a book is totally gripping with a fantastic cast made up predominantly of awesome women. (genre: fantasy; representation: lesbian)
- Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (starts with Every Heart A Doorway): This series follow children who walked through a door to another world. After Every Heart A Doorway--which sets up the premise and introduces you to this house that takes in children who return to the "real world"--the stories predominantly tell the story of the children's adventures. I like the unique premise and the fact that McGuire naturally incorporates queer representation. (genre: fantasy; representation (thus far): asexuality, lesbian relationship, transgender (ftm))
- Amberlough Dossier by Lara Elena Donnelly (starts with Amberlough): Amberlough is a colorful, if corrupt, city, but a new facist party, however, is on the rise, challenging the livelihood of the vivid characters of the nightlife. Cyril and his lover Aristide (a smuggler and emcee at the cabaret) are playing their own games as they try to defy the party and live their own lives. This series is technically fantasy, yet it's low magic and you can clearly pick up on the historical influences--something I really enjoyed. I also like that the characters are extremely flawed and lovable, and that contributes to the dark and gripping nature of the story. Because this features a lot of corrupt, evil powers and spy games, this is probably the darkest work on here, but the series is so good that i'm including it. (genre: historical fantasy; representation: gay)
