While many of us tend to associate the graphic novel and comic book genre with superheroes, in a cultural market dominated by companies like Marvel and DC that produce blockbuster movies based in on graphic novels every year, there are plenty of other types of comic books out there that are available to you with your library card! Specifically, the library has a great variety of graphic novels by queer authors telling queer stories in a variety of comic genres and suitable for a variety of ages. Here are just three of those to get you started.
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata
This autobiographical manga, which was published after it gained a cult-following on the Internet as a web comic, tells the story of a twenty-something woman’s struggles with her identity and social interaction. Although the story hinges on the narrator’s first experience of lesbian intimacy with an escort at the age of 28, it really explores the rest of her life in much more detail – such as her struggles with social anxiety, depression, eating disorders, her relationship to her parents (who are constantly disappointed in her), and how all these things coalesced into her finally coming to terms with her identity as a lesbian late in her twenties. While the content is certainly heavy, especially for readers who may have experience with self harm or eating disorders themselves, it is ultimately a heartwarming and well-illustrated coming-of-age story about owning one’s queerness that is sure to bring the reader some laughs to accompany the tears.
Stage Dreams by Melanie Gilman
If you were searching for the queer Western runaway love story of your dreams, look no further – it is here. Set in the New Mexico Territory in 1861, Stage Dreams is the story of a queer Latinx highway robber and bandit named Flor, a.k.a. Ghost Hawk, who kidnaps a beautiful transgender Southern belle named Grace, who is on her way to San Francisco to escape the Confederacy. Although they first meet as kidnapper and kidnappee, it isn’t long before a romance buds between the two of them and they begin an adventure to fight against the Confederacy together. Come for the fantastic Wild West aesthetic of the artwork, and stay for the combination of unbridled romance and queer history that Melanie Gillman has woven into this extravagant and exciting yarn.
Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost by Keezy Young
Another love story, Taproot is about Blue, a boy who is in love with his best friend, Hamal, with just one problem – Blue is a ghost. Although Hamal can see ghosts, so they can still spend time together, there are other things going on in their town that are affecting the afterlife and that threaten their ability to be together – and that, unbeknownst to Hamal, may be putting him in grave danger. This graphic novel offers a combination of adorable, soft, pastel-colored illustrations, queer love and friendship, and paranormal lore all in one. It also gently explores themes of grief and loss as Blue struggles with the gap between those who are dead and those they have left behind. It is available from the library both as a physical graphic novel and as a downloadable e-book.
~ posted by Hannah P.
Leave a Comment