Comics with Pride

June 16, 2016 by Anna 2 Comments

This June has proven to be a hard one for the LGBT community. We expected to be celebrating a year of marriage equality, but instead, we mourn the deaths of fifty young LGBT people.

Even as we do, our straight friends and family stand with us. One gunman destroyed many lives, but how many have been saved by supportive family and friends? How many lost people have accepted the rope thrown to them by thousands of brave others who dared to come out of the closet, or to break social convention and accept their loved ones, and show the world that we could live together peacefully?

We need to mourn this atrocity. But as we do, let’s also remember the hordes of blood donors, the piles of sympathy flowers and the vigils, not to mention the hundreds asking when and where they can donate to a victim support fund. When bad things happen, focus on the good people who turn up. They’re the ones who count.

And now for some books.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (also Dykes to Watch Out For)

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Alison Bechdel’s world is tiny, and it is ruled absolutely by her tyrannical father. When she grows up, goes to college and comes out, she discovers a shocking family secret: her father has been quietly dating his male high school students for years.

 

Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse (also Wendel)

Toland Polk and Ginger are great together, except for one thing: Toland is gay. As he supports his African-American friends in the midst of the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s, Toland also wrestles with his own identity.

 

Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh

The day Clementine catches sight of Emma by chance is a fateful one that touches off a powerful, tempestuous romance. As their relationship grows, the two women struggle with Clementine’s family’s rejection of their lesbian daughter.

 

Pregnant Butch by A.K. Summers

Ever heard that lesbians are do-it-yourselfers? Teek and Vee prove that there’s a kernel of truth to every stereotype! When the stars align, the couple decide that Teek, a masculine-presenting woman, will be the one to have their son. Through the identity dust-up that follows, Teek learns that being pregnant and being butch aren’t exclusive.

 

Kaptara by Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod

Absurd and funny, this book follows the adventures of Keith, gay Earth-man scientist who isn’t terrific at his job. When he crash-lands on the barbarian planet Kaptara, he immediately proclaims himself Keith, Prince of the Dance Floor and chickens out of a quest. Which he ends up going on anyway. Hilarity ensues.

 

Infinite Loop by Pierrick Colinet and Else Charri

Teddy’s job is to fix time anomolies. Unfortunately, one of those anomolies is a beautiful woman named Ano. Will Teddy defy the laws of time and space to be with the girl of her dreams?

 

 

The Wicked + the Divine by Kieren Gillan

The gods are among us, and they’re ready to rock. When the deities of old are reborn as pop stars, the world falls in love with them even as they fall into bed with one another. But in a short while, it’ll all end in flames…sooner for some than others. As tensions heat up, gender outlaw Lucifer may be the first god to be tried for murder.

 

Wuvable Oaf by Ed Luce

Oaf’s a big, strong guy. You’d better not mess with his kittens. (He loves those kittens.) Don’t get in the way of his search for love in San Francisco’s alt rock scene either. But do read this book, because whatever else Oaf is, he’s inherently wuvable.

 

Flutter, v. 1: Hell can wait by Jennie Wood

Lily wants the girl, but the girl’s hard to get. Using her shapeshifting powers, she becomes a boy…but learns that pretending to be someone she’s not doesn’t solve her problems.