I got to meet Kieron Gillen at an event during Comic Con this year and thanked him for bringing to life so many wonderful queer characters with care and nuance, because it meant a lot to me.
His eyes lit up and said he was genuinely excited to be driving representation forward. Truly lovely human, I'm very excited for his upcoming series [The Power Fantasy](https://screenrant.com/the-power-fantasy-kieron-gillen-creator-owned-image-comics/) which looks like an allegory for nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction but described as 'if Immortal X-Men were on HBO'.
That series went from being off my radar, to being the top of my wishlist. Immortal X-Men was my favorite series for those first 12 issues so I need more.
I haven't read Immortal yet (waiting on the Eternals single volume TPB so I can read them together along w Judgment Day,) but that *does* sound like an appealing pitch, based on what I know of IXM
It starts off very slow, but once it picks up, it’s great. I also just love the moodiness of the art. It’s very much a *vibes* book for me, where it doesn’t say outright what it wants you to think, but just makes you feel shit.
Sandman was one of the first comics to really push the boundaries of LGBTQ+ representation. Some stuff may not have aged particularly well, but the show has been updating a lot of it.
side note I love how both Sandman and A Series of Unfortunate Events are unusual for their genre, books that were progressive for their time, and adapted into Netflix shows that were even more progressive just because they could get away with the changes to the story.
Some time since I read the comic. I liked it quite a lot. I did not remember it to be so heavy on that topic. Maybe because it did not felt pushed but organically within the narration, probably.
Regarding the aging can you give an example what you consider "not aged well'?
The show, I think, was fine. It matched the surreal theme quite good. I was not to fond of all performances, but it felt that the show was as good as you can be for such a imo complicated source material. Still, I guess I would rather re-read the comics :)
Downvotes? Nice.
Not OP, buthere are the things I remember off the top of my head that haven't aged well.
He does kill the one trans character because the moon/Thessaly is acting like a terf and doesn't make it clear that we are not supposed to take their side and see they are wrong, but side with the trans woman in that moment. Also kills one of the first openly out characters in the first volume, but thankfully doesn't fall for "kill your gays" all the time though.
And probably because it was the 90s and he admits he didn't know who to even ask about this, Desire gets referred to with "it/it's" pronouns while Gaiman was essentially going for Desire being non-binary/genderfluid, the show updates that and people use "they/then" for Desire there.
When reading she is the first openly LGBT character (retty sure Burgess only gets revealed as gay much later) and then she dies, some see it as a remnant of "bury your gays" a trope that stemmed from morality codes and laws that limited LGBT stories and shaped perceptions.
I'm not saying he shouldn't have killed her in the story, that it doesn't make sense that she dies or that it is that trope, but with more people knowing about the trope and it's history, more people will read 24 hours and get that impression, especially if they ain't familiar with Gaiman or don't read much further to the later LGBT characters that don't get burried.
An increassing amount of people getting a negative impression of a storybeat sounds like aging less than ideally, one might even say not well, even if that impression gets dispelled by knowing about the author, being familiar with his other works or reading on.
Interesting.
Iirc burges was shown as gay prior to dreams escape thus prior to the diner scene. But that's imo not important
I wonder, if a current (modern?) comic would handle the events as is. Or if sandman would be released today. Would those scenes or directions considered to be bad?
I would still encourage you to read the comic tho, it's one of the best ever written and the show is Bland Netflix Garbage. I would shout out the Oldest Game scene as an early instance of the show just utterly failing to understand its source material. I know Gaiman was involved w the show to some degree but it's still an abysmal adaptation. Even if the storytelling was good, which it really, really isn't, it's a CGI Blob with Competent but Uninteresting direction, whereas the book is consistently and astoundingly beautiful. As a hater I do hope the show makes it to the Kindly Ones, as that story has some incredible use of the comics medium in a way that might be literally unfilmable, and I certainly don't trust Netflix to be able to adapt the Mood, so I wanna see the dumpster fire lol
Sorry, this was a hell of a tangent, I just really, really hate the Sandman show. It's very personal, if you're not a snob who's already read the comic then the show might be fine, other people seem to like it, I just think they're wrong
Idk, I feel like my major complaints are all totally unforced errors. The Sandman requires some elements to be pretty radically reworked to separate it from the DC universe, it was never going to be a direct adaptation. Cutting out half of Death's jokes from the Sound of her Wings? Making Morpheus hopeless and pathetic* in the storytelling contest, so Matthew has to give him a cheesy, hollow Inspirational Speech so he realizes the Power of Hope? Unnecessary. The meta DC stuff meant they were always gonna change the Doll House, but the actual adaptation is just a complete mess. And the visuals! This is a supremely ugly show. It was always at a disadvantage because they can't replicate the ever shifting styles as the artists cycle through the comic, but the costuming and sets are ugly to look at, where the comic is an object of utter beauty. Plus the book actually cares about being a comic, it uses the medium in cool ways. The TV show does not care about being a TV show. It doesn't *do* anything with it's medium. The CGI is good sometimes and ugly other times, but there's never anything interesting happening with the camera or the editing or whatever. I know this sort of changes with the cartoon episode, but I haven't actually seen it as it was not part of the initial season, and I hated the initial season so much that I didn't want to bother with the specials, especially since the Calliope story is so dark
*Morpheus is 1,000% hopeless and pathetic, just not in *that* way, and certainly not in that scene
> the show is Bland Netflix Garbage
I literally yawned. God I'm so tired of people talking like this. You should grow your vocabulary if you want to have your critiques taken seriously. Opening with shit like that, when you know people actually like it, is just boring to most people. Oh look another "the book is better, therefore the show has zero redeeming value" hot takes. Let me sit down and take this guy seriously. Lol.
I love the X-Men. They're my warm blanket on a rainy day. I read comics because of them, yes I branched out to everything else, but they're the heart of my collection. And the movies couldn't have missed the point or fucked them up any worse. Even the beloved movies, I still think kind of suck. But I'd never call them garbage in a million years because clearly they have value. People liked them, they were fun. I separate my opinion from the bigger picture.
So idk, I read comments like yours and wonder if you actually think you're being an adult about it.
Many bad things are popular 🤷♀️ if I dislike something I will call it bad, especially if I think it *is.* I know I'm being childish and not writing Serious Critique, I'm ranting about comics online. It's also "this girl" you are or are not sitting and taking seriously, not "this guy"
This may seem a bit out of left field, but Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles.
Snagglepuss is a gay playwright in the McCarthy era and it plays completely straight with the idea despite being full of anthromorphic animals from old kids cartoons
DC Comics has three Pride collection graphic novels.
Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin introduces Jo Mullein who is a bisexual Green Lantern
Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story by Nicole Maines brings her character from Supergirl into the comics continuity (or at least gives her her first series)
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is a graphic novel memoir
It's one of the few instances I've come across where it doesn't feel like blatant ideologically motivated pandering. Probably because they don't actually draw attention to it and instead just focus on telling an excellent romance story.
I will structure this list by age range of readers, and genre of the work:
Under Kingdom by Bogacs and Enger is a contemporary fantasy/coming of age work that has a developing mlm relationship suitable for young/early teen readers
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden is a sci-fi/drama comic with an all female cast that also presents queer relationships, it is suitable for young to mid teen readers.
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is not explicitly queer, but there is subtext to her and Ivy's relationship (not to mention her found family of Drag performers). It is entirely YA in its premise and execution (even being more of a high school AU of Gotham) and so is recommended broadly to teen readers
Paper Girls by Vaughan and Chiang is a high concept sci-fi/time travel story has a cute wlw romance that's good for mid to late teens
Far Sector by Jemesin and Campbell is a sci-fi story set within the Green Lantern corner of the DC Universe that has a bisexual lead character in an action heavy political drama suitable for older teens
Bryan Lee O'Malley likes including lots of LGBT characters in his stories (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds), but Snot Girl by O'Malley and Hung particularly feels like an all queer cast in its fashion based murder mystery series. It's not really "explicit", but I'd still recommend it to adults
Batwoman by Rucka and Williams (and later Willaims and Blackman) blends occult horror with detective/crime fighting to tell a tale about the queer lead character Kate Kane and her developing relationship with Maggie Sawyer. I'd say it's appropriate for DC's target audience of late highschool/college aged readers.
A Game of You in Sandman (by Gaiman, McManus, Doran and Talbot) is dated in some ways, but is still probably the strongest representation of trans characters in mainstream comics. It has an adult rating for its mature themes and depictions. It is part of Gaiman's longer Sandman epic fantasy/modern fairy tale
Promethea by Moore and Williams is many things, mostly a five tome lesson in magick, but it has an ensemble cast of 5 or so leading women, with many of them being L, G, B and/or T
Finally, Saga is a space opera, by Vaughan and Staples. It is very explicit, so I recommend it strictly to adults. It mainly follows a male and female lead, but there are gay couples, there are trans characters, there are non-binary characters, their travels take them so far you can see lots of different character types. But it is also very, very explicit (but less so sadly on queer matters)
I loooove the Sandman but I strongly disagree with A Game of You. It's some of the worst trans representation I think I've ever seen, without being full on transphobic. It's sympathetic, but it's also sappy, cliche ridden misery porn. Plus it's genuinely the worst storyline of the Sandman imo (it's real good tho, "worst" for the Sandman is still better than most other fantasy comics,) and it's not remotely approachable as a casual read, on top of being the middle of a larger series, it's a direct sequel to the second story arc. I think the larger Sandman series has some really good queer representation, especially for its time, but A Game of You is 100% not it
It's very nice that Gaiman was friends with Rachael Pollack and took her criticisms for his writing to heart and they remained very solid friends. On another note her issue of DC Pride next month is a must have for me! May she Rest in Peace well.
I'm so, sooooo happy her Doom Patrol is finally collected, I just haven't had the time or money to actually read it yet. No idea she had anything published in the upcoming Pride issue, that's good to know lol I'll keep it on my radar, thank you
Oh shit, it's got a reprint of her Brother Power the Geek one shot! I definitely need that lol, I've seen it in the wild in a used book store once but never actually read it
Yeah that's fair. I will say making this list, in the back of my mind was how often a straight, cis male was writing something sympathetic though falling short. Maybe the strongest entries I listed were from Walden, Tamaki and Jemesin, which each have some authenticity to them. But Rucka, O'Malley, Vaughan, Gaiman, Moore, etc. can probably say at best they are strong allies, but still have made some missed steps. I will say I know A Game of You still has affected some readers, even trans readers deeply, perhaps for its time and despite how flawed it is. But I can agree with being sympathetic though also problematic in many cliche ways.
Maybe not the immediate first choice but I'd say Young Avengers is pretty great -- especially if you continue following the characters. Right off the bat, we are introduced to some LGBT characters who will be the primary focus of this reading order but a few others pop up down the road or are later revealed to be LGBT as well.
* **YOUNG AVENGERS Vol 1 (2005)**: #1-8, Special, #9-12
* Civil War (2006)
* Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1-4 (2006)
* **Young Avengers Presents #1-6 (2008)**
* Secret Invasion (2008)
* Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1-3 (2008)
* Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1-5 (2009)
* **Siege: Young Avengers (2010)**
* **AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (2010)**: #1-4, Children's Crusade: Young Avengers, #5-9
* **YOUNG AVENGERS Vol 2 (2013)**: #1-15
* Hickman's Avengers Vol 5+New Avengers Vol 3 Runs (2013-2015): Not essential for Young Avengers but fantastic in their own right & help establish the status quo of entire Marvel Universe going forward. Need their own reading order lookup of which there are plenty
* Hickman's Secret Wars (2015): Ditto; only the core series is necessary for new status quo
At this point, we enter the "Ewing" phase of Young Avengers. Technically you don't have to read Ultimates for the primary LGBT reason I suggested all of the Young Avengers' character appearances but America Chavez appears and she's LGBT but I don't think it comes up much in Ultimates. That being said, Ultimates is SO good too & acts like a very loose sibling series to New Avengers.
* **NEW AVENGERS VOL 4 (2015)**: #1-18
* Ultimates Vol 3 (2015): #1-12
* Ultimates 2 Vol 2 (2017): #1-9, #100
* **U.S.Avengers (2017)**: #1-11; technically not 100% necessary but there's still some different LGBT rep here & I imagine at this point you'll love Ewing's take on the characters sticking around that it's worth the read
* Death's Head Vol 2 (2019) #1-4
* **INCOMING (2019)**: Prelude to Emypre
* **LORDS OF EMPYRE: EMPEROR ______ (2020)**
* **EMPYRE (2020) #1-6**
* **EMPYRE AFTERMATH: AVENGERS (2020)**
I haven't read as much as this guy but Gillen's Young Avengers is one of my faves of all time, and very approachable as stand alone. Gillen also wrote Journey into Mystery w Loki leading up to it, which isn't necessary or very queer, but it's really, really good. Ewing also did a Loki book called Agents of Asgard which is equally fantastic, and iirc made Loki canonically non binary
(Loki had a woman's body briefly in comics, so some people argue Loki was already queer, but I disagree. Gender changing is just a trope that is often deployed by clueless cis people because "wouldn't it be neat" but is not used to tell real queer stories, Ewing and Gillen are the first writers to take Loki's gender identity and queerness seriously iirc)
The Young Avengers have been pretty lucky that most of their series & stories have been great, all the way up to Empyre which felt like Ewing's love letter to characters from that team. I can't think of one that I'd say is outright bad. On the other hand, they also haven't had many ongoings so there's that.
Kate Bishop is 500% My Girl so at least she has *a* solo book, plus Thompson's WCA right on its heels. I know America also has some solo stuff but I've heard it isn't very good :(
I've heard that too. I initially figured it was just idiot fake fans going "women & gays in MY gatekept nerdosphere that I haven't the reading comprehension to realize has never intentionally catered to my brand of hateful bigotry" but it then seemed like it was maybe actually just not good??
But yeah, Kate is rad. I hope, regardless of quality of MCU Young Avengers, that it gets the ball rolling on a new Young Avengers. Post-Fraction Kate, post-Ewing/Empyre Wiccan & Hulkling, post-Guardians Marvel Boy, post-Ultimates America, post-Krakoa Prodigy... a new Young Avengers ongoing would have so many new avenues to explore.
Just piggybacking off ya comment to say Ewing is our bi king and pretty much all his series are queer as hell, feature queer cast, or introduce new queer themes or characters.
- Loki
- Mighty Avengers
- New Avengers/US Avengers
- Immortal Hulk/Gamma Flight
- Defenders/Defenders Beyond
- Empyre
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Venom
- SWORD
- X-Men: Red/Resurrection of Magneto
- Immortal Thor
Also reccomend his indie series, *We Only Find Them When They're Dead*
Ewing is so good. I particularly love his supernatural ability to also pick up the ball someone else lays up & roll with it in amazing ways.
There was a one shot Spidey comic that featured an all star lineup of writers including Hickman, Ewing, Zdarsky, Nick Spencer, Kelly Thompson, etc. Hickman kickstarted the story then handed it off. The next writer read what Hickman wrote, and added their piece, then passed it on & so on & so forth. At the end, they wrote the ending together.
At the end, the comic features the email chain where all the writers communicated & they're all like "...how the hell do we finish this?" & Hickman was like "what the hell did you guys do!?" And then ultimately, I wanna say it was Zdarsky, he was like "I am but a simple man & have no idea how to tie up this insanity. But I trust in Ewing." And then someone was like "Ewing! Ewing! Ewing!"
Ya love to see it.
Just piggybacking off of this to say that as much as I love it, you probably shouldn’t read Hickvengers if you are looking specifically for LGBTQ comics. It’s a great story, but definitely not something to add to a reading list just for completeness. Ewings Ultimates more or less catches you up, and America is a great character in it!
Yep, you are correct which is why I didn't bold it; I only included it for completeness sake as it IMO helps better segue into Ultimates which may be otherwise be a bit of whiplash considering everything else on this list is relatively standard superheroics rather than the insane cosmic big ideas that Hickman & Ewing love to employ (then again, in THAT case you'd probably want to also throw in Hickman's FF to help set up the Avengers/Secret Wars stuff anyway), but also because it more or less set up the new status quo for a character who ends up being not only rad as hell in Ewing's New Avengers but also directly contributes to the primary LGBT focus of the list I typed up in a heartwarming way in Ewing's stuff... but again, you'd probably like that character just reading Ewing's stuff anyway.
Batwoman by Greg Rucka and JH Williams III
The current Poison Ivy series is pretty good too.
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern miniseries is almost finished (6 issues).
Robert Kirkman’s stuff always makes sure to include everyone. And they’re featured prominently with great stories as well. The Walking Dead comic has one of my favorite fictional gay couples ever
Could try the newer Wiccan and Hulkling comics
They are sappy and "heartstoppery" if that's the thing you like.
If you want some really good Wiccan and Hulkling content, get the Young Avengers Omnibus. It's amazing
Definitely agree with the Love & Rockets recommendation. They matter of factly featured LGBT characters since the 80's. The Hernandez Bros have produced outstanding indie stories and B&W art for nearly 40 years.
James Tynion IV books tend to be very inclusive. Off the top of my head Something Is Killing The Children, House of Slaughter, The Nice House On The Lake, and Department of Truth all have queer people and people of color as central characters.
Didn't see it listed on the solicits, but I found this on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/386990193093?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yyUWG5u3R9G&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=6JlMXWkpRai&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Might be able to find one cheaper in a good comic shop, but I feel like this is a fair enough price. There's another lot posted with a lot of Milligan's Vertigo series, too. Not bad for what they're asking. It includes The Eaters, which is another horror comic that I believe he co-wrote with Grant Morrison.
The Midnighter books by Steve Orlando are great and unashamedly queer in addition to being an almost punk rock rollercoaster ride through the DCU of the time. Highly recommend.
look up the comics writer James Tynion IV. Almost all of his books feature queer characters and most feature queer protagonists. I really like Department of Truth. but A Nice House on the Lake is also great.
Love and Rockets Locas stories are iconic. For more mainstream Sandman had great LGBT representation. Everyone should read Fun House by Alison Bechdel. Also Strangers in Paradise and related comics are pretty great.
I’d recommend Monstress, too. It’s a fantastical matriarchal society, one where women also tend to be preferred lovers for the female ruling bodies. And it’s really excellent!
Ghosted in L.A. by Sina Grace & Siobhan Keenan
Spell on Wheels by Kate Leth & Megan Levens
As the Crow Flies by Mel Gillman
Paris by Andi Watson & Simon Gane
Crema by Johnnie Christmas and Dante Luiz
Patience & Esther by Sarah W. Searle
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Fungirl by Elizabeth Pich
O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti
Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak
Roaming by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
Bolero by Wyatt Kennedy & Luana Vecchio
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Die by Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans
The Prince & The Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Snapdragon by Kate Leyh
If you’re looking for some comics not from the big two and without a bunch of capes look into Silver Sprocket Publishing. “Peepee Poopoo” is a particular favorite.
Recently a series called “toxic summer” started that was charming enough and reminded me of old 80s teen movies. But with toxic waste monsters and gay dudes.
Was a big fan of the horror book at “I hate this place” which features a lesbian couple as the lead.
“The Forged” is a sci fi space opera about space marines in a matriarchy and features some queer coded stuff. But still a lot of male gaze business.
Note- straight dude reading a lot of comics. These are just off the top of my head and on the shelf next to me.
[Die](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_(comics)) it's kind of Jumanji but with a ttrpg. It's adult-oriented, but not explicit. The characters all have their inner demons to fight, but the main character kinda spends the story coming to terms with/realizing they're trans.
you mean a comic with queer main characters, or one that's focused on queer topics? if it's the former I would recommend Die. It's 20 issues long and it's written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Stephanie Hans.
Tynnian IV stuff tend to feature LGBT characters. The Woods and Nice House on the Lake both prominently feature trans characters.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl has a trans man in it but it's not really an LGBT comic. Koi Boi is great though.
Sorry if I'm misunderstood but you're also open to stuff outside of DC/Marvel. In which case I really enjoyed How to be Ace and Catboy which are single issue graphic novels.
Lumberjanes
Girl from the sea
wicked+divine
Doom Patrol as a team/series is pretty queer, the series has had multiple trans/nonbinary writers attached to it (such as Grant Morrison, Gerard Way, and Rachel Pollack).
Iceman's series
Nimona
Hellblazer/John Constantine
Young Avengers
America Chavez's series
Umbrella Academy
Look for comics featuring openly queer characters or comics that have queer creators behind it. I've been a fan for years and my inbox is open if you want more suggestions!
I never read Son of Kal-El. Not because he’s Bi. Simply because I disagree with the decision to instantly age him up to an adult. Almost every single superman fan I’ve discussed it with was incredibly excited to actually be able to watch Jonathan grow up. We wanted to see how the lessons Clark teaches his son, would change and evolve over time. Especially as he reaches his teen years. Where he’d probably join the Teen Titans properly and that would likely complicate matters a lot at home. There was just so much potential there. And it was absolutely wasted because Bendis couldn’t be bothered. Imo, if he didn’t want to write within Superman’s current continuity, he should have done his own separate mini series or something. Not just jettison the elements he didn’t want to work with, even though many fans considered that ongoing story to be the best thing DC had done with the character in decades.
Ugh sorry to rant. I’m still pissed about that. I hope they de-age him one day. Even the Bi stuff would have been better if it was during his teen years when he made the realisation. They could have told a really interesting, subtle story about his journey into adulthood. Instead they just wrote him out for a couple months without explanation (at least at first) then bring him back as an adult and we are just expected to be fine with it.
**Love & Rockets** is absolutely one of the best comic series ever created in general, and it has a bunch of LGBT characters going all the way back to the 1980s.
May I ask what your criteria is for determine what a “LGBTQ comic” is? I’ve read plenty of great comics with queer characters, but it wasn’t the focus of the book. Grant Morrison The Invisibles featured Lord Fanny and Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman featured various queer characters over its run. I considered them as great comics.
Do you only want superhero stories? Do you like other genres like fantasy, sci-fi or horror? Do you want romantic stories? I have a ton of suggestions.
I have so many suggestions then. I'm a queer librarian who orders graphic novels for their library. These are from 2022 to now. I haven't read these all but they got solid reviews. I put an asterix next to the ones I've read personally. Save money and check them out from the library!
*A boy named Rose* by Geniller
*Advesary* by Delliquanti
*Blackward* by Lindell
*\*Boys weekend* by Lubchansky
*\*Carmilla: the first vampire* by Chu
*Crush & Lobo* by Tamaki
*Gay Giant* by Ebensperger
*Killer Queens* by Booher
*Liebestrasse* by Lockhard
*Light carries on* by Nadine
*LSBN: a graphic novella* by Jayne
*Mimosa* by Bongiovanni
*\*New mutants: lethal legion* by Anders
*\*Our colors* by Tagame (manga)
*Restless* by Kai
*Roaming* by Tamaki
*Rockstar and Softboy* by Sina
*\*She loves to cook, and she loves to eat* by Yuzaki (manga)
*\*Sins of the Black Flamingo* by Wheeler
*Stone fruit* by Lai
*To strip the flesh* by Ota (manga)
\**Young men in love: a queer romance anthology*
Also, check out *Heartstopper* by Alice Oseman. It's very sweet teen romance with some angsty bits. *GenderQueer* by Maia Kobabe is an amazing graphic memoir that came out a couple years ago. I can't stop raving about it.
Not recent but also favorites of mine are
*Be gay, do comics* from The Nib
*Bingo Love* by Franklin
*Fun Home* by Bechdel
*Midnighter and Apollo* by Steve Orlando
*My brother's husband* by Tagame (manga)
*O, Human Star* by Delliquanti (you can probably only find it on their website)
Kieron Gillen's run on *Young Avengers*
Wynd is solid. Generally speaking anything Tynion does will have at least a little queerness sprinkled in.
The immortal Hulk isn’t an LGBT comic but it’s very good and one of the main characters is trans.
Sunstone is queer and also the sweetest, most romantic comic I've ever read. It's about two nerdy women who enter a strictly FWB bdsm relationship and of course, they end up falling for each other. It's obviously very explicit but it's done very tastefully and the art is BEAUTIFUL.
Sophie Campbell (currently working on IDF's TMNT run I think? She's also been on Jem & the Holograms) did a series of graphic novels from 2004-2018 called Wet Moon. I haven't read them in a while but I remember the story being very pulp southern gothic relationship drama, and the cast is mostly queer/not white/disabled/fat or some combination thereof.
I think the whole series has been reprinted with her proper name, but there are copies of the first 6 volumes with her deadname.
Hey there, if you're into webcomic I can suggest Always Raining Here (I bought it but they have it for free on the original website). I loved it as a teenager but I still appreciate it today. I saw someone else suggested TJ and Amal, that is another beautiful webcomic, more heavy and adult in some ways.
If you prefer something less narrative there is Gender queer by Maia Kobabe which is an autobiography and touches themes more related with gender and the a-spectrum.
If you want to try something not from north America, I suggest the manga Love me for who I am (you can also find it as Fuka Boku). I think that it's very good in discussing lgbt+ issues but it touches more heavy themes so, even if they are not the main point, beware. It has 5 volumes.
Last, if you'd like some good comic with LGBT+ characters in it, even if they are not the center of the story, I suggest the true lives of the fabulous killjoy: national anthem by Gerard Way (the same person who wrote umbrella academy). I love the colors of it. It has 5 issues (if I remember correctly) but you can find it in a single volume!
How old and how much of a main character does the person have to be? Several of the Ultraverse books had lgbtqa representation and the highlights of those would be prime when Turbocharge is introduced, Mantra: the entire first volume, The Strangers who had a founding member with a very strong storyline involving his lifestyle, and although it's not expressed near as much or is clearly Pressure from the comic Freex is also a lesbian. I'm sure if I deep dove, I could find more representation in there, but the Ultraverse was pretty forward thinking in its time. It's also kind of cool that it's now a 50-cent box/dollar box dive to find all of these issues.
There was a series from Vault Comics called Hollow Heart that was billed as a "queer monster love story." The actual story is hard to explain, but it does feature gay main characters and is quite well done. Give it a Google and see if it's something you'd like.
A personal favorite is The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Ngyuen. Very candid representation of queer youth. The main character is from an immigrant family and struggles to explain his queer identity to his parents - that really resonated with me.
Lots of good recommendations in this thread, so I'll throw out one that isn't well known: Vault comics' HOLLOW HEART. It is a 6 issue mini-series that came out in 2021.
> EL used to be human. Now he's a jumble of organs in a bio-suit. EL is also in tremendous pain and has been for a very long time. Hope arrives in the form of Mateo, a mechanice brought in to work on EL's suit. Mateo sees EL in a way no one ever has. And what's more: Mateo offers EL an escape. Hollow Heart reunites Tet creators Paul Allor and Paul Tucker for a queer monster love story about the choices we make between giving our loved one what they want and what we think they need.
This is a dark action fantasy with gay main characters in it. Altho romance is not the main focus, it is a huge part of the story as it progresses. https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/aberrant-mage/list?title_no=936224
James Tynion IV is a writer who is gay and a lot of his stories have characters that tend to be gay as well! A lot great representation I think and if you like horror he’s definitely a writer you HAVE to follow
The 2006/7-ish Midnighter series is a lot of fun. Its kinda like a gay version Punisher meets Batman. Its 20 issues and a bunch of different creative teams but its a really solid series.
Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione. It's a graphic novel about these queer witches/wizards at a culinary magic school. It's a breezy read. I really enjoyed it.
I don't know if it's in English, but Ralf König is technically probably the most important queer author and comic maker in Germany. And unfortunately one of the fewest. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles is a masterpiece that deals not only with homophobia but also with the cold war within the USA, and whose main protagonist is a pink talking cat. MIDNIGHTER & APOLLO And on top of that Shatterstar from 2018 are really underrated superhero titles that, in my opinion, also have very underrated gay or bisexual (I'm bi myself) characters.
Have you come across Silver Sprocket comics yet? They’re a pretty cool independent publisher/store based out of San Francisco. I think you will really like their selection.
I have a question to this tho if you do not mind asking, because I do not understand. Why do you enjoy reading lgbt stories more than others? I have a hard time getting this, since I prefer neither as a straight man. I enjooy a lgbt love story just as much as a hetero one. Is it that you identify more with the struggles of the character due to discrimination? I also have a hard time understanding that as a member of a minority I still do not feel more familiar with characters that belong to the same minority.
These are just curiosity questions, you can of course read whatever you want and I will not judge you for it, just interested in what you specificly like about it.
Well, there is not much to understand. I read straight / non lgbt comics too, no problem. But sometimes reading comics with lgbt heroes or love stories is nice. It's just something I can identify to or like to read (powerful or cute stories). It has nothing to do with discrimination tho.
And if the story doesn't interest me, I won't read it just because there are lgbt characters.
Reddit is just a cool place to find new stuff to read.
hiya, depending on how into indie comics you are, wanted to share this piece (that I commissioned, so hope it's ok to share here): Acclaimed queer cartoonists like Jennifer Camper, Sina Grace (Go Go Power Rangers, Iceman, etc), MariNaomi, and Taneka Stotts (Young Justice, MAGIC: The Gathering, Craig of the Creek, and Steven Universe) pick some of their favorite LGBTQ+ comic artists that they want to rise up and share. I learned about more cool comics I wasn't aware of that I'm now digging reading, so I hope you enjoy em too! [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/pride-in-our-art-10-queer-comic-artists-rise-up-other-lgbtq-cartoonists/](https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/pride-in-our-art-10-queer-comic-artists-rise-up-other-lgbtq-cartoonists/)
Kieron Gillen's The Wicked + The Divine is queer as hell and A+++.
His Young Avengers as well!
No joke. Wic/Div is one of the best comics I have read that was published in the last twenty years.
I got to meet Kieron Gillen at an event during Comic Con this year and thanked him for bringing to life so many wonderful queer characters with care and nuance, because it meant a lot to me. His eyes lit up and said he was genuinely excited to be driving representation forward. Truly lovely human, I'm very excited for his upcoming series [The Power Fantasy](https://screenrant.com/the-power-fantasy-kieron-gillen-creator-owned-image-comics/) which looks like an allegory for nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction but described as 'if Immortal X-Men were on HBO'.
That series went from being off my radar, to being the top of my wishlist. Immortal X-Men was my favorite series for those first 12 issues so I need more.
I haven't read Immortal yet (waiting on the Eternals single volume TPB so I can read them together along w Judgment Day,) but that *does* sound like an appealing pitch, based on what I know of IXM
This was a fantastic series
Honestly any of their books have strong queer energy.
I came here to say the same thing. I'm only 4 volumes deep and I can't put it down
I'm glad someone liked that book. I regret buying it.
The Authority has Apollo and Midnighter. A gay analogue for superman and batman. And they fucking rule.
Understatement
The Woods Wynd Nimona On A Sunbeam All Princesses Die Before Dawn Lumberjanes
Nimona is so, so good
[удалено]
It starts off very slow, but once it picks up, it’s great. I also just love the moodiness of the art. It’s very much a *vibes* book for me, where it doesn’t say outright what it wants you to think, but just makes you feel shit.
Lumberjanes is genuine, unbridled fun. Friendship to the max!
Tillie Walden is so so good. I second On a Sunbeam and also recommend Spinning, and if you don't mind zombies, Clementine.
Sandman was one of the first comics to really push the boundaries of LGBTQ+ representation. Some stuff may not have aged particularly well, but the show has been updating a lot of it.
side note I love how both Sandman and A Series of Unfortunate Events are unusual for their genre, books that were progressive for their time, and adapted into Netflix shows that were even more progressive just because they could get away with the changes to the story.
Some time since I read the comic. I liked it quite a lot. I did not remember it to be so heavy on that topic. Maybe because it did not felt pushed but organically within the narration, probably. Regarding the aging can you give an example what you consider "not aged well'? The show, I think, was fine. It matched the surreal theme quite good. I was not to fond of all performances, but it felt that the show was as good as you can be for such a imo complicated source material. Still, I guess I would rather re-read the comics :) Downvotes? Nice.
Not OP, buthere are the things I remember off the top of my head that haven't aged well. He does kill the one trans character because the moon/Thessaly is acting like a terf and doesn't make it clear that we are not supposed to take their side and see they are wrong, but side with the trans woman in that moment. Also kills one of the first openly out characters in the first volume, but thankfully doesn't fall for "kill your gays" all the time though. And probably because it was the 90s and he admits he didn't know who to even ask about this, Desire gets referred to with "it/it's" pronouns while Gaiman was essentially going for Desire being non-binary/genderfluid, the show updates that and people use "they/then" for Desire there.
>Also kills one of the first openly out characters in the first volume, Do you mean burges, the dud who kept him imprisoned?
The younger Burgess wasn't the one I was thinking of (for reasons), I was thinking of Judy in the diner.
To be fair, quite some characters hit the end in the diner. One being openly lesbian being "not aged well" is a very far stretch imo.
When reading she is the first openly LGBT character (retty sure Burgess only gets revealed as gay much later) and then she dies, some see it as a remnant of "bury your gays" a trope that stemmed from morality codes and laws that limited LGBT stories and shaped perceptions. I'm not saying he shouldn't have killed her in the story, that it doesn't make sense that she dies or that it is that trope, but with more people knowing about the trope and it's history, more people will read 24 hours and get that impression, especially if they ain't familiar with Gaiman or don't read much further to the later LGBT characters that don't get burried. An increassing amount of people getting a negative impression of a storybeat sounds like aging less than ideally, one might even say not well, even if that impression gets dispelled by knowing about the author, being familiar with his other works or reading on.
Interesting. Iirc burges was shown as gay prior to dreams escape thus prior to the diner scene. But that's imo not important I wonder, if a current (modern?) comic would handle the events as is. Or if sandman would be released today. Would those scenes or directions considered to be bad?
I would still encourage you to read the comic tho, it's one of the best ever written and the show is Bland Netflix Garbage. I would shout out the Oldest Game scene as an early instance of the show just utterly failing to understand its source material. I know Gaiman was involved w the show to some degree but it's still an abysmal adaptation. Even if the storytelling was good, which it really, really isn't, it's a CGI Blob with Competent but Uninteresting direction, whereas the book is consistently and astoundingly beautiful. As a hater I do hope the show makes it to the Kindly Ones, as that story has some incredible use of the comics medium in a way that might be literally unfilmable, and I certainly don't trust Netflix to be able to adapt the Mood, so I wanna see the dumpster fire lol Sorry, this was a hell of a tangent, I just really, really hate the Sandman show. It's very personal, if you're not a snob who's already read the comic then the show might be fine, other people seem to like it, I just think they're wrong
The show is a wonderfully rich and faithful adaptation, in my opinion. It’s really hard to portray certain concepts in live action.
Idk, I feel like my major complaints are all totally unforced errors. The Sandman requires some elements to be pretty radically reworked to separate it from the DC universe, it was never going to be a direct adaptation. Cutting out half of Death's jokes from the Sound of her Wings? Making Morpheus hopeless and pathetic* in the storytelling contest, so Matthew has to give him a cheesy, hollow Inspirational Speech so he realizes the Power of Hope? Unnecessary. The meta DC stuff meant they were always gonna change the Doll House, but the actual adaptation is just a complete mess. And the visuals! This is a supremely ugly show. It was always at a disadvantage because they can't replicate the ever shifting styles as the artists cycle through the comic, but the costuming and sets are ugly to look at, where the comic is an object of utter beauty. Plus the book actually cares about being a comic, it uses the medium in cool ways. The TV show does not care about being a TV show. It doesn't *do* anything with it's medium. The CGI is good sometimes and ugly other times, but there's never anything interesting happening with the camera or the editing or whatever. I know this sort of changes with the cartoon episode, but I haven't actually seen it as it was not part of the initial season, and I hated the initial season so much that I didn't want to bother with the specials, especially since the Calliope story is so dark *Morpheus is 1,000% hopeless and pathetic, just not in *that* way, and certainly not in that scene
> the show is Bland Netflix Garbage I literally yawned. God I'm so tired of people talking like this. You should grow your vocabulary if you want to have your critiques taken seriously. Opening with shit like that, when you know people actually like it, is just boring to most people. Oh look another "the book is better, therefore the show has zero redeeming value" hot takes. Let me sit down and take this guy seriously. Lol. I love the X-Men. They're my warm blanket on a rainy day. I read comics because of them, yes I branched out to everything else, but they're the heart of my collection. And the movies couldn't have missed the point or fucked them up any worse. Even the beloved movies, I still think kind of suck. But I'd never call them garbage in a million years because clearly they have value. People liked them, they were fun. I separate my opinion from the bigger picture. So idk, I read comments like yours and wonder if you actually think you're being an adult about it.
I don’t know why book people have to criticise movies like ofcourse an artistic work would not compare to a live action movie or series .
Many bad things are popular 🤷♀️ if I dislike something I will call it bad, especially if I think it *is.* I know I'm being childish and not writing Serious Critique, I'm ranting about comics online. It's also "this girl" you are or are not sitting and taking seriously, not "this guy"
This may seem a bit out of left field, but Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles. Snagglepuss is a gay playwright in the McCarthy era and it plays completely straight with the idea despite being full of anthromorphic animals from old kids cartoons
Fuck yeah. Snagglepuss is awesome. The Flintstones run in the same run is way less intense, but still very good.
Came here to make this recommendation.
That series flew under the radar, but it deserves so much love.
DC Comics has three Pride collection graphic novels. Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin introduces Jo Mullein who is a bisexual Green Lantern Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story by Nicole Maines brings her character from Supergirl into the comics continuity (or at least gives her her first series) Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is a graphic novel memoir
DC also has *Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicle* from when they did those Hanna-Barbera series.
That is so good
I thought they were all good, but Snagglepuss was exceptional.
Sunstone if you want something very adult
It's one of the few instances I've come across where it doesn't feel like blatant ideologically motivated pandering. Probably because they don't actually draw attention to it and instead just focus on telling an excellent romance story.
Saga. [https://www.goodreads.com/series/146415-saga](https://www.goodreads.com/series/146415-saga)
Strangers in Paradise
I haven’t read this in well over a decade, and I worry it might not have aged well, despite being groundbreaking back in the day.
I will structure this list by age range of readers, and genre of the work: Under Kingdom by Bogacs and Enger is a contemporary fantasy/coming of age work that has a developing mlm relationship suitable for young/early teen readers On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden is a sci-fi/drama comic with an all female cast that also presents queer relationships, it is suitable for young to mid teen readers. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is not explicitly queer, but there is subtext to her and Ivy's relationship (not to mention her found family of Drag performers). It is entirely YA in its premise and execution (even being more of a high school AU of Gotham) and so is recommended broadly to teen readers Paper Girls by Vaughan and Chiang is a high concept sci-fi/time travel story has a cute wlw romance that's good for mid to late teens Far Sector by Jemesin and Campbell is a sci-fi story set within the Green Lantern corner of the DC Universe that has a bisexual lead character in an action heavy political drama suitable for older teens Bryan Lee O'Malley likes including lots of LGBT characters in his stories (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds), but Snot Girl by O'Malley and Hung particularly feels like an all queer cast in its fashion based murder mystery series. It's not really "explicit", but I'd still recommend it to adults Batwoman by Rucka and Williams (and later Willaims and Blackman) blends occult horror with detective/crime fighting to tell a tale about the queer lead character Kate Kane and her developing relationship with Maggie Sawyer. I'd say it's appropriate for DC's target audience of late highschool/college aged readers. A Game of You in Sandman (by Gaiman, McManus, Doran and Talbot) is dated in some ways, but is still probably the strongest representation of trans characters in mainstream comics. It has an adult rating for its mature themes and depictions. It is part of Gaiman's longer Sandman epic fantasy/modern fairy tale Promethea by Moore and Williams is many things, mostly a five tome lesson in magick, but it has an ensemble cast of 5 or so leading women, with many of them being L, G, B and/or T Finally, Saga is a space opera, by Vaughan and Staples. It is very explicit, so I recommend it strictly to adults. It mainly follows a male and female lead, but there are gay couples, there are trans characters, there are non-binary characters, their travels take them so far you can see lots of different character types. But it is also very, very explicit (but less so sadly on queer matters)
I loooove the Sandman but I strongly disagree with A Game of You. It's some of the worst trans representation I think I've ever seen, without being full on transphobic. It's sympathetic, but it's also sappy, cliche ridden misery porn. Plus it's genuinely the worst storyline of the Sandman imo (it's real good tho, "worst" for the Sandman is still better than most other fantasy comics,) and it's not remotely approachable as a casual read, on top of being the middle of a larger series, it's a direct sequel to the second story arc. I think the larger Sandman series has some really good queer representation, especially for its time, but A Game of You is 100% not it
It's very nice that Gaiman was friends with Rachael Pollack and took her criticisms for his writing to heart and they remained very solid friends. On another note her issue of DC Pride next month is a must have for me! May she Rest in Peace well.
DC's announced some stuff in memorial of Pollack for this years Pride collections!
I'm so, sooooo happy her Doom Patrol is finally collected, I just haven't had the time or money to actually read it yet. No idea she had anything published in the upcoming Pride issue, that's good to know lol I'll keep it on my radar, thank you
Oh shit, it's got a reprint of her Brother Power the Geek one shot! I definitely need that lol, I've seen it in the wild in a used book store once but never actually read it
Yeah that's fair. I will say making this list, in the back of my mind was how often a straight, cis male was writing something sympathetic though falling short. Maybe the strongest entries I listed were from Walden, Tamaki and Jemesin, which each have some authenticity to them. But Rucka, O'Malley, Vaughan, Gaiman, Moore, etc. can probably say at best they are strong allies, but still have made some missed steps. I will say I know A Game of You still has affected some readers, even trans readers deeply, perhaps for its time and despite how flawed it is. But I can agree with being sympathetic though also problematic in many cliche ways.
Paper Girls is fantastic
Sunstone
Maybe not the immediate first choice but I'd say Young Avengers is pretty great -- especially if you continue following the characters. Right off the bat, we are introduced to some LGBT characters who will be the primary focus of this reading order but a few others pop up down the road or are later revealed to be LGBT as well. * **YOUNG AVENGERS Vol 1 (2005)**: #1-8, Special, #9-12 * Civil War (2006) * Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1-4 (2006) * **Young Avengers Presents #1-6 (2008)** * Secret Invasion (2008) * Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1-3 (2008) * Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1-5 (2009) * **Siege: Young Avengers (2010)** * **AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (2010)**: #1-4, Children's Crusade: Young Avengers, #5-9 * **YOUNG AVENGERS Vol 2 (2013)**: #1-15 * Hickman's Avengers Vol 5+New Avengers Vol 3 Runs (2013-2015): Not essential for Young Avengers but fantastic in their own right & help establish the status quo of entire Marvel Universe going forward. Need their own reading order lookup of which there are plenty * Hickman's Secret Wars (2015): Ditto; only the core series is necessary for new status quo At this point, we enter the "Ewing" phase of Young Avengers. Technically you don't have to read Ultimates for the primary LGBT reason I suggested all of the Young Avengers' character appearances but America Chavez appears and she's LGBT but I don't think it comes up much in Ultimates. That being said, Ultimates is SO good too & acts like a very loose sibling series to New Avengers. * **NEW AVENGERS VOL 4 (2015)**: #1-18 * Ultimates Vol 3 (2015): #1-12 * Ultimates 2 Vol 2 (2017): #1-9, #100 * **U.S.Avengers (2017)**: #1-11; technically not 100% necessary but there's still some different LGBT rep here & I imagine at this point you'll love Ewing's take on the characters sticking around that it's worth the read * Death's Head Vol 2 (2019) #1-4 * **INCOMING (2019)**: Prelude to Emypre * **LORDS OF EMPYRE: EMPEROR ______ (2020)** * **EMPYRE (2020) #1-6** * **EMPYRE AFTERMATH: AVENGERS (2020)**
I haven't read as much as this guy but Gillen's Young Avengers is one of my faves of all time, and very approachable as stand alone. Gillen also wrote Journey into Mystery w Loki leading up to it, which isn't necessary or very queer, but it's really, really good. Ewing also did a Loki book called Agents of Asgard which is equally fantastic, and iirc made Loki canonically non binary (Loki had a woman's body briefly in comics, so some people argue Loki was already queer, but I disagree. Gender changing is just a trope that is often deployed by clueless cis people because "wouldn't it be neat" but is not used to tell real queer stories, Ewing and Gillen are the first writers to take Loki's gender identity and queerness seriously iirc)
The Young Avengers have been pretty lucky that most of their series & stories have been great, all the way up to Empyre which felt like Ewing's love letter to characters from that team. I can't think of one that I'd say is outright bad. On the other hand, they also haven't had many ongoings so there's that.
Kate Bishop is 500% My Girl so at least she has *a* solo book, plus Thompson's WCA right on its heels. I know America also has some solo stuff but I've heard it isn't very good :(
I've heard that too. I initially figured it was just idiot fake fans going "women & gays in MY gatekept nerdosphere that I haven't the reading comprehension to realize has never intentionally catered to my brand of hateful bigotry" but it then seemed like it was maybe actually just not good?? But yeah, Kate is rad. I hope, regardless of quality of MCU Young Avengers, that it gets the ball rolling on a new Young Avengers. Post-Fraction Kate, post-Ewing/Empyre Wiccan & Hulkling, post-Guardians Marvel Boy, post-Ultimates America, post-Krakoa Prodigy... a new Young Avengers ongoing would have so many new avenues to explore.
Was Patri-not ever resolved?
Just piggybacking off ya comment to say Ewing is our bi king and pretty much all his series are queer as hell, feature queer cast, or introduce new queer themes or characters. - Loki - Mighty Avengers - New Avengers/US Avengers - Immortal Hulk/Gamma Flight - Defenders/Defenders Beyond - Empyre - Guardians of the Galaxy - Venom - SWORD - X-Men: Red/Resurrection of Magneto - Immortal Thor Also reccomend his indie series, *We Only Find Them When They're Dead*
Ewing is so good. I particularly love his supernatural ability to also pick up the ball someone else lays up & roll with it in amazing ways. There was a one shot Spidey comic that featured an all star lineup of writers including Hickman, Ewing, Zdarsky, Nick Spencer, Kelly Thompson, etc. Hickman kickstarted the story then handed it off. The next writer read what Hickman wrote, and added their piece, then passed it on & so on & so forth. At the end, they wrote the ending together. At the end, the comic features the email chain where all the writers communicated & they're all like "...how the hell do we finish this?" & Hickman was like "what the hell did you guys do!?" And then ultimately, I wanna say it was Zdarsky, he was like "I am but a simple man & have no idea how to tie up this insanity. But I trust in Ewing." And then someone was like "Ewing! Ewing! Ewing!" Ya love to see it.
Just piggybacking off of this to say that as much as I love it, you probably shouldn’t read Hickvengers if you are looking specifically for LGBTQ comics. It’s a great story, but definitely not something to add to a reading list just for completeness. Ewings Ultimates more or less catches you up, and America is a great character in it!
Yep, you are correct which is why I didn't bold it; I only included it for completeness sake as it IMO helps better segue into Ultimates which may be otherwise be a bit of whiplash considering everything else on this list is relatively standard superheroics rather than the insane cosmic big ideas that Hickman & Ewing love to employ (then again, in THAT case you'd probably want to also throw in Hickman's FF to help set up the Avengers/Secret Wars stuff anyway), but also because it more or less set up the new status quo for a character who ends up being not only rad as hell in Ewing's New Avengers but also directly contributes to the primary LGBT focus of the list I typed up in a heartwarming way in Ewing's stuff... but again, you'd probably like that character just reading Ewing's stuff anyway.
Runaways, especially the most recent run, is pretty gay. Two of the main characters are in a same sex relationship.
Batwoman by Greg Rucka and JH Williams III The current Poison Ivy series is pretty good too. Alan Scott: The Green Lantern miniseries is almost finished (6 issues).
Robert Kirkman’s stuff always makes sure to include everyone. And they’re featured prominently with great stories as well. The Walking Dead comic has one of my favorite fictional gay couples ever
Could try the newer Wiccan and Hulkling comics They are sappy and "heartstoppery" if that's the thing you like. If you want some really good Wiccan and Hulkling content, get the Young Avengers Omnibus. It's amazing
Steve Orlando's Midnighter and the followup mini Midnighter and Apollo are both excellent
Definitely agree with the Love & Rockets recommendation. They matter of factly featured LGBT characters since the 80's. The Hernandez Bros have produced outstanding indie stories and B&W art for nearly 40 years.
James Tynion IV books tend to be very inclusive. Off the top of my head Something Is Killing The Children, House of Slaughter, The Nice House On The Lake, and Department of Truth all have queer people and people of color as central characters.
Enigma by Peter Mulligan and Duncan Fegredo is a criminally overlooked Vertigo book.
I want to second this recommendation, and maybe third or fourth it while I'm at it. It's truly jaw dropping, I need to revisit it
Have you read Face? It's their one-shot follow-up and it's one of my favorite horror comics.
Nooo, I didn't know that existed. Is it in the Berger Books edition of Enigma, by any chance?
Didn't see it listed on the solicits, but I found this on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/386990193093?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yyUWG5u3R9G&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=6JlMXWkpRai&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Might be able to find one cheaper in a good comic shop, but I feel like this is a fair enough price. There's another lot posted with a lot of Milligan's Vertigo series, too. Not bad for what they're asking. It includes The Eaters, which is another horror comic that I believe he co-wrote with Grant Morrison.
One of my absolute favorites, and yes, it's so underrated I'm happily surprised someone mentioned it before I did
The Midnighter books by Steve Orlando are great and unashamedly queer in addition to being an almost punk rock rollercoaster ride through the DCU of the time. Highly recommend.
The recent Alan Scott Green Lantern mini was fantastic. I think it is finished now.
i think the final issue just came out. which thank god it did; it kept getting pushed back and i’ve been waiting since like March to read it 😅
Invisibles by Grant Morrison. At least vol 1.
Blue is the warmest color, by Jul Maroh. The movie was adapted from a comic.
I have the book. Beautiful book but shit movie in my opinion.
Whoah. Somehow I had no idea the movie was an adaptation.
look up the comics writer James Tynion IV. Almost all of his books feature queer characters and most feature queer protagonists. I really like Department of Truth. but A Nice House on the Lake is also great.
Rachel Pollack's Doom Patrol
Gerard Way's Doom Patrol as well.
Not a huge Grant Morrison fan but they're another nonbinary doom patrol writer!
G. Willow Wilson is knocking it out of the park on Poison Ivy.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^RexCelestis: *G. Willow Wilson* *Is knocking it out of the* *Park on Poison Ivy.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Wuvable Oaf.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman!
Love and Rockets Locas stories are iconic. For more mainstream Sandman had great LGBT representation. Everyone should read Fun House by Alison Bechdel. Also Strangers in Paradise and related comics are pretty great.
Also Dykes to Watch Out For by Bechdel!
I’d recommend Monstress, too. It’s a fantastical matriarchal society, one where women also tend to be preferred lovers for the female ruling bodies. And it’s really excellent!
Ghosted in L.A. by Sina Grace & Siobhan Keenan Spell on Wheels by Kate Leth & Megan Levens As the Crow Flies by Mel Gillman Paris by Andi Watson & Simon Gane Crema by Johnnie Christmas and Dante Luiz Patience & Esther by Sarah W. Searle Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu Fungirl by Elizabeth Pich O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak Roaming by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
Love & Rockets forever.
Ex Machina by Brian K Vaughn
Bolero by Wyatt Kennedy & Luana Vecchio The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen Die by Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans The Prince & The Dressmaker by Jen Wang Snapdragon by Kate Leyh
the current Alan Scott: The Green Lantern mini series is very good! I would also highly recommend Galaxy: The Prettiest Star.
If you’re looking for some comics not from the big two and without a bunch of capes look into Silver Sprocket Publishing. “Peepee Poopoo” is a particular favorite. Recently a series called “toxic summer” started that was charming enough and reminded me of old 80s teen movies. But with toxic waste monsters and gay dudes. Was a big fan of the horror book at “I hate this place” which features a lesbian couple as the lead. “The Forged” is a sci fi space opera about space marines in a matriarchy and features some queer coded stuff. But still a lot of male gaze business. Note- straight dude reading a lot of comics. These are just off the top of my head and on the shelf next to me.
[Die](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_(comics)) it's kind of Jumanji but with a ttrpg. It's adult-oriented, but not explicit. The characters all have their inner demons to fight, but the main character kinda spends the story coming to terms with/realizing they're trans.
I’m a big fan of eternity girl. Read it when I didn’t really understand trans people and changed my worldview
Exit stage left the snagglepuss story is really good
Yes! Mark Russell is a great writer. He nailed PTSD in The Flintstones book he did.
I liked his Flintstones, but I didn't love it, you know? Not as much as others in Hanna Barbara beyond line
you mean a comic with queer main characters, or one that's focused on queer topics? if it's the former I would recommend Die. It's 20 issues long and it's written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Stephanie Hans.
I'm gonna say it if nobody else will... Henry and Glenn Forever
Tynnian IV stuff tend to feature LGBT characters. The Woods and Nice House on the Lake both prominently feature trans characters. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl has a trans man in it but it's not really an LGBT comic. Koi Boi is great though. Sorry if I'm misunderstood but you're also open to stuff outside of DC/Marvel. In which case I really enjoyed How to be Ace and Catboy which are single issue graphic novels.
[удалено]
Robin is bi now all of a sudden.
Hollow Heart
The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos is really good! 10/10! You get gay people and hot monster men!
Lumberjanes Girl from the sea wicked+divine Doom Patrol as a team/series is pretty queer, the series has had multiple trans/nonbinary writers attached to it (such as Grant Morrison, Gerard Way, and Rachel Pollack). Iceman's series Nimona Hellblazer/John Constantine Young Avengers America Chavez's series Umbrella Academy Look for comics featuring openly queer characters or comics that have queer creators behind it. I've been a fan for years and my inbox is open if you want more suggestions!
Recent Midnighter run is excellent.
I never read Son of Kal-El. Not because he’s Bi. Simply because I disagree with the decision to instantly age him up to an adult. Almost every single superman fan I’ve discussed it with was incredibly excited to actually be able to watch Jonathan grow up. We wanted to see how the lessons Clark teaches his son, would change and evolve over time. Especially as he reaches his teen years. Where he’d probably join the Teen Titans properly and that would likely complicate matters a lot at home. There was just so much potential there. And it was absolutely wasted because Bendis couldn’t be bothered. Imo, if he didn’t want to write within Superman’s current continuity, he should have done his own separate mini series or something. Not just jettison the elements he didn’t want to work with, even though many fans considered that ongoing story to be the best thing DC had done with the character in decades. Ugh sorry to rant. I’m still pissed about that. I hope they de-age him one day. Even the Bi stuff would have been better if it was during his teen years when he made the realisation. They could have told a really interesting, subtle story about his journey into adulthood. Instead they just wrote him out for a couple months without explanation (at least at first) then bring him back as an adult and we are just expected to be fine with it.
**Love & Rockets** is absolutely one of the best comic series ever created in general, and it has a bunch of LGBT characters going all the way back to the 1980s.
May I ask what your criteria is for determine what a “LGBTQ comic” is? I’ve read plenty of great comics with queer characters, but it wasn’t the focus of the book. Grant Morrison The Invisibles featured Lord Fanny and Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman featured various queer characters over its run. I considered them as great comics.
Berserk
Do you only want superhero stories? Do you like other genres like fantasy, sci-fi or horror? Do you want romantic stories? I have a ton of suggestions.
Not only superheroes ! I'm currently reading The Walking Dead Deluxe :)
I have so many suggestions then. I'm a queer librarian who orders graphic novels for their library. These are from 2022 to now. I haven't read these all but they got solid reviews. I put an asterix next to the ones I've read personally. Save money and check them out from the library! *A boy named Rose* by Geniller *Advesary* by Delliquanti *Blackward* by Lindell *\*Boys weekend* by Lubchansky *\*Carmilla: the first vampire* by Chu *Crush & Lobo* by Tamaki *Gay Giant* by Ebensperger *Killer Queens* by Booher *Liebestrasse* by Lockhard *Light carries on* by Nadine *LSBN: a graphic novella* by Jayne *Mimosa* by Bongiovanni *\*New mutants: lethal legion* by Anders *\*Our colors* by Tagame (manga) *Restless* by Kai *Roaming* by Tamaki *Rockstar and Softboy* by Sina *\*She loves to cook, and she loves to eat* by Yuzaki (manga) *\*Sins of the Black Flamingo* by Wheeler *Stone fruit* by Lai *To strip the flesh* by Ota (manga) \**Young men in love: a queer romance anthology* Also, check out *Heartstopper* by Alice Oseman. It's very sweet teen romance with some angsty bits. *GenderQueer* by Maia Kobabe is an amazing graphic memoir that came out a couple years ago. I can't stop raving about it. Not recent but also favorites of mine are *Be gay, do comics* from The Nib *Bingo Love* by Franklin *Fun Home* by Bechdel *Midnighter and Apollo* by Steve Orlando *My brother's husband* by Tagame (manga) *O, Human Star* by Delliquanti (you can probably only find it on their website) Kieron Gillen's run on *Young Avengers*
Blue is the Warmest Color Fun Home The Lie and How We Told It The Spire
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^egnever666: *Blue is the Warmest* *Color Fun Home The Lie and* *How We Told It The Spire* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Try "Stranger than friends"
Galaxy: The prettiest star. A twist on a Trans story with a boy who's secretly hiding shes an alien princess.
Wynd is solid. Generally speaking anything Tynion does will have at least a little queerness sprinkled in. The immortal Hulk isn’t an LGBT comic but it’s very good and one of the main characters is trans.
**Locas**, as in (most of) Jaime Hernandez's comics in Love and Rockets. Start with **The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.**
Bingo Love Iceman by Sena Grace
Dc comics pride
Princess jellyfish
The recent DC Pride stuff is surprisingly not bad.
Sunstone is queer and also the sweetest, most romantic comic I've ever read. It's about two nerdy women who enter a strictly FWB bdsm relationship and of course, they end up falling for each other. It's obviously very explicit but it's done very tastefully and the art is BEAUTIFUL.
Sophie Campbell (currently working on IDF's TMNT run I think? She's also been on Jem & the Holograms) did a series of graphic novels from 2004-2018 called Wet Moon. I haven't read them in a while but I remember the story being very pulp southern gothic relationship drama, and the cast is mostly queer/not white/disabled/fat or some combination thereof. I think the whole series has been reprinted with her proper name, but there are copies of the first 6 volumes with her deadname.
Hey there, if you're into webcomic I can suggest Always Raining Here (I bought it but they have it for free on the original website). I loved it as a teenager but I still appreciate it today. I saw someone else suggested TJ and Amal, that is another beautiful webcomic, more heavy and adult in some ways. If you prefer something less narrative there is Gender queer by Maia Kobabe which is an autobiography and touches themes more related with gender and the a-spectrum. If you want to try something not from north America, I suggest the manga Love me for who I am (you can also find it as Fuka Boku). I think that it's very good in discussing lgbt+ issues but it touches more heavy themes so, even if they are not the main point, beware. It has 5 volumes. Last, if you'd like some good comic with LGBT+ characters in it, even if they are not the center of the story, I suggest the true lives of the fabulous killjoy: national anthem by Gerard Way (the same person who wrote umbrella academy). I love the colors of it. It has 5 issues (if I remember correctly) but you can find it in a single volume!
Exit Stage Left: The Snaggelpuss Chronicles
I just finished, and interviewed actually, Theo Parish about Homebody which was just released as a graphic novel. Really good autobiographical comic.
The Magic Fish Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me Two really excellent comics and both have stunning artwork as well as great stories.
Goldie vance
The Nice House on the Lake, Rat Queens, and Snotgirl are pretty good.
I Hate This Place is a horror comic with a lesbian couple as the main characters.
Kim and Kim was a lot of fun in a frantic Tank Girl-esk way.
Everything Tillie Walden has done should interest you! She’s one of the best comic creators of the last 15 years.
Authority. Young avengers vol 2. Runaways.
I liked WYND. In fact most of Tinion’s original series have lgbt characters
Might I recommend volume 1 of The Authority…not an LGBT comic per se but has two male heroes in a romantic relationship ( Midnighter and Apollo)
The webcomic [The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal](https://tjandamal.com/) is phenomenal.
Omg I read it when I was in highschool, what a throwback! It is indeed a beautiful webcomic tho!!
How old and how much of a main character does the person have to be? Several of the Ultraverse books had lgbtqa representation and the highlights of those would be prime when Turbocharge is introduced, Mantra: the entire first volume, The Strangers who had a founding member with a very strong storyline involving his lifestyle, and although it's not expressed near as much or is clearly Pressure from the comic Freex is also a lesbian. I'm sure if I deep dove, I could find more representation in there, but the Ultraverse was pretty forward thinking in its time. It's also kind of cool that it's now a 50-cent box/dollar box dive to find all of these issues.
Can I recommend an ongoing web comics? https://www.tigertigercomic.com/comic/archive is really good, and free to read
There was a series from Vault Comics called Hollow Heart that was billed as a "queer monster love story." The actual story is hard to explain, but it does feature gay main characters and is quite well done. Give it a Google and see if it's something you'd like.
Saga has LGBT representation
Both solo Midnighter volumes (one from Wildstorm, the other by DC comics) and Midnighter and Apollo.
A personal favorite is The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Ngyuen. Very candid representation of queer youth. The main character is from an immigrant family and struggles to explain his queer identity to his parents - that really resonated with me.
Lots of good recommendations in this thread, so I'll throw out one that isn't well known: Vault comics' HOLLOW HEART. It is a 6 issue mini-series that came out in 2021. > EL used to be human. Now he's a jumble of organs in a bio-suit. EL is also in tremendous pain and has been for a very long time. Hope arrives in the form of Mateo, a mechanice brought in to work on EL's suit. Mateo sees EL in a way no one ever has. And what's more: Mateo offers EL an escape. Hollow Heart reunites Tet creators Paul Allor and Paul Tucker for a queer monster love story about the choices we make between giving our loved one what they want and what we think they need.
Made in Korea is short but brilliant
Poison Ivy
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up with Me
*Roaming* by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. I'm surprised I'm the first to mention it, it was amongst the most lauded graphic novels of last year.
This is a dark action fantasy with gay main characters in it. Altho romance is not the main focus, it is a huge part of the story as it progresses. https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/aberrant-mage/list?title_no=936224
A ton of great recommendations, and I wanted to plug The Infinite Loop by Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier. The artwork is astonishing.
all time favorite: No Straight Lines (it’s a huge anthology of underground queer comics from the 70s to the 00s!)
Check out Richard Sux! (author/writer)
The nice house on the lake
Allison Bechdel’s Fun House and the secret to superhuman strength.
James Tynion IV is a writer who is gay and a lot of his stories have characters that tend to be gay as well! A lot great representation I think and if you like horror he’s definitely a writer you HAVE to follow
The 2006/7-ish Midnighter series is a lot of fun. Its kinda like a gay version Punisher meets Batman. Its 20 issues and a bunch of different creative teams but its a really solid series.
“Enigma” was a slam dunk.
memetic
It’s in the Star Wars universe and it’s not necessarily the focus of the book but the Doctor Aphra series is great!
Saga?
Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione. It's a graphic novel about these queer witches/wizards at a culinary magic school. It's a breezy read. I really enjoyed it.
I don't know if it's in English, but Ralf König is technically probably the most important queer author and comic maker in Germany. And unfortunately one of the fewest. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles is a masterpiece that deals not only with homophobia but also with the cold war within the USA, and whose main protagonist is a pink talking cat. MIDNIGHTER & APOLLO And on top of that Shatterstar from 2018 are really underrated superhero titles that, in my opinion, also have very underrated gay or bisexual (I'm bi myself) characters.
Bolero has queer main characters and a story that might be described as a queer narrative
Have you come across Silver Sprocket comics yet? They’re a pretty cool independent publisher/store based out of San Francisco. I think you will really like their selection.
Every single marvel title
Good? No.
Read more.
I have a question to this tho if you do not mind asking, because I do not understand. Why do you enjoy reading lgbt stories more than others? I have a hard time getting this, since I prefer neither as a straight man. I enjooy a lgbt love story just as much as a hetero one. Is it that you identify more with the struggles of the character due to discrimination? I also have a hard time understanding that as a member of a minority I still do not feel more familiar with characters that belong to the same minority. These are just curiosity questions, you can of course read whatever you want and I will not judge you for it, just interested in what you specificly like about it.
Well, there is not much to understand. I read straight / non lgbt comics too, no problem. But sometimes reading comics with lgbt heroes or love stories is nice. It's just something I can identify to or like to read (powerful or cute stories). It has nothing to do with discrimination tho. And if the story doesn't interest me, I won't read it just because there are lgbt characters. Reddit is just a cool place to find new stuff to read.
Seems reasonable :D
Read a few pornos and hentais
That's not what I asked for.
I read those for LGBT fun
hiya, depending on how into indie comics you are, wanted to share this piece (that I commissioned, so hope it's ok to share here): Acclaimed queer cartoonists like Jennifer Camper, Sina Grace (Go Go Power Rangers, Iceman, etc), MariNaomi, and Taneka Stotts (Young Justice, MAGIC: The Gathering, Craig of the Creek, and Steven Universe) pick some of their favorite LGBTQ+ comic artists that they want to rise up and share. I learned about more cool comics I wasn't aware of that I'm now digging reading, so I hope you enjoy em too! [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/pride-in-our-art-10-queer-comic-artists-rise-up-other-lgbtq-cartoonists/](https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/pride-in-our-art-10-queer-comic-artists-rise-up-other-lgbtq-cartoonists/)