My list of recommended books, series, and anthologies.
BOOKS
On a Sunbeam
A queer sci-fi romantic adventure by Tillie Walden about a girl who joins a site restoration space crew as a result of mysterious events that happened at her boarding school five years earlier. Absolutely gorgeous and possibly my favorite graphic novel despite not yet being available in hardcopy (coming in October!), which is why it got its own post earlier.
The Witch Boy
A YA graphic novel by Molly Knox Ostertag about a boy who really wants to be a witch. A sweet look at gender norms and friendship.
Fun Home
The famous autobiography of Alison Bechdel, creator of the Bechdel test. It’s the story of her love/hate relationship (or non-relationship) with her father, and of figuring out how to be a proud queer woman when her father’s sexuality destroyed their family. It was banned in several schools as “porn” simply for including lesbian sex scenes, and has recently been made into a musical, which I also recommend.
Vampire Emmy and the Garbage Girl
This is a short comic by Pat Shand and Roberta Ingranata. A fun, romantic story about the two titular characters.
SERIES
Strong Female Protagonist
An ongoing story about a young woman with super-strength who became disillusioned with superheroing as a teen and is now seeking a college degree and trying to figure out how to actually make change in the world. It uses the “super” vs. human dynamic to look at a lot of today’s social issues. There are two published books but the series is ongoing, and the entire thing is available online.
Destiny, NY
A fun and very queer series about a former “magical girl” who fulfilled her prophesied destiny as a kid and is now trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. The creator, Pat Shand, bills it as a series about “love, loss, magic, cats, coffee, sex, growing up, and the way we build our own destinies every day,” which is pretty accurate. The second volume comes out this year and there are more planned, plus a free online miniseries with two episodes so far.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
The story of a girl in 1960s Chicago who decides to investigate the mysterious death of her upstairs neighbor, a Holocaust survivor. It has a strong B-movie horror theme and is styled as a sketchbook. Volume 2 comes out in October.
Saga
A classic, well-written, epic sci-fi series, sort of Star Wars meets Romeo and Juliet. It follows a family trying to stay together in the middle of a galactic war. Hard-hitting but fascinating.
Moonstruck
A cute story about a werewolf barista, her girlfriend, and her non-binary centaur friend as they get mixed up in the middle of a magical conspiracy.
ANTHOLOGIES
Beyond I and II
Collections of top-notch queer sci-fi and fantasy and comics.
Dates! I and II
Collections of short, positive, queer, historical fiction comics from multiple creators. A third volume is already on the way.
Elements: Fire
A collection of comics by creators of color, centered around the theme of fire. A strong collection with higher-than-average production value.
The Other Side
Queer paranormal romance comics, including a sweet one about a pizza shop ghost and a super-cute one about a monster who’s bad at scaring people.
Power & Magic and Immortal Souls
Anthologies of comics about queer witches of color.
Chainmail Bikini
A very geeky and enjoyable collection of (often non-fiction) comics by and about female gamers.
Our Hearts Still Beat 1 and 2
Zines created in the aftermath of the Pulse shooting as a means of raising money for the Orlando queer community. They include short comics and illustrations about pain, love, and healing. (Full disclosure, I contributed a standalone illustration to the first issue.)