Tag Archives: LGBTQ

The Chromatic Fantasy: Trans Love, The Devils, and Mel Brooks with comics artist H.A.

“like a medieval manuscript full of demon sex…’ but also written by an anime Mel Brooks.” – H.A‘s stunning graphic novel is all this and more. H.A joins me to talk about his debut graphic novel, The Chromatic Fantasy available from Silver Sprocket Press

About the book:

Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers him a deal to escape: an illicit tryst and lifelong possession. Jules takes the deal, and begins his new life as a criminal who’s impervious to harm. He soon meets Casper, another trans man and a poetic thief, and together they steal, lie, and cheat their way through bewildering adventures, and develop feelings for each other along the way. But as Jules and Casper’s relationship deepens, so does the devil’s jealous grasp…

A gorgeously drawn graphic novel reminiscent of stained glass and illuminated manuscripts, telling a story of queer transmasc romance, daring adventure, and (literally) fighting your demons. 

Keep up with HA https://retrospring.net/@dirtcup_art  
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Magic, Myth, and Mystery collide in Sparks Volume 1: Portals

Class is in session in this new magical school series, beginning with Sparks Volume 1: Portals! This fresh LGBTQ+ coming-of-age fantasy tale began as a webcomic by Revel Guts, and will be available in a print edition from Dark Horse Books in July 2024.

In a world rising from the ashes of destruction, Human society thrives only through their complex alliance with the magical Satyr.

Philo has always been the worst student in his class at the academy, with powerful magic he can barely control. His lack of ambition and discipline is about to catch up with him as graduation day looms. When he’s paired to train together with the aloof star student Atlas, Philo’s magic backfires, teleporting them both far from home. Now, their futures depend on them working together to make it back to their school in time. 

In just a few short days, the pair find common ground that their years of classes together never managed to build, and at some points Philo questions if he didn’t have the wrong idea of Atlas the whole time–wondering if their struggles to get home might plant the seeds for something bigger. Meanwhile, powers outside the academy are setting plans in motion that may change both of their lives. 

Sparks Volume 1: Portals will arrive in bookstores July 16, 2024 and comic shops July 17, 2024. The 176-page trade paperback, which measures at 5.125 x 7.25”, is available for pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore and will retail for $19.99.

Sparks Volume 1: Portals

Crowdfunding Corner: A Good Sport: Queer Graphic Memoir Recount Experiences of The Gay Games

Backer Beware: Crowdfunding projects are not guaranteed to be delivered and/or delivered when promised. We always recommend to do your research before backing.
Disclosure: Graphic Policy’s founder Brett is a member of the Zoop team.

A Good Sport

Publisher Stacked Deck Press will launch a crowdfunding campaign for their upcoming book, A Good Sport, on the platform Zoop, coming soon.

A Good Sport is a graphic memoir written and drawn by French cartoonist Soizick Jaffre, detailing her participation in the 2018 Gay Games, her lifelong love of athletics, and her own personal search for freedom. This memoir is visually rich with Jaffre’s colorful, expressive illustration style that runs the gamut from realistic portrayal to eye-popping surrealism. A Good Sport deftly balances both personal and world history to paint a picture of feminist triumph and queer self-determination.

Jaffre’s journey takes her from the beaches of France to the streets of Saigon, from the cafes of Tel Aviv to the bowling alleys of America. Along the way we learn some of the history of the Gay Games and their origins in Olympian Tom Waddell’s fight against discrimination. We also see how the Games provide a gathering point for a world of queer athletes whose drive to compete is also an expression of their personal struggles for equal rights in their home countries. Throughout A Good Sport, Jaffre makes the connection between one’s right to participate in a chosen sport and the “game of freedom” that we all must play to become our best selves.

A Good Sport is a full-color trade paperback over 150 pages in length, published by award-winning imprint Stacked Deck Press. It features an introduction by cartoonist and comics scholar Justin Hall and a foreword by Gay Games organizer Pascale Reinteau. A Good Sport has something to inspire, inform, and delight readers from all walks of life.

Interested readers can sign up for email updates for this project at the campaign prelaunch page.

Preview: World’s Finest: Teen Titans #4 (of 6)

World’s Finest: Teen Titans #4 (of 6)

(W) Mark Waid (A) Emanuela Lupacchino
In Shops: Oct 10, 2023
SRP: $3.99

BREAKING UP IS SUPER HARD TO DO! America’s sweetest situationship breaks hearts–including Aqualad’s and Wonder Girl’s own!–when Garth realizes a part of him isn’t fully in it with Donna. To heal the wounds, Wally invites Garth and Roy to a sleepover at his folks’ home, where Aqualad opens up about his fluid sexuality. Meanwhile, Mal assists Bumblebee in an unexpected battle, giving him a taste of the Teen Titan he could be…

World's Finest: Teen Titans #4 (of 6)

Around the Tubes

The Flash #1

It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d you all get? What’d you like? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.

The Beat – A Year of Free Comics: Read the full first chapter of APPLE BLACK – Free comics!

Boing Boing – Florida school district declares books with LBGTQ+ “characters and themes cannot exist” – How does this not create a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students and staff and not get the shit sued out of it?

Reviews

CBR – Captain America #1
Collected Editions – Catwoman Vol. 7: Inheritance
CBR – The Flash #1
Comicbook – Marvel Unleashed #2
CBR – Uncanny Spider-Man #1

Always Matt: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard is both beautiful and heart-wrenching

A poignant tribute to the life of Matthew Shepard and his legacy in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, honoring the formation of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which dedicates its mission to erasing hate.

Without shying away from the pain and tragedy of his death, Newman’s moving, lyrical prose and Brian Britigan’s simple color line drawings present a celebration of his incredible life. Matthew’s story still resonates for those who lived through it, and remains a vital piece of LGBTQ+ history for younger generations to learn.

Story: Lesléa Newman
Art: Brian Britigan
Foreward: Jason Collins

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Amazon
Kindle
Bookshop


Abrams Books provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Exclusive: Discover Joseph Kai’s debut graphic novel Restless

 Joseph Kai

What would life feel like without fear and oppression? Is it possible to find solace in the power of chosen family, underground art collectives, and ultimately revolution? Joseph Kai‘s debut graphic novel Restless has been called “an absolutely stunning meditation on the anxieties of queer sex and of political revolution” and we have an exclusive excerpt.

It’s 30 years after the end of the civil war in Beirut, Lebanon, and a few months before the disastrous explosion of August 2020. Samar, a young queer comic book artist, wanders between anguished dreams, childhood memories, sexual experiences, and Beirut’s alternative communities. This abstractly autobiographical story tells of the author’s anxiety over living in a complex city of changing colors and moods. Three powerful themes: art, sex, and political uprising, are interwoven in a compelling narrative and an otherwordly color palette.

Kai is a queer artist from Beirut, Lebanon. He has published several works with the Lebanese collective of BD Samandal Comics. Joseph has participated in numerous festivals and exhibitions in Beirut, Lebanon; Berlin, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; and both Angouleme and Paris, France. He is currently living and working in Paris. Restless is his debut graphic novel.

Out now, check out an exclusive preview of Restless below and see him on tour.

Preview: Cooking With Monsters Vol. 1 The Beginners Guide to Culinary Combat

Cooking With Monsters Vol. 1 The Beginners Guide to Culinary Combat

(W) Jordan Alsaqa (A/CA) Vivian Truong
In Shops: Sep 06, 2023
SRP: $16.99

Hana Ozawa is the newest face at the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat, a school that will teach her how to fight monsters and how to turn them into delicious meals. Hana is a natural, but so are her classmates, and she struggles to keep up-she’s gotta stand out, especially if she wants to impress the warrior chef who saved her life as a child. Throw in a crush on a formidable lady rival and a dash of multicultural cuisine, and this unique and hilarious story is sure to hit the spot! Cooking with Monsters is Naruto with a cast of LGBTQ+ characters. It’s Percy Jackson or Harry Potter without a straight white man in the pilot seat. It’s perfect for every young reader out there who doesn’t feel like they get to see themselves represented in the fantastical adventures they read.

Cooking With Monsters Vol. 1 The Beginners Guide to Culinary Combat

Fanbase Press to Release Te Reo Māori Translation of LGBTQIA+ Graphic Novel, ‘Four-Color Heroes,’ in Celebration of Māori Language Week

Fanbase Press has announce that they will release a te reo Māori translation of the LGBTQIA+ coming-of-age graphic novel, Four-Color Heroes, in celebration of Māori Language Week (September 11-17, 2023).  

Written and illustrated by Aotearoa/New Zealand-born creator Richard FairgrayFour-Color Heroes is set in a New Zealand high school during the passing of the Civil Union Act 2004.  As tensions rose nationwide over the basic equal rights of same-sex couples, two boys were fighting a battle on a smaller scale, against enemies from within and without, as they found love and self-discovery through the pages of a comic book.  

Māori Language Week has been held in New Zealand since 1975, providing an opportunity for the celebration and promotion of te reo Māori as a living and dynamic language – one of two official languages in the country.

In light of Richard’s New Zealand roots, it was vital for us to not only celebrate the indigenous language of the country, but to engage in the Māori Language Week theme of “making the language stronger.” We were honored to partner with New Zealand-based Komako A. Silver and Alejandra Jensen (The Art of Taonga Puoro) for the translation and incredibly appreciative of their thoughtfulness and expertise throughout the process.

Four-Color Heroes will be released digitally in te reo Māori via Hoopla on Monday, September 11, 2023, and via Comics Plus, Google Books, Google Play, and Kindle Direct on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.

Four-Color Heroes

Cuckoos Three is a cute lgbt romance graphic novel

Murry Summerfield, relentlessly decent son of the farmstead, meets Jacob Durris, charming but troubled new neighbor. When he discovers why Jacob has moved out to the countryside, Murry has his hands full keeping his friend happy and dealing with his own blossoming feelings.

Story: Cassandra Jean
Art: Mosskat
Letterer: Chiho Christie

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


Yen Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

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