The world of comics has long been filled with stories written by young men, for young men, featuring men throwing punches in a never-ending fight for justice, revenge, etc. But times have changed. The market has expanded to feature more inclusive stories thanks to publishers like Boom! Box, Graphix, and Image. The authors of these new inclusive titles stress the importance of being able to write LGBTQIA identifying characters. When they were young, these types of characters didn’t exist, so they were inspired to provide the representation they never saw growing up. Thanks to these amazing creators and other "hardcore lady-types", you can find a wide variety of comic and graphic novels telling stories for all ages.
Here are just a few of the amazing comics and graphic novels available right now, and with June being LGBTQIA Pride Month, we’d like to shine a light on some of these inclusive titles for all audiences!
A love story for the ages, Bingo Love tells the story of two Black girls, Hazel and Mari who meet at church bingo in 1963 but are torn apart by their families. The two girls go on to marry men, have children, and build families of their own. They're reunited by church bingo decades later as senior citizens, and their love rekindles, this time ending happily in a beautiful and romantic wedding! We love the well-drawn characters and the swoon-worthy LGBTQ romance.
A tale of two women who meet at a church bingo in 1963. Forced apart by their parents, they eventually settle down with husbands and have families. Now in their 60s they meet again at a church bingo hall and realize their love for each other never went away.
Even Marvel is releasing diverse titles with their latest iteration of Iceman, written by Sina Grace and illustrated by Alessandro Vitti. Iceman has fought countless battles against many foes as a superhero, but his greatest challenge is coming out to his parents.
For mature readers, there’s a great comic by Magdalene Visaggio, Eva Cabrera, and Claudia Aguirre called Kim & Kim. The Kims are best friends trying to make a name for themselves in the crazy world of interdimensional bounty hunting. In a bold move against their parents, they hijack a high-stakes bounty and end up way over their heads.
A mesmerizing biographical story of Tillie Walden’s devotion to the sport of ice skating and her struggle to stay in the competitive arena as other passions in her life begin to surface.
After a fight with his father, Matteo leaves the countryside and moves to Milan. Three years later, after breaking up with his boyfriend, he must return home to face his family and his past.
When all the men of Mancastle get eaten by a dragon, their left-behind wives, daughters, and maids (not to mention a couple of unruly princesses) must take charge. Illustrated by Ashley A. Woods.
Charlie, a queer, black teenager, finds herself stranded in a dangerous and unfamiliar place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp.
America Chavez is the paramedic who can take care of everybody but herself. This dimensional traveler has the support of her two moms (in spirit) as she goes off to save the universe and recovers from a breakup. What a lovely representation of a variety of queer characters in this fresh new series.