Summer graphic novel releases I’ve been reading - with queer themes, creators, or characters!
Brownstone
This might be my favourite graphic novel I read this year.
A young teen who’s never known the Guatemalan side of her family is left alone with the dad she barely knows - and can barely speak to in broken Spanish - for a whole summer as he does up a house. She starts out reluctant and surly, feeling like an outcast in the Latin American neighbourhood (it’s hard not to feel like ‘try to connect!!!’ but that’s literally the whole point and she’s 14).
Read because I love this artist and it was even better than I expected. Super-strong cartooning, beautiful flow to the pages. The little moments of connection that overcome cultural and language differences were so beautiful. The plot was great and made me cry. Honestly just such a fantastic book and piece of comics!!
The Ghostkeeper
The main character does his best to coach ghosts through therapy instead of forcibly exorcising them, which people in the local town DO NOT LIKE.
The world works well and the portrayal of the character’s burnout hit very hard! The feeling like he’s drowning trying to help people and just can’t do enough is done really well.
Read if: you want something sweet, comforting and focused on mental health. (I think some people who liked the sweet parts of Finding Home might enjoy this!)
The Gulf
An extremely expressive book that captures a 00’s teenage runaway, yearning after a way to break out of the confines of society, and live with nature without causing harm.
The teen emotion felt SO real I personally found it frustrating - there’s an aimless ‘Catcher in the Rye’ or ‘Into the Wild’ quality to this book, which aren’t stories I personally vibe with. But I think my frustration speaks to De Souza really hitting something deep and real about childhood and human behaviour.
The small moments of the MC connecting with people and nature felt really beautiful, and so did the adults’ advice and refusal to belittle the teens’ concerns.
Edit: I’ve now also just read Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang, who did The Prince and the Dressmaker. I feel bad for authors with similar books released at similar times - the style is different, but it’s actually a slightly similar story/ themes but set in present day California and focused on one nonbinary main character - who is more capable and engaged rather than aimless.
Ash feels like they’re the only person who cares about the climate or feels deeply about things, and goes out to survive in the wilderness.
There’s more of a specific focus on real survival and ethnobotany, and the art style is more realist and contained - and very beautiful!! It makes me want to go do a whole graphic novel in watercolour. It doesn’t get deep into the MC’s gender feelings, but I love how much it engages with the difficult reality of the wilderness.
Both reads for: young people, anyone feeling aimless and frustrated, or wanting to break away and find another way to live with nature.
DeadEndia 3
Finally out in the UK, this is the last part of Hamish Steele’s graphic novel trilogy (if you only watched his Netflix show, this volume finishes out the story!)
Extremely fun and silly and warm, while also throwing out nuanced, complex thoughts about queer solidarity and community through the medium of really tight jokes and one-liners.
Hamish’s cartooning is a delight, a read I would recommend to anyone that enjoys fun.
Don’t miss - happening now & coming soon:
Ruin of the House of the Divine Visage - just over a week left on this Kickstarter for a lovely hardback that probably won’t be reprinted!
One man glimpses another’s face in a monastery housing a god where it’s strictly forbidden. The story is SO engaging, the emotion drove me slightly nuts and the worldbuilding is incredibly cool. It’s a webcomic and you can read the start online too:
Buuza! Volume 5 - just about to launch, including bundles for new readers and cheaper earlybird books.
This fantasy slice of life/ queer drama webcomic was recently nominated for an IGNATZ, and with good reason. It has a really fun, easy to read manga/ telenovela feel, but the plot’s also been building together and things are really kicking off at this point in the story. Personally I’m massively excited to have this in my hands.
