Me on My LGBTQ Webcomic Reading List Part 1

So I was watching the latest Epic Reads Tea Time video about diverse reads and LGBTQ YA and thought, why limit it to prose or verse novels? What about graphic novels? Or webcomics? So I thought about the webcomics I currently read. Some of which are explicitly about LGBTQ characters.

Which is how I came up with this list. A lot of these have teen-aged characters, some are a bit more adult, but hopefully you'll all find something new to read. :)

First up is Eth's Skin by Sfé Monster. Set in a futuristic but decayed version of the coast off BC where raft cities are were the majority of people live (I once saw Sfé call it "barnacle-punk"), it's about a genderqueer fisher named Eth and the time they mistook a selkie skin for their own. Full of mermaids and monsters, masked land-dwellers called Beachwalkers, non-binary characters, and a pygmy seal named Goblin, this comic is sure to please those looking for something magical and different. Sfé is also the editor of the Beyond Anthology, if you're looking for a sci-fi/fantasy LGBTQ comic anthology to support.

Always Raining Here by Hazel and Bell is cute and fun but also has moments of seriousness. There's Carter, who's gay and is looking for a relationship (basically, he's looking to have sex), and there's Adrian, who's also gay but is also shy and more than a little heartsick. They're total opposites and full to the brim with teen angst. They're witty and snarky and at times complete jerks to each other, but their awkwardness makes them endearing. Well, to me, at least. Some might find it a little sappy or cheesy, but hopefully you'll see its good points, too.

Monster Pop! by Maya Kern is lots of cute fun and friendship. It's about two friends, George the cyclops and Franny the witch, and their shoujo manga-inspired slice of life adventures in an alternate Earth where monsters and magical creatures exist along with humans. There's also some serious talk, as some of the human characters are rather prejudiced towards the monster characters. There's a bit of a prequel before the main story of George and Franny heading off to university and the hijinks they get involved in. Straight characters, queer characters, non-binary characters. Everyone's there. There's currently a Kickstarter going on to publish the first volume, but there's only a few days left!

Princess Princess by Strangely Katie is all about princesses and heroes and flipping gender roles and awesome hair. Princess Amira is travelling one day, setting out to be a brave warrior, and comes across Princess Sadie stuck up a tower. Their following adventure contains grappling hooks, a horse that eats cookies, a chubby dragon, and smashing gender roles in order to be who they want to be, not who people expect them to be. So what if a princess wants to serve her country in a way that doesn't mean marrying some guy? So what if a princess isn't stick thin and is a coward? For any Toronto readers, Katie will be at TCAF with finished copies that have a new epilogue!

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell gets an honourary mention because while it's not an LGBTQ webcomic, I still think it's a great read. It's one of those epic stories that feels like it'll never end but things are always changing. It's all about a girl named Antimony who's sent to school at Gunnerkrigg Court. The Court is a rather mysterious, secretive, complicated, and dangerous place, and Annie has no idea what she's walking into when she arrives. Or who is around her who knows the secrets of her past. Like those about her dead mother and her distant father. She has an awesome best friend in Kat, the smartest girl around. I will admit that it takes a while for the LGBTQ characters to finally make themselves known, for their stories to be told and their relationships to come out in the open, but I think it's worth the wait. If you don't, There's also a lot said about the wars between magic and science, about pride and greed, and about what it is to be the awesome trickster god Coyote.

So there's part 1. Hopefully you all enjoyed this. Check back on Monday for part 2!