Me on My LGBTQ Webcomic Reading List Part 2

And we're back with part 2 of my list of webcomics to check out if you're looking for more LGBTQ in YA.

First is As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman. This is all about Charlie, a 13 year old black queer girl who finds herself in the worst place possible: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp. Complete with gorgeous hand-drawn in coloured pencil artwork (because how often do you see that in a webcomic??), this is a rather honest and powerful story. It's all about Charlie coming up against some rather serious topics, topics like feminism, religion, race, sexuality, and gender. A definite definite must-read for the YA crowd.

O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti is a sci-fi family drama, according to Blue's FAQ. At the start we meet Alistair Sterling, who suddenly dies. But then wakes up 16 years in the future in a new and advanced robotic body. Confused beyond anything, he seeks out his old research partner Brendan Pinsky to see if he was involved in his 'resurrection' and discovers a few more surprising things. Like the robot that lives with Brendan. Like why she looks familiar. Secrets abound in this webcomic, as do the queer characters and the diversity. I love Blue's way of drawing people, they look so realistic, and the colour scheme, shades of blue for the present and shades of red for the past, is great. While Brendan and Al are adults in their 40's, there's another main character who isn't. It is aimed at mature readers, so maybe don't give this a read unless you're over 16 or 17.

Star Trip by Gisele is about Jas, a girl fed up with life on Earth, and Khut, a shapeshifting alien travelling the universe after making a deal with Jas to take her on an adventure. This is a bright, at times fun and at times serious story about life, reality, compassion, and companionship. The real mystery in this is Khut, what they are and where they're really from. But who knows if we'll ever find that out?

SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki is a huge mix of snarky characters, existential crises, performance art, and the daily inescapable grind that is high school. While this is coming out in print at the end of the month, you can read it online. Each comic page is like a snippit into the lives of the students, you never know what you're going to get.

Honourable mentions include the folklore and mythology heavy Skin Deep by Kory Bing, the super fun Lumberjanes (in the not a webcomic but still awesome category), and the gorgeously drawn Avialae by Lucid (note that while this comic seems to be in the early stages and nothing too graphic has happened yet, it is marked at mature/18+).

Remember that this is not a definitive list. These are just the webcomics I currently read. The internet is partially your friend in the search for more, as because it's the internet you might come across some rather explicit comics/art when that's not what you're looking for. A lot of the artists/creators I've suggested have their own webcomic rec lists on their websites. Also, maybe look into who's going to comic conventions like ECCC, MoCCA, TCAF, VanCAF, SPX, or your own local conventions.

At the moment, this is the end, but check back in the future because I might be posting a general webcomics to check out reading list. Happy reading! :)