Accidentally made it into a little bit of a tradition on the blog: every year, around November, I recommend you some LGBT graphic novels and comics. A good way to finish up your yearly reading challenge or simply to have a fun afternoon.
Related: LGBT graphic novels part one & part two
The Lie And How We Told It
Tommi Parrish
Goodreads
Rep: bi mc, achillean side character, sapphic side character
TW: internalised homophobia
Why Should I Read It?
Starting out this rec list really strong, with a book that’s magical and, frankly, kind of hard to put into words. The art here is surprising; it’s not beautiful in an conventional way, but it somehow helps to tell the story. And it’s a matryoshka kind of graphic novel, with one story told within the main one though a zine our main character picks up. Both tales connect, though, and if you think about it, are the same one all along.
The Tea Dragon Tapestry
Kay O’Neill
Goodreads
Rep: poc sapphic mc, sapphic mc, poc achillean disabled character, achillean characters, poc nonbinary character
Why Should I Read It?
I put the last book here, but really, this is a recommendation of the whole series! It’s a quiet kind of story, but at the same time monumental, in a way that it’s very human. Wholesome is probably the best word to describe it. The art is as magical as the words, and just look at this quote: “You feel like you’ve lost your path. It’s natural to be sad. It’s alright to let those feelings wash over you, and give them time to soak the earth. That’s when things start to grow again.”
Mamo
Sas Milledge
Goodreads
Rep: sapphic mc, Filipino sapphic mc
TW: mention of past child abuse
Why Should I Read It?
If you were following Batcii on the blue hell site, you already know the art here is to die for. If you weren’t, well, just look at the cover! But apart from that, it’s a story about witches, very strongly based in folklore, and there’s a specific kind of warmth in that. It’s not a romance, per se, even though technically, only love makes everything that happens here possible in the first place. But it’s more a story about growing into your own self, than it is anything else.
Specter Inspectors
Bowen McCurdy & Kaitlyn Musto
Goodreads
Rep: poc sapphic mc, poc nonbinary mc, sapphic mc
Why Should I Read It?
This (and the next one) is a comic we’ve mentioned before on the blog, when we reviewed some spooky titles from BOOM! Studios. It’s always a good occasion to bring it up again, though, since it is pure fun. Three young adults and a teen, two of them actual siblings and all of them a family, who investigate paranormal activities. Yes, think Buzzfeed Unsolved but way more gay and with a main character who literally can talk to ghosts.
Wynd, Book One: Flight of the Prince
James Tynion IV & Michael Dialynas
Goodreads
Rep: achillean mcs
Why Should I Read It?
A story of trusting people. Both doing it already because they’re your friends or family (or is it the same thing, really?) and because you’re learning to let go off your prejudices and let others help you out. Despite those teens literally running for their lives and trying to save a kingdom, it’s somehow a quiet book. The magic is absolutely in the art, but also in all this love between the characters, in the way it sometimes surprised even them.
The Girl from the Sea
Molly Knox Ostertag
Goodreads
Rep: East Asian (Korean?) lesbian mc, sapphic li
TW: outing, drowning
Why Should I Read It?
Such a sweet story! It mixes together the fear of a young lesbian that people will find out the truth about her before she’s ready & the boldness of a Selkie who doesn’t know there’s even any reason she should hide any part of herself. There’s a beautiful relationship between the main character and her brother, as well as great exploration of friendships (the way they can slip away, shape your choices, how you have to work on them constantly).
Spell on Wheels
Kate Leth & Megan Levens
Goodreads
Rep: Vietnamese American sapphic mc
Why Should I Read It?
Supernatural but it’s about three girls and it’s not gross in any way! (And there are no angels, but alas.) It’s incredibly fun, first of all! The three witches take a road trip to track a bad guy and get revenge on him, they meet some really cool people & some nasty people & some very much not people, and they do it all in great style.
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms
Crystal Frasier & Val Wise
Goodreads
Rep: half-white Latina trans sapphic mc, lesbian mc, side nonbinary character
TW: transphobia, sexual harassment, fatphobia
Why Should I Read It?
I recced this one recently in my list of LGBT Sports Lit, but honestly? I read it more than half a year ago and keep thinking about it, so it’s only fair I hype it up as much as I can! Because listen, it has all the best parts of a high school story that we all love dearly, but it makes it even better. It gives us trans rep at the center, it gives us girls falling in love quietly and without fanfare, which is not to say without signs that it’s about to happen. And above all, it gives up female friendships & what’s more magical than that?
Eighty Days
A.C. Esguerra
Goodreads
Rep: Asian-coded achillean mc, achillean li
Why Should I Read It?
This is a book to pick up when you’re already sad and just want to cry, probably. It’s not a happy one. That doesn’t mean it’s tragic and nothing good happens, don’t get me wrong. It just means, the whole thing takes place in a World War II-inspired times, and that alone should tell you the kind of pain & heartbreak you can expect. It’s not an easy read, but it is absolutely worth every shed tear.
Snapdragon
Kat Leyh
Goodreads
Rep: lesbian character, Black trans character, sapphic characters
Why Should I Read It?
If you’re looking for something unique, for a little bit of an odd-ball, then you’re in luck! You get the vibrant colors of the art together with some dark elements of the story, you get just a girl as the protagonist and magic everywhere (including her). Not for a moment is this book what you would have expected. Unless, of course, you were actually expecting a heartwarming mess of magic and love.
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