Great New LGBTQ Pride Comics and Graphic Novels

Great New LGBTQ Pride Comics and Graphic Novels

Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Twitter and Instagram: @rachelsbrittain

Penguin Random House

Celebrate Pride year-round with Penguin Random House! Sign up to download this year’s FREE Pride in Your Words zine + exclusive flash tattoo sticker sheet, and check out the Pride in Your Words website for hundreds of queer book recommendations. Books offer community, even when we’re alone. And seeing yourself represented in the pages of a book is something everyone should be able to experience. Find your next read at prh.com/pridereads, this month and every month.

Pride Month may be over, but queer books, comics, and graphic novels are a year-round affair. These great new queer comics and graphic novels are proof of that. They’re all perfect for any time. My point is this: you don’t need an excuse to read queer stories. Queer stories are just as worthy of being read all year long as any other story. And since comics and graphic novels tend to be short, you don’t really have an excuse not to read these queer graphic novels. Got you there. In all seriousness, though, these eight comics and graphic novels are a great way to add some more LGBTQ+ reading into your life, whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the genre looking for more great titles to add to your TBR or just trying to expand your reading horizons a bit.

From graphic memoirs exploring gender identity to fun supernatural romances full of roller-skating vampires and fox spirits, these comics have it all! There’s truly something for everyone: fantasy readers, romance readers, and nonfiction readers alike. That’s the beauty of graphic novels; they come in so many different forms. So break out your favorite reading medium — e-readers, phones, tablets, library holds — and get to reading. You’ll be happy you did.

Homebody comic book cover

Homebody by Theo Parish

In this graphic memoir, Theo Parish recounts what it takes for a nonbinary person to feel at home with themself. Even though Theo grew up in a house with relaxed gender roles, the expectations of the outside world often made them feel like they had to fit in a box. Homebody combines comics with journal-like entries to tell the story of how they found meaning and comfort in being wholly and unconditionally their trans and nonbinary self.

Bunt! comic book cover

Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid! by Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert

The creator of the incredible hit-sensation webcomic Check, Please! has a new graphic novel about an art student playing softball? Yes, please! When Molly Bauer learns her full-ride scholarship has vanished on the first day of school, she gathers up a ragtag group of other artists to help her fight the system through a loophole: if they win a single softball game, they’ll receive a massive athletic scholarship. Can they succeed in art and softball while really trying?

fox-colored jealousy manga cover

Fox-Colored Jealousy by Machi Suehiro, translated by Leighann Harvey

A college student possessed by a fox spirit is saved from a creep on the bus by another college student. Pretty embarrassing — especially the part where Yukuri calls his ears “cute” — but it’s not like Akiha will ever have to see him again, right? Right?? Pure fluff and adorableness in comic book form.

Rainbow by Sunny comic book cover

Rainbow! by Sunny and Gloom

Pink-haired Boo Meadows is more at home in her imagination than in real life. Probably because her real life has kind of sucked lately. But when a new girl shows up at school throwing punches, she wonders if she’s finally found someone who can help her learn to stick up for herself. As Boo and Mimi grow closer, though, Boo will have to decide whether she can prioritize the real world when her fantasies of being a magical girl have kept her going for so long.

Blood City Rollers comic book cover

Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill

Vampire. Roller. Derby. Need I say more? Mina was an ice skater on the road to Olympic glory before she fell at a major competition and was kidnapped by a bunch of vampires who needed a human to finish out their supernatural roller derby team. Between crushing on the team captain and trying to figure out how to survive in this supernatural world, she has her work cut out for her. Can she learn to be a team player after years of skating alone?

King Cheer comic book cover

King Cheer by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green

In this queer King Lear reimagining, the cheer team is rocked when its captain steps down only months before graduation. Cheer captain Leah has decided she needs to take some time to focus on her future instead of her squad. But without their captain to lead them, the cheerleading team descends into disarray — especially when a pair of power-hungry twins take over and pit the cheerleaders against the basketball team.

Punk Rock Karaoke book cover

Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise

Ariel Grace Jones feels it in their bones that this is the year for their band to make it big. The garage punk band they sing lead vocals for, Baby Hares, is going to be their ticket out of Chicago’s Southside. But as the realities of postgrad life begin to weigh on them and conflict in the band reaches an all-time high, Ari starts to wonder if their dreams of making it in the music industry are over. A local punk icon taking interest in them could be just the boost they need, but is Ari really ready to let their bandmates and punk rock dreams go?

gender studies graphic memoir cover

Gender Studies by Ajuan Mance

Professor Arjuan Mance explores what it means to be a Black person at the intersection of gender and sexuality. Decades of trying to figure it out for herself are condensed into the pages of this compelling graphic memoir, including how double-dutch jump rope, viola players, and being mistaken for her father figure into it all.

Here are even more great queer comics, manga, and graphic novels to read:

8 Excellent LGBTQ+ Nonfiction Manga

Must-Read LGBTQ Comics for Teens and Young Adults

12 Queer Webcomics You Can Read for Free

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