Changing the Face of Comics
By Chris Astrala
Writers and illustrators of comic books are talented individuals who tell stories as well as illustrate them. Comic book illustrators who identify as LGBT use that identity in the production of their work. This can be by way of cartoon fantasy depicting a tolerant and accepting world, a means of entertainment for the LGBTQ community or as a form of activism. Several have had a significant impact on creating LGBT characters in mainstream comics, such as DC Comics or Marvel Comics. Several LGBT comic book artists and writers are household names. They are recipients of awards within the comic book industry, including Lambda Literary Awards and specialized comic book awards including Eisner Awards. A number of these individuals are academics at educational institutions that specialize in the arts. The following is a list of outstanding LGBT comic book illustrators and writers. They defy any category. They are changing the face of comics. Thinking way outside the box, they show us that there’s no one-way to be queer.
Rosalarian
I didn’t intend to make queer comics. I just made comics about the kinds of people I knew, the kind of person I was, and queer people are everywhere. But I did want to make sure my queer characters were more than just their queerness, more than dramatic searches for partners while dealing with homophobia and sadness. I send my queer characters on adventures. They fight monsters, they solve mysteries, and they crack jokes. It gets depressing to see so much media reinforcing how being queer is such a struggle. It can also be quite pleasant. I want queer readers to have some hope that their lives won’t be limited by their sexuality. Megan “Rosalarian” Gedris had a huge epiphany about herself at Girl Scout camp: she was going to become a comic book artist. She has written and illustrated thousands of pages, and has been published in various anthologies and magazines, as well as self-publishing several titles. She lives in Chicago.
Jamaica Dyer
“Developing a comic book story is such a personal thing– you are a team of one or two in indie comics — and you have the ability to explore all the little grey areas in sexuality that aren’t very mainstream. I don’t purposefully create queer stories, but the characters end up evolving that way because of who I am. When I was a teenager, there wasn’t anyone on TV like me — that’s changed and it’s great that we have more and more queer characters emerging — but I could find my own complex little niche being expressed in comics, and it made me feel less alone.”
Jamaica Dyer is a comic book artist and writer most recently seen in Heavy Metal and Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl. She’s self-publishing a horror series “Lake Imago” and creating autobio comics daily. She started getting published in 2009 with her breakout graphic novel “Weird Fishes”. She can be found on social media @jamdye and on her website jamdye.com
Ted Closson
Ted Closson is a writer and artist living in Maine. He graduated with an MFA in Art from the University of Houston in 2012. His comics and visual work have been published in Beyond: A Queer Sci-fi and Fantasy Comics Anthology, the Alphabet Anthology from Stacked Deck Press, Black Warrior Review, The Rumpus, The Good Men Project, Splash of Red, Storychord, University of Houston Alumni Quarterly and The Tier One Anthology. He is currently working on a graphic novel. Representation matters. The stories we tell one another, they matter. They describe the arc of our potential. They shelter us in difficult terrain. They grant us sincerity, and dignity, and legitimacy. They seed the collective unconscious and bridge gaps in the understanding others have of us where no argument or polite conversation can. They tell us who we want to be. They save us. This is why I must tell stories. This is why I feel I must tell LGBTQ stories.
Greg Fox
Greg Fox is the artist/writer of the comic strip “Kyle’s Bed & Breakfast”, the ongoing story of a group of gay guys living in a B&B in a picturesque harbor town, full of laughter, romance, drama, intrigue, and sheer wackiness. According to Fox, “I wanted to create the sort of TV show I’d want to watch in comic strip form, full of a diverse cast of captivating LGBT characters dealing with life and getting themselves into all kinds of trouble!” The comic strip is currently syndicated to a variety of LGBT publications across North America, and widely read online at www.kylecomics.com, and on Facebook. Fox has published four collections of Kyle’s B&B, the first of which was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a collection of figure drawings, “Kyle’s B&B Presents: Drawings of Drew” featuring Kyle’s B&B character Drew Danvers. Fox currently resides in Northport, Long Island, New York, busily working on new episodes of Kyle’s B&B, and several other book projects for Sugar Maple Press. He can be reached at: gregfox727@gmail.com Kyle’s B&B can be viewed online at www.kylecomics.com
Jon Cairns
Jon Cairns is a freelance comic writer/artist whose past work includes the ongoing web comics Alpha Flag and Untitled SF, as well as other short comics like O-Type Hypergiant, My Best Friend’s Suicide and various other short stories produced for print or the web. His passports have more stamps than pages, so the easiest place to find him is on the Internet. When given carte blanche to create a story, odds are good it’ll be set in space– probably featuring hunks and body hair. “The beautiful thing about comics is that the barrier to entry is low—they cost very little to produce, and there aren’t any monolithic gatekeepers telling creators what they can and cannot draw. As a gay man, relying on my own personal experience helps to make my stories more authentic. Consequently, my comics naturally include queer themes and gay characters.”
Rachel Dukes
Rachel Dukes has created comics for Boom Studios (Garfield, Steven Universe), Roar Comics (Care Bears), Silver Sprocket (As You Were), Beyond Press (Beyond), College Humor, and The Nib. Their most popular work is their self-published cat-centric web comic Frankie Comics. They are thankful for coffee, gingham, and readers like you.
“We self-select our friends and influences as they fall in line with our personal beliefs. My good friends are mostly queer, non-binary, and poly, so my work reflects that, as comics are my way of interacting with and understanding the world around me.
Even with queer issues becoming a part of the larger conversation in our culture, we still have a long way to go. The majority of the American public isn’t even comfortable with feminine sexuality—which is so basic! —So it’s going to be a while longer until they’re comfortable with the idea of sexuality and gender being fluid. I recognize there is still very much a need for political fan fic and stories about the world that we want to exist in. If people can read my work and find it relatable, moving, and helpful to them then that means I’ve done my job.”
Niki Smith
Niki Smith is an artist, writer, lover of fine comics, (and some pretty trashy ones too). A recent expat, she lives in Germany with her wife and drawing queer and often smutty graphic novels. Her webcomic updates weekly at SomeDidRest.com. Her graphic novel, Crossplay, is about a group of friends exploring sexuality and gender identity through fandom, and will be out from Iron Circus Comics in 2017.
Why I draw: “As a child, I sought out representation of myself in books and the media around me, and rarely found it. As an adult, I focus on creating it. The majority of my comic work includes queer characters, and I love to celebrate them”.
You can catch up on LGBTQ comic book news and events and communicate with the international community associated with the profession at www.gayleague.com
