Have you ever stopped to think about how many queer books you’ve known? If you’re part of LGBTQIA+ community, you probably know some. But if you’re just a sympathizer, this question becomes more difficult to be answered.
Perhaps, it’s because this type of book doesn’t get famous. The conservatism and prejudice against non-heteronormative couples are still problems nowadays.
And it gets worse when they have a sexualized approach. Sapphic women often suffer from this problem, especially in the way they are portrayed in books and movies.
Considering this, Her Campus Cásper Líbero gathered 5 sapphic graphic novels, comics and mangas that will make you feel represented for the first time!
- Tamen de Gushi
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Age rating: Unknown (But I would say +14)
‘Tamen de Gushi’ is a Chinese webcomic written by Tan Jiu in 2014. The manhua – word given to Chinese artworks –, is also known by its English name “Begin with your name” and it follows a romantic story between Sun Jing and Qiu Tong, who are still in high school.
Sun Jing and Qiu Tong are from different schools, but meet each other every day at the bus station. The time coincidence befriends their story, and soon Sun Jing finds herself interested in the blonde girl – which, until at that moment, is a stranger.
Because of her shyness, the endeavor of getting closer to Qiu Tong goes wrong – at every effort to approach the girl, Sun Jing just blushes and stutters on her speaking. It’s through a friend she finds out her girl’s crush name and where she studies. Then, her courage speaks louder and, again, Sun Jing tries to introduce herself. The problem is: Qiu Tong doesn’t get a good impression of the girl.
The misunderstanding is undone when the two become friends, which in the future turns into a romantic relationship. It’s a romantic, funny and type of Slice of Life story. I think the detail who caught my attention the most is, unlike others ‘yuri comics’, Tamen de Gushi does not bring the sexualization of sapphic women.
Before giving life to the manhua, the author Tan Jiu only published the sapphic couple illustrations on Pixiv – a Japanese website for art portfolios. The success was so unexpected that his fans were curious to know if Tan Jiu intended to make them protagonists of some story. From that, came Tamen de Gushi – periodically posted on the artist’s Weibo page, a Chinese social network.
Tamen de Gushi is a story made of small chapters, but full of colors! The drawings bring a watercolor style with light and beautiful strokes which, most of the time, also bring movement to the images!
- Paper Girls
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Age rating: +12
‘Paper Girls’ is a comic book series written by Brian K.Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang. Published in 2017, the sci-fi and fantasy story revolves around four pre-teenagers girls in the 1980s.
The plot begins on November 1st, 1988, when a group of girls (Erin, KJ, Mac and Tiff) who work delivering newspapers join themselves to fulfill their responsibilities after Halloween celebration.
During their work, they have their walkie-talkies stolen by strangers dressed in black clothes, who communicated in unknown and nonstandard dialects. When the girls decide to follow these thieves, the group becomes involved in a war between two futuristic communities who dispute for time’s control: the old-timers, a group who is against time travel, because they believe that it leaves sequels in the timeline; and the descendants, who go back to past situations seeking to make the future a better place.
The 80s, travels to the past, time machines, futuristic soldiers and unknown languages… Despite all the fantastic events and the well-designed arts, which represented the oddities in a unique way, these topics are still left in the background by the authors.
Paper Girls emphasizes the common discoveries of pre-adolescence and the group must deal with issues such as sexuality, prejudices, mortality and responsibilities. It’s a journey through maturity hidden in the midst of temporal conflicts.
In this exciting story, we follow the relationship between KJ and Mac. Facing tough discoveries about themselves from the future, the friends nurse romantic feelings for each other while looking for solutions to their problems. Mac also must accept her feelings, thereafter her sexuality, and overcome the struggle with her internalized homophobia.
- My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
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Age rating: +16
‘My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness’ is an autobiography manga, written and illustrated by the japanese artist Kabi Nagata. Narrated by the protagonist, the story is based on the author’s personal experiences with her sexuality as a lesbian woman.
The book starts with the main character – who is understood to be Kabi – in a motel bed with a prostitute. The first pages portray the woman’s innocence who, despite being 28 years old, has never experienced any kind of sexual intimacy before.
The author decides to go back in time to introduce us to Kabi when she was 18 years old. Then, she talks about her personal problems and the insecurities she developed as a teenager, those which lasted until adult life.
The beautiful, lovable and gracious drawings coloured in soft pink gives a cute aesthetic to the book. But it doesn’t make the book less triggering in some topics such as depression, lesbian solitude, social pressure, bulimia and other issues Nagata passed through. Also, the protagonist searches for self-acceptance and letting go of the need to please her parents throughout the story. So it’s a type of reading I do not recommend to people who deal with those things.
‘My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness’ talks to the reader and makes the person create a bond with the protagonist. Kabi Nagata seems comfortable to expose her experiences – it’s like venting to a close friend. She doesn’t feel shy to show openly that she’s a real person with her own issues like anyone else.
- Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with me
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Age rating: +14
‘Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me’ is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, published in 2020.
At first glance, you may think ‘Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me’ is a romance plot. But it is not. The book talks about an LGBTQIA+ drama story and the main topic is very crucial: abusive relationships. Considering it, the reading below is not recommended for everyone, as it may present triggers for those sensitive about the subject – or, in the other way, it may help you.
The story is about the relationship between Frederica Riley, a shy and introverted 17-year-old-girl, and Laura Dean, a popular high school girl, which Freddy has been in love with for over a year. As the name of the book says, Laura Dean breaks up with Freddy several times, usually for silly reasons.
Freddy has the comprehension of being in an abusive relationship, but she can’t set herself free from this toxic attachment. Furthermore, the girl doesn’t realize that her manipulative and cruel girlfriend is also affecting her friendships and she is about to lose her best friend. Hurt and confused about Laura’s behavior, Freddy starts writing about relationship advice at Anna Vice’s column, in a magazine.
It’s a very important story considering the fact many people have a distorted view about love or think that situations like Freddy face up to normal things in a relationship. About the design, it’s coloured in a cold palette – black, gray and white – and highlighted in pink, which gives a cute feeling to the story.
Also, the brilliant characterization, the different colors, the way she designed each character’s body is a point/feature to talk about.
- Summer Nights
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Age rating: +12
If you are that type of person who doesn’t have time to read, but you have an interest in ‘Tamen de Gushi’ and Tan Jiu’s works, you may like ‘Summer Nights’! It’s a short manhua, published in July 2022 on the author’s Twitter, and it has only six parts.
The story is about two students who meet each other on a summer night. Tan Jiu art it’s really pretty and his scenery at night gives a sensation of welfare.
You can find the English version here:
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This article was edited by Giulia Howard.
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