With finals, travel, and holidays right around the corner, finding time to sit down and properly sink into a book can be difficult. Luckily for us, living in the age of the Internet means that some stories are easily accessible online and come in easily-read installments—and, best of all, SO many of them are queer. Here’s five of the best:
Basically the mothership of queer webcomics. Started in 2003 by Jeph Jacques, this is a slice-of-life webcomic—at least, if life had AI, debates over the ethics of robots performing different jobs and functions, and consistent unapologetic queerness. (Also, because some robots and people are just Like That, a large number of jokes relating to certain bits of anatomy.) With anxious trans librarians, chaotic bisexual cafe owners, and queer baristas-turned-robot engineers, this is a comic you’ll need to read to believe.
#2: Dumbing of Age
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “college AU” you’ll know where this is going. It’s not strictly necessary to read Dave Willis’s other comics (involving aliens, secret governmental organizations, and vigilantes) to read this one (involving college drama, personal growth, and vigilantes), though it is a lot of fun. Set in a college in Indiana, this comic follows the lives of a group of college freshmen as they live, grow, thwart kidnappings, beat up bad guys—and deal with the emotional fallout of all of the above.
A comic that (for the moment) is finished, this is another slice-of-life comic dealing with a group of young adults trying (and sometimes failing) to grow up. It also gets into the nuances of the different relationships they all have, and the challenges that can come with each one. Dealing with queerness as well as other social issues, this is a comic that gets deeply into the personal lives of people, as well as focuses on the idea of transformation, and the difficult, occasionally painful process that is growing up
This one is my go-to fantasy/sci-fi comic! Hosting a cast of odd, chaotic, quasi-mythological and potentially immortal characters, the comic primarily follows Antimony Carver (or “Annie” for short) as she makes her way through school Gunnerkrigg Court, an academic institution sat right on the boundary between the human world, full of cutting-edge robot tech, and the Forest, ruled over by mysterious forces and creatures that are (almost) beyond the realm of understanding. With queer characters playing major roles in a plot centered around the blurring boundaries between technology and nature, it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
#5: Heartstopper
Probably one of the sweetest webcomics I’ve read this year, this webcomic centers around the relationship between two high school boys, Nick and Charlie, as they slowly develop feelings for one another that go beyond friendship, and figure out what that means for them both as a couple and the roles they play in their community and school. With witty dialogue, sweet moments, and support coming from unexpected places, this is a sweet story with beautiful art, and an absolute pleasure to read.
With comics you can read anywhere, getting lost in a story has gotten a lot easier. Enjoy these queer comics while you survive the holidays!
[Images sourced from Questionable Content, Dumbing of Age, Girls With Slingshots, Gunnerkrigg Court, and Heartstopper]