sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
An anthology of LGBTQ+ graphic and sequential art, starting with underground comix in the 70s, going through zines and ending with the age of webcomics. As a cis hetero white male I can't identify with most of it, but I still appreciate the spirit. It's interesting to see the changes in zeitgeist over time, from the despair of the AIDS epidemic to the emergence of more trans voices in the last 10-15 years. Definitely worth a read and a great jumping off point to read more material from contributors.
jadenic's review against another edition
5.0
I really really enjoyed reading through this anthology. I had the stupidest smile on my face from beginning to end as I saw comics from creators I know and love and discovered creators I wasn't previous familiar with but who's work I am super excited to discover more of.
hwillustrator's review against another edition
4.0
This anthology is a fascinating insight into queer culture, romance and politics. Many of the comics are hilarious but plenty are also moving, either because they deal with emotionally difficult subjects or because they are unashamedly celebratory. Although an effort was made to include stories by and about people of all genders, my only criticisms are that it felt as if there were more comics centred around cis gay men and that the section on trans comics actually had very few examples of trans experience. Saying that I would still highly recommend this to anyone interested in LGBTQ+ history and/or comics history - the book is so large there is much to be discovered.
holyeatery's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
philippmk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Always hard to judge an anthology as a whole, but overall I really enjoyed this book. I do agree that it could have used more guidance or context besides the introduction, but most stories were understandable on their own as well. The one thing that threw me off was how many stories ended very abruptly, almost as if they were cut off and not like an intentional open ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Cursing, Deadnaming, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Grief, Sexual content, and Self harm
heartsib's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
shipyrds's review against another edition
emotional
3.5
I enjoyed the comics contained here, but found the accompanying text (and the organization) somewhat frustrating. First off, the book is divided into three sections: "Comics Come Out: Gay Gag Strips, Underground Comix, and Lesbian Literati," "File Under Queer: Comix to Comics, Punk Zines, and Art During the Plague," and "A New Millennium: Trans Creators, Webcomics, and Stepping Out of the Ghetto." Categorizing queer comics is hard, as any zine librarian will tell you, and mapping the trajectory of queer comics is even harder, because it resembles spaghetti more than any sort of linear timeline. And I do have to make allowances for the fact that the book came out in 2013. But I found it deeply frustrating that trans comics went into the sort of "third wave" section. I'm not a comics scholar, but given that I'm running across casual mentions of transition in Dykes to Watch Out For strips from 1996, I feel pretty confident that transition and trans narratives were around before 2000- and the anthology actually includes comics about drag and transition from the 90s in the section. It's a weird choice.
It's also weird that there's very little discussion of the role of race in the comics, beyond the inclusion of a few Black artists and a comic by Margaret Cho. But the comics by white artists are often full of Orientalist or racialized imagery, in the way that white artists have often used the specter of the nebulous East as a symbol of erotic freedom, but only as a setting devoid of any actual Asian people. I don't mean to say that the comics shouldn't be included-Orientalism is a big part of queer history and queer comics history in particular! But presenting the comics without comment does the reader a disservice.
In general, I'd really like more discussion of the comics! Aside from the opening essay, there's no accompanying text at all-nothing to tell us who the artists are, or, more critically in an anthology dealing with a community, who they're responding to. So the comics feel devoid of context.
Tl;dr: I wound up using this anthology as a starting point to find comics to read independently, rather than as any kind of critical framework. But maybe that's on me for expecting something the book is not.
It's also weird that there's very little discussion of the role of race in the comics, beyond the inclusion of a few Black artists and a comic by Margaret Cho. But the comics by white artists are often full of Orientalist or racialized imagery, in the way that white artists have often used the specter of the nebulous East as a symbol of erotic freedom, but only as a setting devoid of any actual Asian people. I don't mean to say that the comics shouldn't be included-Orientalism is a big part of queer history and queer comics history in particular! But presenting the comics without comment does the reader a disservice.
In general, I'd really like more discussion of the comics! Aside from the opening essay, there's no accompanying text at all-nothing to tell us who the artists are, or, more critically in an anthology dealing with a community, who they're responding to. So the comics feel devoid of context.
Tl;dr: I wound up using this anthology as a starting point to find comics to read independently, rather than as any kind of critical framework. But maybe that's on me for expecting something the book is not.
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
No humor is universal or eternal. Some of the works in this collection of “4 decades of queer comics” still feel funny and timely to me. Others I felt should have been left in the decade that spawned them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Biphobia, and Transphobia