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We’ve said it before and we shall say it again… HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE!
We hope that you are all staying safe and well, as well as being able to celebrate yourselves and your identity throughout the whole of June!
Here at Fuzzable, we love reading so for Pride Month, we wanted to put together a series of lists for you so that you can see yourself within the pages of a book! And, this list features graphic novels that feature characters from the LGBTQIAP+ community.
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Helloooo, Internet Land. Bitty here!
Y’all… I might not be ready for this. I may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It’s nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking. And then, there is Jack—our very attractive but moody captain.
“Check! Please” is a graphic novel series that began as a very popular webcomic series before getting published. It’s so incredibly cute, the characters are so lovable, the art style is absolute stunning and the story is so easy to read. It’s a perfect graphic novel in our opinion. It has the struggles of university, vlogging, baking, hockey and of course that feeling of being in love all wrapped up into one. It’s a graphic novel that you will absolutely fly through and fall in love with so easily so we definitely recommend picking this one up! The relationship between Eric and Jack is so adorable, especially in the second book and we love it so deeply.
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Fence by C.S Pacat and illustrated by Johanna the Mad
Nicholas, the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion, is a scrappy fencing wunderkind, and dreams of getting the chance and the training to actually compete. After getting accepted to the prodigious Kings Row private school, Nicholas is thrust into a cut-throat world, and finds himself facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama…
Through clashes, rivalries, and romance between teammates, Nicholas and the boys of Kings Row will discover there’s much more to fencing than just foils and lunges.
“Fence” is another graphic novel series revolving around sport and again has lots of characters from the LGBTQIAP+ community and we love it. Again, “Fence” is a series that you can fly through and absolutely fall in love with. it tells the story of these boys on this fencing team and is absolutely adorable. The art style is so cute, like you will absolutely love the way these characters are drawn! The story is so fun and although it does have some serious moments, it’s an absolute breath of fresh air. Then, there’s the characters themselves that are so lovable and easy to route for. You’ll want every single one of them to win like in Haikyuu! In fact, if you like Haikyuu! You will absolutely love these graphic novels!
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner.
“Heartstopper” is a graphic novel showing the beautiful love story about Charlie and Nick and we absolutely love it here. Charlie is the only openly gay kid at their school and has been through so much bullying because of it and Nick doesn’t think he’s anything but straight until he meets Charlie and their friendship turned love story is truly stunning. There is a huge cast of characters and a lot of them identify as members of the LGBTQIAP+ community! We have Charlie who’s gay, Nick identifies as bisexual and then all of their friends; Darcy who is a lesbian, Tara who is bisexual, Ellie who’s trans and Aled who is demisexual although that is talked about in Alice’s novel, “Radio Silence”
“Heartstopper” is a graphic novel that you will have no problem falling in love with. These characters are so complex and so easy to fall for. Even though the main story of course revolves around Charlie and Nick, you will have no problem becoming invested in all of their friends and the adventures all of them go on together. These graphic novels are such a massive breath of fresh air that you will leave each volume with a massive smile.
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.
Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.
Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.
“Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me” is a powerful, emotional graphic novel about what it’s like to be in a toxic relationship and how you break out of that spiral of the on and off relationship with someone who is a bit of a toxic person. It’s a graphic novel that will make you feel sad and sorry for Freddie but also sorry for the people around her that she keeps pushing away because of this girl that she’s in love with. You see Freddie truly struggle with this relationship and what Laura keeps doing to her as well as pushing all of her friends away without even meaning to.
“Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me” is definitely the most sombre graphic novel on this list but is also such an important read. Having said that, the art style is beautiful, it only has splashes of colour and they really add to the story. The character designs are stunning and the dialogue flows really well throughout the story. It’s definitely a graphic novel worth reading but it does deal with some difficult topics around being in a toxic relationship.
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As new member Mia gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. Soon, though, Mia reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love.
“On A Sunbeam” is definitely on the longer side when it comes to graphic novels but it is so worth reading. It’s this incredible story about a girl, Mia, who wants to find the love of her life, the girl she truly fell in love with and it’s absolutely stunning. It’s a fun story set on a spaceship as well as having a duel timeline that shows Mia’s time in boarding school. You learn about Mia and her motivations slowly throughout the book and it is just beautiful.
Tillie Walden is truly such an incredible author and artist and that is truly shown through “On A Sunbeam” her artwork is just out of this world and her handwritten dialogue just makes the whole thing feel so personal, like the story is made for your eyes only. It gives you such a warm feeling whilst still having a bit of a stress over what is happening in the story. All of her stories feature characters from the LGBTQIAP+ community and we could have had this whole list dedicated to her and her graphic novels but “On A Sunbeam” is truly special!
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Make sure you check out our past article about LGBTQIAP+ books here!
Also, make sure you read the other articles in this series which include; trans/non-binary characters, gay characters, lesbian characters and bisexual characters!
