LGBTQ+ themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic strips and comic books, due to either censorship, the perception that LGBTQ+ representation was inappropriate for children, or the perception that comics as a medium were for children. In recent years, the number of LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream comics has increased greatly. There exist a large amount of openly gay and lesbian comic creators that self-publish their work on the Internet. These include amateur works, as well as more "mainstream" works, such as Kyle's Bed & Breakfast.[1] According to Andrew Wheeler from ComicsAlliance, webcomics "provide a platform to so many queer voices that might otherwise go undiscovered."[2]
The titular character, Bruno, is a bisexual, and free-spirited woman.[6] In one comic, Bruno admits her bisexuality,[7] and in others, she goes on a date with Frank, has a one-night-stand with Patricia, and sleeps with her friend Donna.
Bruno and Donna have a passionate relationship, but due to Bruno's alcoholism and somewhat turbulent personality, they break up. After the breakup, Bruno expresses interest in a boy[8] and Donna is seen with a new girlfriend.[9]
Sophia
Bruno later becomes involves with Sophia, who "has male and female lovers within the bounds of a polyamorous relationship."[10]
Judi
Trans woman
In the comic, Baldwin offers "brief flashes inside Judi's private sexual life," even though most of the main characters don't know she is trans.[11]
In this "gay-themed comic strip," most of the central characters, are lesbians, including the titular Jane Wyatt,[12] who has a crush on the owner of the coffee shop, Margaret "Maggie" Valen.
Maggie has a number of ex (and current) girlfriends. She may have feelings for Dorothy.[13]
Dorothy
Bisexual
Confirmed as a bisexual character,[14] she may have feelings for Maggie.[13] Bisexual women are also included as characters, and the comic later featured a same-sex marriage between some of the comic's central characters in 2018.[15]
Mae is a trans woman, based on the author of the comic, Maelyn Dean. Prior to June 2020, when a storyline revealed the character was trans feminine (and had been the entire time), this character was called "Greg".[18]
Includes gay main characters like Stan (who is in a relationship with Vincent) and a lesbian named Vera, in this story which deals with the Neopagan, Pagan, and Wiccan faiths.[22]
This webcomic is the sequel to Cutewendy, with two female protagonists (Otra and Winter) in a romantic relationship with one of them having lesbian parents.[23][24][25][26][27]
In a pair of Q&A strips and accompanying commentary in 2019, Shive described "the entire main cast and a lot of others" as LGBT+[28] and stated that "gender fluidity and bisexuality feel normal and like the default to [him]" and that he "grew up in the eighties and nineties wanting to see more LGBT+ characters"[29]
Includes characters of various sexualities, a trans woman named Claire, an asexual character named Hannelore, bisexual woman named Dora who is in a relationship with lesbian woman named Tai, gay man named Henry, and a professional dominatrix named Veronica, as well as various other themes of sexuality.[30][31] Faye, who had previously only expressed sexual attraction to men, enters into a relationship with a female-presenting robot named Bubbles. Two bisexual male characters, Clinton and Elliot, are in a relationship with each other.
This webcomic, by Danielle Corsetto, focuses on the adventures of Jaime, Hazel, and their friends, and at one point "Thea and Angel have the safe lesbian sex talk."[32][17] Corsetto also leads the readers through the "wonderful world of sex with girls," reminding readers that "sexuality comes in a number of flavors."
Explores "themes of sexual awakening"[34] The webcomic follows the lives and adventures of three roommates in their attempts to find love, success and the pleasures of life. One of these roommates is Suzi "Zii" Nielsen, who is bisexual,[35][36][37]
Explores various sexual themes[34] and includes a person named Ivan, and various other characters. Specifically, Ivan has sex with various men, women, and an unnamed mistress, along with having sperm enchanted by the said mistress, named Sprite. The comic also includes two succubus who have sex with each other, kissing male zombies, masturbation, oral sex, and lesbian sex of unnamed characters.
These siblings are members of a sexually monomorphic species, and thus don't naturally express gender identity. In interacting with human and troll culture, they begin expressing themselves in gendered terms.
Caliborn
Davepetasprite^2
Non-binary
Davepetasprite^2 is the fusion of a former male and female, and they are identified as they/them.[45]
Dirk Strider
Gay
Dirk, although rejecting the label on the basis of it being antiquated,[46] states discomfort when propositioned by Roxy, and develops a convoluted courtship plot to woo male friend Jake.
Jake English
Bisexual
Jake is shown to have interest in women,[47] and dates Dirk for a time.
Various
The alien race known as Trolls are predominately bisexual.
Focuses on two gay men, Doc and Raider, originally in newspapers from 1987 to 1997,[48] Published in newspapers and magazines for LGBT audiences beginning in 1987,[49] then as a webcomic from 2009 to 2020.[50][51]
One evening, Amal calls off his arranged marriage, coming out to his parents but gets disowned by them. The next morning, a boy named TJ is in his kitchen, and both decide to go on a roadtrip.[52][53]
Large cast of characters attending college with various sexual orientations and gender identities.[54] This includes Jennifer "Billie" Billingsworth who had a tempestuous relationship with her RA Ruth Lessick and then began dating a boy named Asher.[55][56]
Dina is not strongly inclined to sexual feelings, but she is more open to the possibility of making their relationship sexual than her partner Becky is, due to the latter's evangelical upbringing.[58]
Ethan Siegal
Gay
Ethan Siegal had sexual tension with his friend Danny Wilcox, leading Danny to discover he is bisexual.[59]
Features several characters shown involved in gay relationships. The most prominent example is Roger Foi-Hellick, shown to have previously had a male lover[64] as well as not being interested in intimate relationships with women.[65]
Features a protagonist named "Roomie" and explores sexual themes.[34] Roomie is a free-spirited and sexually active young woman who goes by the nickname of "Roomie", as her real name is as yet unknown.[66]
Roomie lives on no apparent income by staying with various friends and partners, with most of the comic's material prior to chapter 14 stemming from such ventures, particularly in the first two chapters. She has described herself as "not the romantic type,"[67] although she has close relations with Lillian, her roommate as shown on various occasions,[34] and she has said she has been sexual with men and women, implying she may be bisexual or pansexual.[68][69]
This comic features a trans girl, Rain, as the main character and other LGBT+ characters. The author has stated that her goal is to include at least one of every LGBT identity.[54]
This comic features two girls, Peridot and Almond, who have crushes on each other, and a complex trans woman character named Rosemaster, who is a villain in this story.[74][75]
The series protagonist, Nimona, is a stocky woman, and shapeshifter, who wears pink and is "kind of butch."[77] Nimona is a sidekick of villainous Lord Ballister Blackheart, with both fighting the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. Blackheart's former lover and childhood friend, Sir Goldenloin, is part of the institute.[78][79][80]
Allison has romantic and sexual relationships with both Zaid, a human man, and Cio, a female-presenting devil, at different points in the comic.[82][83][84][85]
Tom Parkinson-Morgan
Ciocie Cioelle
Bisexual
Cio has dated and married male-presenting devils in the past and has a romantic and sexual relationship with Allison, a human woman, later in the comic.[86]
Incubus
Gay
Parkinson-Morgan has stated that he is "pretty sure Incubus is gay, but he's gay for ambition the most of all."[87]
White Chain
Trans woman
White Chain transitions to using she/her pronouns over the course of the comic and takes the form of a human female after her apotheosis, contrasting with the majority of angels, who while technically genderless default to masculine presentation and consider other forms of gender presentation to be "human" traits.[88]
Centers around a gay protagonist, Eric "Bitty" Bittle, on a college hockey team.[92]
Ngozi Ukazu
Jack Zimmerman
Unspecified
Has a romantic relationship with Bitty and a past relationship with Kent Parson. Also had relationships with women in the past.[93]
Kent Parson
Unspecified
Had a romantic relationship with Jack as teenagers.
Connor "Whiskey" Whisk
Unspecified
Bitty's teammate in years 3 and 4 of the comics who has a girlfriend, but is seen kissing another boy. Near the end of the comic, he tells Bitty that he's still figuring himself out.
Shruti
Lesbian
Samwell women's rugby captain and a friend of Bitty's who is open about being a lesbian.
Edgar
Gay
Samwell men's volleyball captain who is mentioned to be gay.
Ollie O'Meara
Gay
One of Bitty's teammates who is revealed to have married fellow teammate Pacer "Wicky" Wicks after graduation in the comics extras.
Pacer "Wicky" Wicks
Gay
One of Bitty's teammates who is revealed to have married fellow teammate Ollie O'Meara after graduation in the comics extras.
This series features various LGBTQ characters. Two campers, Mal and Molly, discover they have mutual crushes for each other, with their friends accepting their relationship.[97][98]
Jo is a trans woman of color with two dads, and acts as an "expert on what it means to be a Lumberjane" to the fellow campers.[99][100]
Artemis
Asexual
In issue #68, when Artemis confesses her love for Diane, she says: "...I like you too. But I don't have any interest in kissing or junk like that" and has never had an interest in kissing anyone.[101]
Features a predominantly Black main cast with a variety of sexual orientations, with the story focusing on the "vibrant transformation of five young women into interdimensional warriors," such as a Black woman named Norah Tanner, and four others: Adele, Kendall, Paige, and Jordan.[102] Norah specifically is attracted to a woman dressed as Snow White and a man dressed as Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon.[102]
This comic follows life through the eyes of a middle schooler named Stephie who alternately makes light of, and chafes under the realities of growing up a transgender child in a cisgender world.[103] It also features a non-binary girl named Ciel, a trans girl named Brianna, three trans men (Ryder, Aidan, and Myrick), with Ryder calling himself a "gender smoothie."[104] This long-running webomic counters "misconceptions about transgender people," with Stephie and Ciel exploring their "gender identity, relationships, and just life in general."[105] It has been published under the name "Serious Trans Vibes" on Webtoon.
This comic features a trans girl named Prill, a witch who is in the main character Nyneve's class. Prill is introduced as a bully, and later becomes an ally.[108][109]
The webcomic features a relationship between male witch Damien Wytte and a prince named William. Will begins the story betrothed to, and in love with, a princess named Monica.[110]
Features a varied LGBT cast, like a non-binary teenager and one-eyed apprentice, named Lucy Marlowe,[111] and others within the diverse cast,[112] some of which are also non-binary.[113] The latter may refer to characters like Tetsu and Rascal who both use they/them pronouns.[114]
Later turned into a set of graphic novels, this story revolves around a crew in charge of rebuilding structures, with Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, and opens up about her reasoning for joining their ship - to find the love she lost, specifically her girlfriend Grace.[116][117]
Togata is a transgender cinephile with a deep love of films and action heroes, which influence his personality. Due to his regenerative abilities, he is physically unable to transition, causing him gender dysphoria.[118]
This webcomic is focused on Malori, a young female mage, who is supposed to kill the Demon Queen, Velverosa, but is deeply in love with her. As such, the queer relationship between them is a central part of the story.[119]
In the first season of the comic, Cerik shows a romantic interest in lamia and their queen Melathia, remaining oblivious to all others in love with him. In the second season of the comic, legendary hero Axel Dronvar attempts to convince Malori, Cerik and Princess Leora for form a harem with him; Axel subsequently brings Cerik on a nonromantic date in Folstina after learning he too came from Earth, as do Princess Leora and Malori.[120][121]
Cerik Aldebrandt
King Albert Siegwald
In the second season, Albert is shown to have seduced and slept with prospective party members to recruit them to his dragon hunting party in his youth, regardless of their gender, believing it to be the polite thing to do due to a miscommunication.[121]
It is shown that Leora has a crush on Malori and Axel,[122] Leora is also shown to be transgender, as she mentions that she used to be the prince, Leopold.[121]
A romance manga following a love triangle involving the bisexual woman Saki Aoi, the cross-dressing man Makoto Hanaoka, and Makoto's friend Ryūji Taiga, who initially is unsure about being with another man.[123][124]
Hobbyist make-up artist Kenshirou Midou and his childhood friend Hiura Mihate are attracted to each other. After Kenshirou practices applying make-up on Hiura, the latter realizes he enjoys being feminine, and starts cross-dressing regularly.[125][126]
According to the character sheet, the Ignan god Caliban uses he/him, she/her, and they/them pronouns, the primordial entity Life uses she/her and they/them pronouns, and the primordial entity known as the Void Dragon uses he/him and they/them pronouns.[127]
Red
Primordial Life
Void Dragon
Dainix
Trans man
According to the character sheet, Dainix uses he/him pronouns,[127] and transitioned in the past.
The comic, which is based on the namesake animated web series, features the show's multiple LGBTQ characters. Vivziepop announced a prequel comic focusing on the characters prior to the events of the series.[128] As of July 2020, the first chapter of the webcomic titled "Dirty Healings" has been completed containing twenty-two pages and hosted on the official website.[128] Another comic titled "A Day in the After Life" which focused on Alastor's daily life in hell was uploaded on the website on October 19, 2020.
A manga following three cross-dressing men – Cocoa, Opera, and Lemon – and one trans woman, Kantentarou, who are part of a monthly meet-up. The main character, Cocoa, is attracted to Opera.[129][130][131]
Follows the story of supernatural fighters in a world of monsters. Against this background, star-crossed lovers and estranged family members must come to terms with their relationships.[132]
Webcomics are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Homestuck is an Internet fiction series created by American author and artist Andrew Hussie. The fourth and best-known of Hussie's four MS Paint Adventures, it originally ran from April 13, 2009 to April 13, 2016. Though normally described as a webcomic, and partly constituted by a series of single panel pages, Homestuck also relied heavily on Flash animations and instant message logs to convey its story, along with occasional use of browser games.
Nimona is a science fantasy graphic novel by American cartoonist ND Stevenson. The story follows the title character, a shapeshifter who joins the disgraced knight Ballister Blackheart in his plans to destroy the over-controlling Institute. Blackheart's intent to operate under his code of ethics contrasts him with the impulsive Nimona.
Andrew Hussie is an American author and artist. He is best known as the creator of Homestuck, a multimedia webcomic presented in the style of a text-based graphical adventure game, as well as other works in a similar style that were hosted on his website MS Paint Adventures.
In contrast with mainstream American comics, webcomics are primarily written and drawn by women and gender variant people. Because of the self-published nature of webcomics, the internet has become a successful platform for social commentary, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) expression.
WEBTOON is an American-South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation, providing hosting for webtoons and compact digital comics. The platform, controlled by Naver and the Naver-SoftBank Group joint venture LY Corporation through a Delaware-domiciled, Los Angeles, California-headquartered holding company WEBTOON Entertainment Inc., is free and can be found both on the web at Webtoons.com and on mobile devices available for both Android and iOS.
Assigned Male is a webcomic illustrated and written by Sophie Labelle. It draws upon her experiences as a trans girl and woman. The comic, and series of zines, address issues of gender norms and privilege. It began in October 2014 and is ongoing, published in English and French. The webcomic is released in printed anthologies on Labelle's online store.
This article presents a list of notable events of 2016 in webcomics.
Tahilalats, also known as Mindblowon, is an Indonesian-language webcomic which is created, written and illustrated by Nurfadli Mursyid. First published through the Instagram account @tahilalats in 2014, the daily four-panel comic is one of the most-followed webcomics in Indonesia, being published primarily via WEBTOON and social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. The webcomic follows the slice of life genre, generally with the addition of overexaggerated, absurd twists.
Mage & Demon Queen is a fantasy-comedy yuri webtoon created by Filipino artist Kuru (Color_LES). The series follows an adventurer mage, Malori, as she attempts to seduce the Demon Queen Velverosa of her RPG fantasy world. It began publishing weekly on WEBTOON in August 2018. The eleventh-most popular comic on the WEBTOON platform; as of January 2020, it had 86 million views, and as of December 2020, WEBTOON reported that it had 2.1 million subscribers. In November 2019, WEBTOON released an official Spanish and French language version of the series. The webcomic updates weekly on Webtoon, and readers with the "Webtoon Fast Pass" can access pages earlier. By June 2021, 154 episodes had been published across three separate "seasons".
Adventures of God is a comedy webtoon created and respectively written and illustrated by Italian Matteo "Teo" Ferrazzi and American Corey Jay. The comic explores the relationship between God and his sons Jesus and Lucy and the angel Gabe and demon Ebag after confirming the existence of the afterlife to humankind. It began publishing weekly on WEBTOON in November 2016. As of August 2019 it had 100 million views, and as of April 2021 WEBTOON reported that it had 1.4 million subscribers. The comic has been nominated for a Ringo Award in the Humor Comic category, ranking second behind I Hate Fairyland. Adventures of God is published in print by Rocketship Entertainment and was Kickstarted in October 2019.
Daryl Toh is a Malaysian comic book artist and writer. Toh first gained attention through his supernatural webcomic Tobias and Guy, published on his Tumblr account, and focusing on the relationship between the human Guy and demon Tobias. Toh would go on to work on various independent comics or self-published projects.
↑ Christopher Baldwin(w,a)."What People Have to Offer"Bruno(October 15, 2010).Internet (webcomic):WordPress. Amy asks Bruno if she is lesbian and Bruno responds, "I might be bisexual" and says she has been thinking about it a lot.
↑ Christopher Baldwin(w,a)."Too Seriously"Bruno(February 3, 2011).Internet (webcomic):WordPress. Bruno shows she is still attracted to Donna, but doesn't know what to say. There is also a comic where she is said to be "in the closet."
↑ Lindsey, Erin. "About the comic". Official website of Venus Envy comic. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
↑ Lindsey, Erin. "All About Venus Envy". Official website of Venus Envy. Comic Genesis. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
1 2 3 4 Moondaughter, Wolfen (February 18, 2013). "Not Safe for Work". Sequential Tart. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Gisele Lagrace,Dave Lumsdon(a)."Improve our Club"Ménage à 3(November 3, 2015).Self-published.Archived from the originalon 2019-03-07.
1 2 3 4 Lagrace, Gisele; Lumsdon, Dave (2020). "Ménage à 3 Cast". Pixie Trix Comics. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020.
↑ Lauren Davis (February 13, 2009). "Gisèle Lagacé's "Ménage à 3"". Storming the Tower. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
↑ El Santo (November 5, 2008). "Review of Ménage à 3". The Webcomic Overlook. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
↑ Jen Friel (August 22, 2010). "Review: Ménage à 3 Webcomic". NerdsUnite Productions. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
↑ Martin, Sean (September 18, 2011). "We're moving". Doc and Raider official blogspot. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
↑ "Sean Martin". Lambiek Comiclopedia. 2020. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Jennifer "Billie" Billingsworth". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Ruth "Ruthless" Lessick". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Becky MacIntyre". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
1 2 Willis, David M. (2020). "Dina Saruyama". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Ethan Siegal". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Leslie Bean". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Malaya Eugenio". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Carla Rutten". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Willis, David M. (2020). "Booster Sanchez". Official Dumbing of Age website. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Chloé C.(w,a)."True asexuality"Go Get Roomie!(November 2, 2015).Self-published. In an author's note below this comic, Chloé C writes "It's probable some of you will be disappointed by the fact that Roomie isn't 100% lesbian. Sorry! But don't worry, she's about 80% there;)"
1 2 3 4 Samara D., Jocelyn (June 20, 2013). "Characters". Rain webcomic official site. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
↑ Robinson, Tasha (May 19, 2015). "Fun, Fast-Moving 'Nimona' Is A Perpetual Surprise". NPR. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020. In this article it is noted that Stevenson said that in an alternate universe, not in the comics, Blackheart and Goldenloin were "gay dads with Nimona as their adopted toddler."
↑ Kanesha C. Bryant(w,a)."Shannon Watters"Its A Myth-Terry,vol.17,no.68,p.22/5(November 27, 2019).United States:Boom! Studios,84428400378068011. On the following page, she still says she has romantic feelings toward Artemis, but not sexual ones.
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