When aspiring fencing champion Nicholas Cox is humiliated by prodigy Seiji Katayama during a competition, he vows to one day defeat his new-found rival. But after being awarded a scholarship at elite boys school Kings Row, he finds out that Seiji has been appointed his roommate, and life becomes… difficult. Challenging the typically hetero-focused world of sports, Fence features same-sex romances and gender-fluid characters, making it a rare inclusive reading experience. Love Is Love (Various artists)

A fresh brew of coffee or a pot of tea is not all it seems at Bijou, where Tobias, an expelled witch academy student, works. When Ki, a frightened girl filled with someone else’s memories, shows up at Bijou, it will put Tobias through the toughest magical test he’s ever faced. Eth’s Skin is a comic about a fisher named Eth living on the edge of a ragged ocean. It’s a queer (and genderqueer) fantasy full of monsters and low tides, cool non-binary individuals, queer relationships, and a pet pygmy harbour seal named Goblin. The story of Acácio do Nascimento, a man who was subjected to several treatments looking for a supposed cure for his homosexuality. Secondly, she has carved out a powerful queer protagonist in Maika Halfwolf, a stoic and often terrifying main character. This is a delightfully gay story set in a gritty and dark steampunk world. Sometimes the way stories are marketed to people, it’s like, “It’s a coming-out story!” or “It’s a trans story!” And that reduction is so frustrating for me, because so many queer stories have so many facets. So I look for all those different aspects of queer experience that aren’t just about relationships, coming out, or struggle, but are about the mundane part of our lives, of existence. I think that happens with every marginalized community that gets their stories told. It always starts really narrow. But now, the breadth of queer experience and queer identity, and how that intersects with other identities, is finally really coming to the forefront in comics. Jessica Campbell, Rave

Both of these books are gorgeously, intimately drawn and written with such a raw, stripped-bare kind of intensity. Yvonne gets a most unexpected birthday surprise — Lucos, a refurbished Heartbreaker android, a fact neither Yvonne’s service dog, nor ex, is happy about. Everyone knows this book, but I will continue to recommend it. Most people have already read it, but it still stands out, because of the way it intersects queerness with the ideas of immigration and family and fairy tales. It made me realize there is so much to be done with the idea of history and magic with queerness. And it’s starting to appear even more. I feel like I’m seeing it in more books. In an act of self defense, Melody’s life is changed forever, and in more ways than one. Now able to time travel, Melody finds herself tempted by possibility. How far will she go to protect the ones she loves? Louis is an eleventh-grader, struggling with his sexuality, when he meets Daniel, and it turns his geeky life upside down.

We’ve rounded up some of the best, from rivals-turned-lovers on the sports field in Fence, to exploring cultural differences between West and East in My Brother’s Husband. Heartstopper (Alice Oseman) Hilarious depiction of daily struggles and awkward moments of a trans girl’s life before, during, and after transitioning. What it means to identify as queer differs by person, it’s an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of sexual orientations and gender identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, asexual, amongst many others. This queer memoir tells the story of Kabi, a woman who decided against attending university, and spent her early twenties in a haze of depression, drifting through jobs at stores and bakeries and, when she finds the energy to do so, she writes manga. An action-adventure modern fantasy story with an entire cast of queer characters, starring a gay trans girl and her weird friends!

A boy prince falls down a cursed well and goes on creepy adventures in the underworld. He teams up with two sisters to find a way home. Ace-friendly adventure! Monstress is an Image Comics series beloved by fans and a wonderful example of how to writer a powerful queer protagonist. Having been taken on by multiple writers and artists over the years, however, its diversity has grown and spread, celebrating not only women but also queer people of all shapes and sizes. This webcomic follows the wild adventures of an upbeat hippie, living her life in love and joy. (And beer and sex.) You’ll get to meet her various other friends, all as lovely and bonkers as she is. This comic also includes an ace character! Part of what I love about queer comics right now is the range of ages they’re available for — the rise of the middle-grade graphic novel and the availability of early-reader books. Not a lot of women and queer people make comics right now, and you don’t see a ton of books about queer boys. This is a book about acne on the forefront, and about how your body looks and how to deal with it, but it’s also about asexuality and fitting in.

First off, she has created a compelling yet terrifying matriarchal society with so many intricate moving parts.For those unaware, GLAAD is an American monitoring organisation, founded in 1985 as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation – although now known solely by the acronym, so as not to exclude bi, trans, and other queer people – to combat homophobia in reporting and to lobby for better representation in media. Since 1989, the GLAAD Media Awards have celebrated excellence in LGBTQ+ broadcasting and publishing, initially focussing entirely on TV but in recent years encompassing more varied creative outlets. When you’re a biracial and bisexual person growing up, you come to realize that the two have more things in common then you would think…. Fantastical and overflowing with imagination and narrative worldbuilding, Monstresscan often feel overwhelming but having a protagonist as elegant yet gruesome as Maika, and having her be queer (and not the only queer character either) is endlessly exciting. While Hollywood continues to drag its feet when it comes to meaningful and realistic LGBTQ representation, the world of comics, manga and graphic novels has long been a place for queer people to see reflections of themselves. An experimental narrative in ink & watercolor, with four interrelated stories: the memoir of a failed sailor, the quest of a traveling ghost, the adventure of a genderqueer Nancy Drew, and some rampaging giant robots. Of note, the characters are all transgender or genderqueer.