It’s never officially summer until the annual kickoff of Pride Month in June!
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month celebrates the contributions of LGBTQIA+ Americans and has a fascinating history originating from the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. There are many ways to celebrate Pride in 2025, ranging from attending boisterous parades and rallying marches, to immersing yourself in the community, studying the history, and reflecting on the rights gained — and those still to be won.
While some libraries and educational institutions have toned down the spotlight on available resources, it’s important to remember that the history of marginalized peoples endure through the stories we collectively record and share. Comics Plus offers a curated “Pride Picks” list of titles that feature a wide range of stories centering the LBGTQIA+ community’s history and experiences. The range of comics and manga — including thought-provoking biographies, memoirs, and romantic stories — empowers readers to choose how they want to engage and explore what Pride can mean.
My six picks this month are a selection of quieter, slice-of-life stories, in which readers will find moments of joy and inspiration that invoke a lasting pride.
Teen
Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans edited by Sammy Lisel and Hazel Newlevant (A Wave Blue World)
Becoming Who We Are is an anthology of memoirs representing a diverse range of experiences within the transgender and non-gender conforming community. It opens with Becoming Sam Long, an examination into the life of identical twins, Sam and Donna. While they look similar, Sam’s interests diverge from Donna’s at an early age. Sam recalls the moment he was trying to pick out a new bicycle but instead ends up spiraling into confusion and self-doubt because he preferred a Spider-Man design while Donna preferred pink. Although his fears of his sister being upset that he didn’t want to match with her anymore were luckily unfounded, their parents definitely struggled with Sam’s choices. His greatest liberation came during his teen years, when he got a new short haircut and applied for a job. To his delight, the manager assumed Sam was a boy, a sign that he was “passing.” The exhilaration of the moment encouraged Sam to come out to his parents and after a few months of adjustment, they ultimately accepted Sam, who now lives a happy life on his own terms.
Sam’s is just the first of nine similarly uplifting but unique stories. Despite each story representing the author’s lived experience, their journeys all include confusion, self-discovery, and struggles, ultimately ending in a beautiful, authentic place. While some journeys include moments of violence and drug use, the presentation is always teen-appropriate, making this an essential read for young people who need to know that, no matter their current struggles, things really can get better over time.
Each story begins with brief biographies of the author and their illustrator, making it a fun way to discover new artists, or better appreciate those the reader may already be familiar with. There’s not a weak story to be found in this collection, each one elevating the rest. Back matter includes resources for those in crisis; recommended organizations to learn from and support; and selected character designs and behind-the-scenes views of the cover art process. First published during last year’s Pride Month, I hope it continues to find readers who need stories like these.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione (Dark Horse)
Basil Eyres is a top student entering her senior year at Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy, a culinary school for magical chefs. Not only is it a prestigious school, it’s a very expensive one, and Basil must study hard to perfect her dishes and earn her scholarship. New to the school this year is Arabella Oregano, the pretty and talented daughter of a renowned chef. While the two are almost instant friends, with hints at something more, Arabella doesn’t fully open up to Basil and is harboring a big secret: she is not, in fact, magical, and all her dishes are made by hand!
Unbeknownst to each other, they are both being driven by ambitions and pressure from their parents to compete for the spot of “top student,” a fact that has the ingredients to quickly spoil their bubbling relationship. The two are paired together for an end-of-year final cookoff, and their secrets are finally laid bare to one another. For Basil, continuing to work with Arabella means she risks losing everything: her scholarship, her prestige as top student, her reputation, and, increasingly important, her relationship with Arabella. Can they cook up a work of culinary art so delicious that the rest boils over? Readers will be salivating to find out.
Basil and Oregano is a quick, breezy read with catchy hooks and ultimately low stakes. It’s the perfect way for readers to dive into the universe of a magical school that is actually fun, accepting, and inclusive. Characters are judged on their contributions, not by their identities or orientations. Melissa Capriglione’s artwork is unapologetically adorable, with character expressions that seem to borrow from kawaii manga. Overall, this is a deliciously fun adventure.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Young Adult
Four-Color Heroes by Richard Fairgray (Fanbase Press)
Oscar and Patrick are two very different boys, with very different backgrounds and attitudes, who meet in high school detention — a very Breakfast Club scenario. Patrick is a troublemaker from a broken home, with an alcoholic father and rowdy older brother. Oscar lives with his religious mother who is vigilant with her son and stands in judgement of the gay community. The boys spark up an unlikely friendship based on their shared interest in comic books featuring the superhero, Telakos. Since Oscar isn’t allowed to read these comics, the two begin secretly meeting so Patrick can tell him all the superhero’s antics.
The story takes place in New Zealand around 2004 during the passing of the Civil Union Act. While tensions run high across the nation over the topic of equal rights, the boys attempt to carve out emotional and physical spaces where they can just be themselves without interruption, outside influence, or judgement. Their relationship has some serious hurdles to overcome, but it deepens and builds in a way that feels authentic. Ultimately, Patrick and Oscar must decide how far they’re willing to go, and what they are willing to give up, to live authentically.
Four-Color Heroes is a 2024 GLAAD Media Award winner in addition to being nominated for Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award and a being a finalist for the Excellence in Graphic Literature Award. Back matter for this title includes a note by author-illustrator Richard Fairgray about his experience being a “gay kid” in his New Zealand high school at the time the story took place. There’s an essay from Dr. Drea Letamendi, a clinical psychologist, about protecting the mental health of the LGBTQIA+ youth. Her essay includes some of her favorite essential resources.
NOTE: Fanbase Press also published a Te Reo Māori Edition, Tuahangata tae e whā, translated by Komako A. Silver and Alejandra Jensen, and there’s an Easter egg mention of me in the acknowledgements of both editions for having assisted in finding a translator.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Adult
Parallel by Matthias Lehmann (Oni Press)
Karl is a newly retired bachelor who doesn’t yet know how to fill his days. His ex-wife has long since moved on without keeping in touch, and he’s been estranged from his daughter, Hella, for almost a decade. While Karl jokes to his barmates that he can still run circles around younger men in the dating scene, the secret truth is that he exclusively dates other men. This fact, coupled with his history of unreliable behavior, are the core of his familial troubles. Now facing a lonely, unfulfilling late-life, Karl’s friend convinces him to reach out to Hella with a letter. Set in Germany between the end of World War II and the 1980s, the story switches back and forth between Karl’s present life and his retrospective through writing the letter. Through his memories we learn that a young Karl found it important to maintain his family because he doesn’t want to end up old and alone, yet despite enduring rumors, beatings, heartbreak, and having former lovers disappeared by authorities, Karl has indeed ended up old and alone.
Despite his empathetic situation, Karl can be a frustrating and self-centered character, making him more believable if not always likable. While he struggles with loneliness, he refuses accountability for the family he leaves behind and is careless of the safety and emotional well-being of his affair partners. We see him callously leave his second wife and their baby at home to spend endless nights prowling, then lamenting how “unfair” it is when he’s thrown in jail while the man he had picked up is disappeared by the police, probably facing a far worse fate. It’s a heart wrenching, frustrating, and realistic read at times, but ultimately has a satisfying conclusion.
It should be noted that due to the subject matter and historical context, Parallel depicts the use of slurs, violence, sexual situations, and lots of adult language. This title was a 2023 GLAAD Media Award Nominee for Outstanding Original Graphic Novel as well as an ALA Best Graphic Novel for Adults the same year. That success was due to the talents of Matthias Lehmann, who took inspiration from a family member’s story and then filled in the gaps with his detailed dedication to historical research.
- Comics Plus Collection: Full Collection
Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story of a Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition in Japan by Yuta Yagi (Tokyopop)
Yuta and Kyota are an adorable gay couple living in Japan. Despite the fact that same-sex marriage is not yet legal in their country, the pair want to celebrate their love and also proactively protect their future from legal issues like family challenges to end-of-life decisions and claims to shared assets. They decide to exercise a unique loophole in order to force the government to recognize their union: Kyota, only five months older, legally adopted Yuta as his “son.”
Their lives are portrayed to readers in chapters that center their love story, including how they meet, their engagement, and the decisions they make to protect the life they have built over decades. Yuta cooks and cleans while Kyota works and then comes home to fulfill his duty of being cute and well-fed. We also see their relationships with extended family to whom they have not officially come out, before concluding each chapter with a page explaining the rationale and legalities around their decisions. These pages lay out the pathways available to same-sex couples in Japan at the time of publication, such as adoption compared to legal agreements, while explaining their reasoning for choosing one over the other. For instance, Yuta and Kyota explain that they chose adoption over a legal agreement because such agreements only bind the couple but do not extend to these third parties. Instead, they opted for a less traditional adoption route that allowed them each to make decisions in the best interest of one another.
Despite the levity of their overall interactions, Why I Adopted My Husband dives deep into the legal ins and outs involving same-sex marriage in Japan, even including which forms are needed and examples of how to fill them out. The title includes an afterword from mangaka Yuta Yagi, who notes that he hopes the reader’s takeaway is simply that people like he and Kyota “exist.” He also says this book is a great vessel to brag about his love life. It’s a cute and extremely informative read, which will also serve as an interesting historical reference in the future.
- Comics Plus Collection: Full Collection
Rockstar and Softboy by Sina Grace (Image Comics)
Softboy is a quiet game designer facing creative blockage while working on his personal role-playing game and also suffering from a pitifully stalled love life. Thankfully, his roommate and platonic best friend forever, the aptly named Rockstar, has the perfect idea: they should throw an epic party and invite folks from all of their collective social circles! It takes some convincing to get Softboy on board, but soon they are excitedly planning every detail, especially the guest list. Having decided they need a specific type of diverse social circle means they must include the witches, zombies, vampires, faeries, and of course a local sorcerer named Stu. Plus they must over-invite, by a lot, to combat the inevitable no-shows! Despite Softboy’s multiple reservations — Nothing could go wrong with such a diverse range of folks on hand, right? — the party vibes are epic. That is, until the dreaded Party Animal shows up, wrecking Softboy’s game idea wall and creating a havoc that ends in a screaming match, where they each hurl hard truths at one another and ruin the soiree.
While Softboy attempts to move out and move on, Rockstar must confront the fact that he may push his friend too hard, ultimately realizing he never wants to lose their bond. When Party Animal is later reported to be tearing apart another bash, Rockstar and Softboy attempt to come together to stop him. Finding their combined powers of friendship are not quite strong enough, the two enlist the help of other friendly faces with unique and unmentionable powers. The group combines powers to stop Party Animal before he is able to ruin every social gathering in the Los Angeles area. With so much damage already done, can Rockstar and Softboy fully mend all that has been broken?
Sina Grace follows up this fun romp with an essay about his inspiration, which is unsurprisingly a real-life friendship, with a note about not having wanted this to be another story of queer trauma in literature. Instead, after a few tough years, Grace relatably uses his power of spite to bring forth this fun tale of love, friendship, and life in L.A. It’s a perfect standalone, or can be enjoyed with its equally fun and frivolous sequel, Rockstar and Softboy Go To Space.
- Comics Plus Collection: Full Collection
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Moni Barrette, MLIS is the Director, Collection Development for LibraryPass, as well as former President of American Library Association’s Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table, and co-founder of the nonprofit Creators, Assemble! Inc. As a former public library manager, Moni won the California Library Association PRExcellence Award (2018 & 2019) for library events aimed at underserved adult library users, and has proven success using comics to increase library circulation. She is a frequent panelist at San Diego and New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Fest and Wonder-Con, hosting industry networking events and providing instruction to educators and librarians.
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