Virgil

The cover of Virgil

I decided to start 2017 by writing about one of the best graphic novels of 2015. (Hey, I’ve never claimed to be timely.) As we face an uncertain future, it is good to remember how difficult it is to be LGBT in other countries, how art can elevate society, and of the necessity of having love in our lives. This may seem like a portentous and pretentious way to begin writing about a “queersploitation” graphic novel that many would wrongfully dismiss as a genre exercise, but this is why it should be taken seriously. I have no doubt Virgil will be discussed for years to come.

Single Issue Showcase: All-New X-Men #13

 This scene doesn't appear in the comic.

I think I’ll end every year by checking in on Iceman. It’ll be a nice way of keeping track of how the character is being treated and my ignorance of all things X-related. I may be looking forward to the Iceman ongoing series, but I doubt I’ll still be able to make much sense of what’s going on. Fortunately, this issue is light on continuity-related shenanigans that would intimidate a new reader or make a seasoned reader’s head spin. There’s some talk of “Egypt and Hank” and the blue kid (whom the intro page calls “Kid Apocalypse” but the Internet calls “Genesis”) has a couple of panels talking about what he would do for Apocalypse, but mostly it’s about young, newly out Bobby Drake’s first time at a gay bar. And it’s just as adorable as it sounds.

Duck! Second Chances

The cover of Duck! Second Chances that I prefer

Published in 2013, Duck! Second Chances by J. Tana Ford is not quite a sequel. Though the title is a clever way of alerting the reader that this is the second volume of a story, it also refers to the self-contained tale of friendship and romance contained within. Second chances abound as characters deal with breakups and hookups, new relationships, the loss of a job and the search for a new one, and the possibilities of the future. There are four friends at the center this time instead of two—Duck and Cat are joined by two minor characters from Duck!—and the action takes place entirely within Boston, allowing it to easily distinguish itself from the previous story.

Duck

The cover of Duck

Friendship is a defining attribute of the gay community. When so many of us are rejected by our families—even now, at a time of great acceptance—it is important to find people upon whom we can rely in ways that cannot be found elsewhere in society. Even for gay people for whom family can be a refuge, friendships are what can matter most; we know that few people will understand us like other gay people. Such philosophical musings are the most immediate result of reading Duck by JT (Tana) Ford, an original graphic novel that hides a surprising amount of poignancy in its slim number of pages.

Single Issue Showcase: The Strangers #5 – “Dynamic Tension!”

The cover of The Strangers #5

I take great pride in presenting books on this blog that might go unnoticed by mainstream readers; a friend of mine told me he’d never heard of any of the books I wrote about last year and I took that as a great compliment. For this month’s Single Issue Showcase, I’d like to highlight a book so obscure other friends of mine accused me of making it up entirely: The Strangers. I’ve written on Spectral, the gay member of this superhero team, elsewhere and issue #5 is the one in which he comes out of the closet.

Likewise

The cover of Likewise

One of the most profound pleasures of following an artist is seeing a talent develop in unforeseen ways. I have written previously about the high school chronicles of Ariel Schrag, and it almost pains me to come to the end with Likewise because it means there will be no more. Like all great conclusions, it is bittersweet simply because it exists. Ostensibly about Ms. Schrag’s senior year of high school, it also chronicles her growth as a person and an artist. It is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year, and is no less powerful for being seven years old.

Flutter, Volume 2: Don't Let Me Die Nervous

The cover of Flutter, Volume 2

The second volume of a trilogy can be the best part of a story or a placeholder until the grand finale. It may be too soon to declare the second volume of Jennie Wood’s Flutter the former, since the third volume has yet to be produced, but it most certainly isn’t the latter. Don’t Let Me Die Nervous, a Kickstarter-funded sequel that came out last year, continues the story of Flutter, Volume 1 and does not disappoint. (Full disclosure: I contributed to that Kickstarter, though I defy anyone who read the first volume to say they wouldn’t have done the same.)