Not everyone likes Valentine ’s Day: some feel lonely, some have too much work, some don’t like the crowds, some just don’t like the capitalistic commercialisation of romance while others just don’t like the mushy stuff in such quantities. It’s okay! We can all unite by reading something kickass while letting the romantics have their time.
Here are some graphic novels and webcomics sure to distract you until The Time passes. Be warned though – most of them have sappy romance too!
The instant gratification (finished or finished-for-now):
Heavy Vinyl (formerly known as Hi-Fi Fight Club) by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva and published by BOOM! Box is–for now–a stand alone comic about a group of teens (and 20s) who works at a record store but are also members of a fight club that fight injustice. Chris is the ‘new’ employee and the story is told from her point of view mostly. Then there is Maggie, Chris’ crush and Dolores, Chris’ ‘archnemesis’ and Kennedy, who kicks ass, and Irene, their boss.
Chris is a very insecure character but she definitely does some growing up. Her initiation in the Fight Club happens after her idol goes missing. She becomes determined to solve the mystery and what lies beneath is interesting. All the while, some tensions in the group are resolved. It’s definitely a half-kickass, half-sweet read and it looks like there will be more of the story.
Power Ballad by Molly Brooks is a complete and free webcomic and can be read here. Power Ballad has 26 chapters and follows Meera, the power assistant to Superstar Carina. It follows Carina too, who apart from being a famous superstar, is also secretly The Skeleton, a vigilante!
This is a really not stereotypical–it has diverse representation of queer women and power dynamics (work and relationship) and also another great representation of masculinity. Go Todd, also poor Todd. (Count all the ‘hypothetically speaking’ in the comic). Power Ballad isn’t just about Carina and Meera’s feelings but is centered also around a mystery: a designer’s works keep getting stolen. This is a really super cute webcomic that is definitely kickass–and to show how kickass it is, it starts with a fight scene. The pages are really long and so the movements look like it’s a movie.
Esmé by Steve Stivaktis is a comic that I discovered thanks to Malta Comic Con (Malta as in the country) and oh did I ever wish there were more queer fantasy books/comics that make use of mythology and folklore! Esmé is more of an adventure and quest kickass type of book.
Esmé follows Elena on her journey on the Road of No Return to find the Esmé bird because, of course, her father offended a divinity–that’s a classic Greek Mythology move. Elena is joined by Achilles (love him!) and Antigone (also love her!). It’s definitely a quirky, but realistic-ish tale full of cute stuff, quests and misunderstandings. The graphic novels is originally in Greek but there is an English translation available on etsy!
The long-term commitment (series not finished):
Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley, published by Oni Press is the first in a series and focuses on Kim’s and Becka’s beginning. The plot the two fine arts students. Becka has a huge crush on Kim and follows her to ask her to the pub…then falls into a portal that Kim had created–because Kim is a Reaper. What follows is a series of shenanigans, rule breaking, adventure and supporting each other.
Kim is at first annoyed at Becka for disturbing her job–her job has MANY perks, as we get to know about it. Becka is annoyed at what Kim does. In fact, while the story is cute and shows promise, I’m not sure about Becka and Kim, but there is definitely funny kickass moments! Bonus points for Tyler, who portrays great non-toxic masculinity and protective-best-friend vibes towards Becka. The art is awesome as well.
Batwoman Vol.1 : The Many Arms of Death by Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV, Steve Epting and Ben Oliver, published by DC comics is a rehashing of the Batwoman series in the Rebirth Universe–keeping Kate the same as the 52 series, as in she’s still a lady-lover. This story is about many things. It’s about the present, the past and the future. As someone that was not following the Rebirth and the Fall of the Batmen arcs, the latter story was a bit confusing but I think it will be made clearer later on.
Kate visits a place from her past: Coryana, and island that looked a bit like my country (and my country was actually mentioned in the comic…no one mentions Malta). There is a new threat to humanity and Kate needs to know them and stop them. The art was simply amazing, especially in some issues. What I liked best was how real it all felt. Yes, the majority of it takes places in invented places, but the threats to humanity are very contemporary. I have hopes for this series and it’s definitely kickass, but don’t get too much invested, just in case! The second volume will be available mid-year.
Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess series by Jeremy Whitley, published by Action Lab Entertainment is a spin-off of the Princeless series. I confess to not having read that series, but I absolutely devoured this one, and a new volume should be out soon! The series focuses on Raven, who was deprived of her ship and crew by her own brothers. But she has half the problem sorted because Raven has stolen a ship. She has no crew, so she sets off to find one!
Raven gets pick-pocketed by Sunshine, a half-elf dancer (not the stripper kind). Turns out Sunshine works for Cookie, an ex-crew member on Raven’s father’s ship! So he helps and she find the rest of her crew, including Katie who’s been waiting her whole life for adventure and justice, Ximena who was Raven’s ex-best friend and Jayla who’s a scientist-in-the-making. And a whole guild of geeks! I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Lots of adventure ahoy–I mean, ahead. Lots of kickassing, half of which is fumbled. There are three volumes for you to catch up on, while waiting for the fourth one!
Not enough kickass comics? In general, I recommend BOOM! Box publishers, they have a lot of queer kickass comics. Have recommendations? Leave a comment!