10 of the Best Gay Comic Books

This is my absolute favorite kind of sci-fi story: a fast-paced adventure that also asks big questions about what it means to be human. Deacon is a powerful android solider who’s just royally messed up his latest mission from his corporate overlords. The Corporation is not happy, so they force Deacon to meet with a robopsychologist. Her only mission is to uncover Deacon’s secrets and make sure he never acts out of line again. Full of romance, action, and beautiful world-building, this is a story about holding onto autonomy in the face of incredible power.

This YA comic does not shy away from some tough material, but ultimately it’s a hopeful story about self-love and acceptance. Aiden Navarro is spending the summer before high school at camp, which turns out not to be the escape he was hoping it would be. He can’t stop thinking about his friend Elias, though he doesn’t want to ponder why. And what’s worse, camp is full of the same kind of bullies that his middle school was. Curato’s story of tumultuous adolescence and self-discovery is one that will resonate deeply with gay teenager (and adults). This is the kind of thoughtful, honest queer representation we need all the more of in comics.

If you’re hankering for a love story set in a bakery, you’re going to want to run to this one. Ari has just graduated high school and dreams of leaving for the big city to become a musician. Instead, he’s stuck working in his family’s struggling bakery. Baking is definitely not is dream job. But then he meets Hector, who loves baking as much as Ari hates it. As the two work together through the summer, baking batch after batch of bread, Ari’s whole perspective changes. This is a quiet but moving story about what happens when you let go of all those preconceived ideas about life and go with your heart instead.

This absolutely beautiful book is about family, fairytales, language, and the power of stories. Tiến is a Vietnamese American boy who loves his family and wants to come out to them, but he’s not sure how. So he turns to his beloved fairytales, the books he reads his mother each night, for help. Nguyen stunningly reimagines these fairytales into a contemporary story about Tiến and his immigrant family — the love they have for each other, the challenges they face, and the ways they support one another through life’s ups and downs.

This angsty (but ultimately happy!) manga is all about the complications that arise when childhood friendships change in adulthood. Kasumi and Kyousuke are opposites in many ways: Kasumi is quiet while Kyousuke is outgoing and energetic. They’ve been best friends since elementary school, but find that, as adults, their relationship is suddenly changing. Falling in love with your best friend isn’t always as easy as it sounds! If you love emotional romances that break your heart and then put it back together, this one’s for you.

This charming, joyful, and colorful all-ages comic follows the adventures of a group of queer and trans boys in the stage crew at their high school. Unbeknownst to the rest of the school, the backstage area is actually a portal into a magical world full of monsters and magic. The boys often find themselves in the position of having to save the show (and the whole school!) from the dangers of this mysterious backstage world. In addition to high-stakes adventure, this comic features several adorable gay love stories.

This thoughtful and warmhearted manga is about Yaichi, a single dad raising his daughter Kana in Tokyo. Their lives are changed forever with the arrival of Mike, the Canadian husband of Yachi’s recently-deceased twin brother Ryoji. Mike arrives in Tokyo still grieving, and wanting to learn more about his Ryoji’s past and family. Yaichi takes him in, and is forced to confront his feelings about his estranged brother and LGBTQ+ people in general. It’s a generous and ultimately hopeful story about the bonds between family.

Need a hug in the form of a gay comic book? Here ya go! This utterly heartwarming, laugh-out-loud funny, and totally affirming story follows Eric Bittle, a gay, pie-baking hockey player, over the course of his college career. There’s a slow-burn romance at the heart of this story, but it’s also about the importance of friendships, college life, family, sports, and so much more. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Bitty and his teammates. I guarantee you’ll inhale this as fast as you can, and you probably won’t be able to stop smiling.

This historical vampire comic tells the love story between Ed Fiedler, a 61-year-old mortal man and royal scribe, and Lucardo von Gishaupt, an aristocratic and eternally young vampire. When Ed and Lucardo fall in love, they’re forced to deal with the disdain Ed faces as a mortal man in the midst of the Night Court, the mysterious immortal society to which Lucardo belongs. This beautifully drawn romance (it contains graphic sex scenes) explores themes of morality and aging.