If you need a Pride read, make it this truly excellent anthology of queer comics. If you want lovingly-rendered queer comics at any time of the year, this is a great read. On the longer side at 208 pages, this book is rated YA for some violence (warriors, not queer-hatred). The cast of creators is stellar, from voices you'll recognize to new talent you'll love.
While some of the stories were less successful for me than others, that's pretty standard for anthologies, and the good greatly outweighed the "meh." Here's a smattering of stories that I remember vividly:
- A gay Viking tries to avenge his lover and secure passage to Valhalla by dying valiantly in battle, all so he can spend the rest of eternity with his beloved
- A queerplatonic relationship with some magic and a well-meaning mom who wants her son to be happy but doesn't quite get him (yet)
- A boy summons a demon, but not for the reason you'd expect. (He wants a little help figuring out his sexual orientation.)
- A really unexpected futuristic food-delivery adventure (with a bi/pan character and a trans man in a friends-to-lovers situation). This one was bonkers in the best way.
These stories are super diverse and cover just about every possible color of the rainbow. I often see aro/ace characters left out of LGBTQ+ anthologies, so I was super pleased that the editors so carefully and inclusively curated this anthology.
In all, it was a joyous celebration of queerness. Stories range from fantasy to reality, past to future, and all made me feel warm and fuzzy and proud of my community.
Suzanne received a copy of this anthology from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
