So far this year we’ve given you our list of awesome queer fiction and non-fiction for 2023, but maybe your love language is pictures, colours, and stories told through images. If so, keep scrolling for this year’s Spring/Summer LGBTQIA+ releases in the worlds of comics, manga, and even photography — we’ve got plenty to catch your eye, and your heart! And if prose is more your thing, check out our 2023 Queer Lit Preview!
As usual, you can find the entire list on Bookshop.org and if you want to stock your bookshop shelves with anything on this list then please reach out to your local Turnaround sales rep! 💖
Please note that some of these titles may not yet be available to pre-order for the general public.
January
Be Kind, My Neighbor
By Yugo Limbo
9781945509926 / Silver Sprocket / p/b / £37.99 / Out now
A psychedelic folk horror graphic novel featuring a whirlwind queer romance.
Murder. Love. Cults. Puppets! It’s 1973, the town of Baths, cosy middle-of-nowhere American heartland. Travelling musician Wegg rolls in, content to busk for a beat and be on his merry way once more. That is, until he meets Mr. Neighbor, the disarmingly sweet man made of cloth who offers him company and a place to stay. As the two grow closer, they click together just right, each harmonising with the other’s most secret self.
Yet their growing romance is haunted by uncertainty and mystery… There’s the town itself, plagued by repeated, ritualistic murders by the elusive Baths Heartbreaker. Then there’s Neighbor, whose cheerful demeanour never falters, but who disappears like clockwork every month. And Wegg, who lives as though he’s on borrowed time — what exactly is he afraid will catch up to him? A twisting graphic novel of love and deceit, all threaded together with lush psychedelia, folk horror, and a heaping helping of mirth.
Welcome Back, Alice 4
By Shuzo Oshimi
9781647291709 / Vertical / p/b / £12.99 / Out now
The latest series from the acclaimed creator of The Flowers of Evil.
From the creator of Blood on the Tracks, comes his latest work tackling adolescence with a gender bender twist… Yohei, Kei and Yui are childhood friends and things get complicated when Yohei witnesses Kei and Yui in an intimate moment. But when Kei unexpectedly moves away and returns a few years later to reunite in high school, he seems to be a bit different.
Sad Girl Space Lizard
By Iggy Craig
9798886200010 / Silver Sprocket / p/b / £18.99 / Out now
A funny, kind-hearted, sexy, queer graphic novel for adults.
Lieutenant Left is barely scraping by at her maintenance job on a lonely, two-lizard mech crew. Every day seems just as monotonous as the last, until disaster strikes Commander Right on a routine mission. Now it’s up to Left to step up, or risk being stranded in space… with nobody around except her hot crewmate for millions and millions of miles. Cartoonist Iggy Craig’s debut graphic novel, Sad Girl Space Lizard is a queer mech action romance (for lizards). If you are a lizard, or have an appreciation for lizards, this comic is for you. If not, you’ll probably still enjoy it.
February
Last Gender 2
By Rei Taki
9781647291952 / Vertical / p/b / £12.99 / Out 21st Feb
A manga exploration of gender identity.
The stories of sexual minorities gathering at a chic spot called BAR California looking for their sexuality and love. Welcome to ‘BAR California’, a place where people with different genders, propensities, and sexual orientations gather to find a certain ‘something’. A transgender bisexual who has been hurt by the voices of others, a pansexual looking for true love, and a person who identifies as both male and female. There are as many sexualities as there are people.
Youth Volume 2
By Curt Pires, Alex Diotto & Dee Cunniffe
9781506730998 / Dark Horse / p/b / £21.99 / Out 28th Feb
A coming-of-age queer teen superhero story that redefines all the genres it touches.
Youth is Larry Clark’s Kids meets Chronicle. X-Men by way of Frank Ocean. It smashes together the violence of coming of age with the violence of the superhero narrative — as well as the beauty. Six months later. Some of the kids are dead. Some are missing. Some are trying to do better. One thing is for certain: They’re not the only ones with powers, anymore. The greatest teen superhero book of the decade continues here. The second chapter in the Youth saga by acclaimed collaborators Curt Pires (Wyrd, Olympia), Alex Diotto (Olympia), and Dee Cunniffe (Crossover). Collects the original digital series Youth Season 2 #1-#4. Youth Volume 1 is also available now.
Carmilla: The First Vampire
By Amy Chu, Soo Lee & Sal Cipriano
9781506734644 / Berger Books / p/b / £18.99 / Out 28th Feb
A horror comic inspired by the earliest vampire story.
Before Dracula, before Nosferatu, there was… Carmilla. At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care. A series of clues points her to Carmilla‘s, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighbourhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past. Inspired by the gothic novella that started the vampire genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore, this queer, feminist murder mystery is a tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets.
March
The Heavy Bright
by Cathy Malkasian
9781683966920 / Fantagraphics / h/b / £39.99 / Out 28th March
In this allegorical, fantastical graphic novel, a queer young woman aims to dispel the greed and cruel masculine energy that has consumed the world.
Once, the world lived in harmony. People trusted and aided each other, dreamed freely, and communed with their ancestors. And then one day the eggs appeared. One thousand black eggs, heavy as pure lead, which by some mystical property, provoked greed and violence in all who came in contact with them. A family of brutish men managed to hoard the eggs and build a misogynistic dynasty that held all of the land in an iron grip. Years later, Arna, an orphaned young woman immune to the beguiling power of the eggs, is charged with a monumental mission: hunt down these formidable men, pilfer their eggs, and release the bright from the heavy. Along the way, she falls for the enchanting Sela, who shows her how beautiful the world can be.
April
The Sucker
By Elle Shivers
9798886200188 / Silver Sprocket / p/b / £15.99 / Out 19th April
A surreal graphic novel weaving the fates of the environment and humanity.
In this moving graphic novel by cartoonist Elle Shivers, two estranged friends discover a mysterious underwater creature, setting off a collision of passions and wants. On an assignment to survey an uninhabited Philippine island marked for commercial development, a jaded marine biologist and a guileless underwater photographer are surprised to find themselves thrust back together after losing touch. The straightforward mission gets complicated by their discovery of a strange giant squid that was thought to have gone extinct. As tensions rise over the fate of the creature, EJ and Dani must make their own choices about what’s right, and what they owe to each other. The Sucker was originally published in the 2021 ShortBox Comics Fair.
Light Carries On
By Ray Nadine
9781506726373 / Dark Horse / h/b / £18.99 / Out 20th April
An unmissable graphic novel that balances out themes of trauma, grief, and toxic relationships with radical empathy, queer joy, and healing.
When Leon’s camera unexpectedly breaks, he is forced to borrow a used one from his mom’s antique store. As he snaps the first picture, the ghost of the camera’s former owner is released and the two are inexplicably linked. After taking Leon’s body for an accidental joy ride, the ghost introduces himself as Cody, a queer punk rocker who died decades ago. Of course, he doesn’t remember how he wound up dead but the two decide investigating might be the only way to end the haunting. Leon has been reeling from a recent break-up with his boyfriend, recovering from his time in the military, and trying to become a photographer who can afford to take pictures of something more than high school proms and weddings. So being the only one able to see and talk to a ghost that died before cellphones, Wikipedia, or iTunes seems like a great way to fill his ample free time. The two get closer as they travel around Chicago showing each other the landmarks of their pasts and trying to unearth the secrets around Cody’s mysterious death. They discover they have much more in common than expected as they explore the complexities of life, love, and afterdeath, taking breaks to jam out to tunes, hang out in planetariums, and slurp down tasty frozen beverages. Cartoonist Ray Nadine (Station Six, Raise Hell, Messenger) has created an unmissable graphic novel that balances out themes of trauma, grief, and toxic relationships with radical empathy, queer joy, and healing.
Year Zero Vol. 0
By Daniel Kraus
9781953165459 / Upshot / p/b / £9.99 / Out 20th April
See how everyday people from all walks of life try to survive in a new world where the dead eat the living in this epic global look at a zombie apocalypse.
In this action-packed prelude to the hit series, acclaimed horror writer Daniel Kraus (George Romero’s The Living Dead, The Autumnal) unveils four globe-spanning tales from the earliest days of the zombie apocalypse when even the wildest rumours couldn’t measure up to the horror to come. A streetwise Russian cop patrols the back alleys of the opportunistic black market that emerges in response to the crisis… a North Korean soldier observes strange happenings on the DMZ… An E.R. nurse in the rural South fights to protect her hospital from threats without and within… A transgender flight attendant who has observed disturbing clues as she crisscrosses the globe keeps a wary eye on the passenger in seat 23C…
I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons Volume 1
By Yuki Fumino
9781642732337 / One Peace Books / p/b / £13.99 / Out 20th April
Kohei Sugihara, college student with hearing loss, and Taichi Sagawa, his ever-optimistic former classmate, met in a chance encounter that ignited an undeniable spark that would eventually blossom into love. Now it’s spring and as Kohei nears graduation, his search for a job begins. Meanwhile, Taichi finds himself in charge of someone new at work. Life is busier than ever, but all in all, things seem to be looking up for the pair. That is, until the sudden appearance of Ena, one of Kohei’s old flames.
Tragic Volume 2
By Dana Mele & Valentina Pinti
9781681161211 / Legendary Comics / p/b / £17.99 / Out 20th April
17 year-old Harper unravels the mystery and grief surrounding her father’s death in the final acts of this contemporary Hamlet.
What was the question? With her head spinning and the ghost of her father continuing to haunt her, Harper’s list of murder suspects grows as she grapples with new revelations about her family. With Talia, Holden, and now Liam by her side, Harper must face the unthinkable as she delves further into the mystery of who killed her father, with the suspects all around her… and closing in. Can Harper maintain her grip on reality long enough to see her father’s murderer brought to justice? And can reigniting her off-again-on-again relationship with Talia help her regain the sanity she needs to navigate the dangerous secrets that surround her? As Harper’s story enters its final act, all the players take to the stage to perform their fated roles before they take their final bow.
Boys! Boys! Boys!
By Ghislain Pascal
9783969001141 / Kehrer Verlag / h/b / £46 / Out 20th April
Contemporary collection of works by more than sixty queer and gay photographers from around the world.
The latest BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! book presents new work by more than sixty photographers from thirty countries including China, India, Iran, Poland, and Russia where gay rights are repressed and queer lives are under constant threat. BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! was founded by The Little Black Gallery and is curated by Ghislain Pascal to promote queer and gay fine art photography, which includes their bi-annual magazine with the same name. The first BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! book was published in 2019, the second in 2020, both are sold out. Part of the proceeds of this edition will be donated to charities supporting the LGBTQ+ community and fighting the HIV / AIDS epidemic.
Otherside Picnic (Manga) 04
By Lori Miyazawa, Elita Mizuno & Shirakaba
9781646091096 / Square Enix Manga / p/b / £12.99 / Out 27th April
A manga adaptation of the hit light novel series.
In this sci-fi/fantasy survival thriller, the dangerous and deadly realm of the Otherside — where urban legends, cryptids, and folkloric legends roam — calls to two women, both in search of something. As they set out to sate their curiosity and explore this other world, will the most earth-shattering thing they discover on the Otherside be their feelings for each other?
May
Lost Falls Volume 1
By Curt Pires, Antonio Fuso & Minotti Pierluigi
9781506730950 / Dark Horse / p/b / £20.99 / Out 9th May
Twin Peaks meets Lovecraft Country in this socially minded mystery thriller graphic novel.
When Detective Daniel Pynchon Wakes up in Lost Falls, on the shore with no recollection of how he got there, he struggles to piece together the events that lead him there. As he investigates the phenomenon surrounding his memory loss and the town itself, he discovers horrors both human and otherwise.
Twilight Out of Focus 1
By Jyanome
9781647292331 / Vertical / p/b / £12.99 / Out 11th May
Second-years Mao Tsuchiya and Hisashi Otomo make three promises: 1) That Mao will never tell anyone that Hisashi is gay and has a boyfriend, 2) That Hisashi will never think of Mao ‘in that way,’ and 3) That they’ll always knock before entering, in case someone is having some ‘private time.’ The two’s ground rules should ensure a peaceful life together in their dorm, but life is never as simple as it should be, and some things are not so easily promised…
Gatsby
By Jeremy Holt & Felipe Cunha
9781953165480 / Upshot / p/b / £18.99 / Out 11th May
An epic, queer rager based on a timeless classic — welcome to the Roaring Twenty-Twenties with Gatsby!
When middle-class Singaporean student Lu Zhao is invited to spend a summer on Long Island with his rich cousin, Tommy, before attending Columbia University in the fall, his assimilation into the opulent American lifestyle straps him into a collision course fuelled by designer drugs, sex, deceit, and murder. Set in present-day Long Island, Gatsby reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel as an LGBTQ-tinged, multicultural thriller for the Internet age.
Basil and Oregano
By Melissa Capriglione
9781506728704 / Dark Horse / p/b / £18.99 / Out 16th May
Mix two parts The Great British Bake Off with one-part magical boarding school plus a generous dash of romance, and you’ve got Basil and Oregano, a sweetly delicious lower young adult graphic novel.
Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy is the finest school for the art of cooking with magic, and Basil Eyres is determined to be the top student. On the first day of her senior year, Arabella Oregano, the daughter of a renowned chef, joins the academy for her senior year as well. The two are instantly smitten with each other, but Basil senses there’s something Arabella is hiding from her. Still, the two work together to stand out from the class as the end of year culinary festival approaches. But when Arabella’s secret is revealed, Basil is faced with the hardest decision of her life, which has the potential to throw her future aspirations in jeopardy.
Enlightened Transsexual Comix
By Sam Szabo
9798886200171 / Silver Sprocket / h/b / £23.99 / Out 17th May
Trippy, hilarious, and insightful comics about trans life.
‘Subversive, cerebral, and most of all hilarious comix!’ — Gina Wynbrandt.
The definitive collection of Sam Szabo’s ‘ETC’ comics series, serving up a psychedelic stew of social satire and gonzo gender theory! The year is 2023. The astral plane has entered a tailspin. Fortunately, an ancient cosmological entity is on a mission to spread her fluidity across the galaxy. Our raw, uncut heroine roams the wasteland in defense of trans rights and trans wrongs. Will the Enlightened Transsexual convince humanity to chill out at last? Or will the planet choke on her filthy gags?
The Science of Ghosts
By Lilah Sturges, Alitha Martinez & El Garing
9781681160863 / Legendary Comics / p/b / £18.99 / Out 30th May
Follow transgender parapsychologist Joy as she deals with her personal ghosts past and present.
While navigating the mysteries of the afterlife, Joy Ravenna – a transgender parapsychologist, must also deal with the very real challenges of her past and present. Her first post-transition relationship, a hostile ex-wife, and clues to murder long forgotten will test her at every twist and turn. For Joy, working with ghosts is way easier than dealing with the living.
June
Prokaryote Season
By Leo Fox
9798886200225 / Silver Sprocket / p/b / £18.99 / Out 14th June
A queer fable about the dangers of obsession.
‘A single-celled organism doesn’t toil. It doesn’t stare at the ceiling and cry. It doesn’t have ill-fitting clothes. It doesn’t do anything, that’s the whole point. It just is.’
Sydney and Laurelie are best friends searching for the contentment of oblivion. Failing that, they’d like to be adored. Laurelie, by their caustic boyfriend Trip, and Sydney by Laurelie. On a typical night partying in the woods, Sydney grows frustrated with their unrequited obsession for Laurelie, and asks for a wish to be granted by the curious cosmic creature Starman. Not only will Laurelie love Sydney, but Laurelie will be dependent on them — will need to be saved by them. When the wish becomes deadly serious, Sydney and Trip will be forced to figure out how to save Laurelie for real, or risk losing the person most important to them both.
LSBN
By Emma Jayne & Sloane Leong
9798886200218 / SCB Wholesale / p/b / £14.99 / Out 14th June
A sci-fi sapphic romance graphic novel.
A lesbian mech rom-com graphic novel by Ignatz and Prism Award-winning cartoonist Emma Jayne! After many grueling years of defending against colossal, violent creatures, the machine that will turn the conflict in humanity’s favour is nearing completion… until the war unexpectedly comes to a sudden, peaceful resolution. The world rejoices. However, two women fall into crisis as their life’s work becomes obsolete. Commander Sugimoto and her lead engineer Mischa Polyakov have spent nearly every waking moment together since the project’s inception, but without the pretense of their careers and world-ending calamity, do they have a reason to stay in one another’s lives?
Us
By Sara Soler, Silvia Perea Labayen & Joamette Gil
9781506734187 / Dark Horse / p/b / £18.99 / Out 15th June
Us is Sara and Diana’s love story, as well as the story of Diana’s gender transition, full of humour, heartache, and the everyday triumphs and struggles of identity.
What happens when the life you thought you had does a 180° turn? Everything, and yet… nothing. Us is Sara and Diana’s love story, as well as the story of Diana’s gender transition. Full of humour, heartache, and the everyday triumphs and struggles of identity, this graphic memoir speaks to changing conceptions of the world as well as the self, at the same time revealing that some things don’t really have to change. Written, drawn, and coloured by Sara Soler, with English translation by Silvia Perea Labayen and letters by Joamette Gil.
Last Gender 3
By Rei Taki
9781647292164 / Vertical / p/b / £12.99 / Out 15th June
A manga exploration of gender identity.
The stories of sexual minorities gathering at a chic spot called BAR California looking for their sexuality and love. Welcome to ‘BAR California’, a place where people with different genders, propensities, and sexual orientations gather to find a certain ‘something’. A transgender bisexual who has been hurt by the voices of others, a pansexual looking for true love, and a person who identifies as both male and female. There are as many sexualities as there are people.
Blessed Cure
By Mário César
9781908030542 / Soaring Penguin Press / p/b / £24.99 / Out 18th June
Blessed Cure is an awarded LGBTQ+ graphic novel by Brazilian author Mário César that portrays what it is like to have a life marked by homophobia and the effects of sexual reversal therapies that try to cure something that is not a disease…
Since he was a child, Acácio do Nascimento was different from other boys. Scared of his possible homosexuality, his parents Mara and Galdino submit Acaáio to several treatments from the age of five years old to make him ‘normal’. Blessed Cure narrates Acácio’s life through the decades since the 60’s from childhood provocations, his parents ignorance, the first time he falls in love with a man, the Brazilian military action against LGBTQ+ people, workplace prejudice, and his constant struggle with whether to live his truth or live the life society wants him to.
Otherside Picnic (Manga) 05
By Lori Miyazawa, Elita Mizuno & Shirakaba
9781646091300 / Square Enix Manga / p/b / £12.99 / Out 29th June
A manga adaptation of the hit light novel series.
In this sci-fi/fantasy survival thriller, the dangerous and deadly realm of the Otherside — where urban legends roam — calls to two women, both in search of something. As they set out to sate their curiosity and explore this other world, will the most earth-shattering thing they discover on the Otherside be their feelings for each other? Sorawo and Toriko head deep into the Otherside to save some old friends none other than the American marines who wandered into Kisaragi Station and got stuck in what they call the Beyond! The pair, dubbed ‘the girls’ by the Okinawa base troops, hatch a plan to rescue the trapped soldiers. Will everyone make it out alive and unscathed? Or will the Otherside claim new victims along the way?
