Lines of Pride: LGBTQIA+Webcomics About Life

Users of the LINE Webtoon app were greeted Monday with a notification from the service advising that there had been a rash of abuse with the reporting tool to get LGBTQIA+ comics shut down. They responded promptly to explain that they are inclusive website and would be contacting creators to get their pages back up. Another notice was received on Tuesday to announce that a specific webcomic “Hey, I’m Gay” by Gerard Fulcarà was now back up. No other comics have been announced as back so far, but the initial reports does mention more than one series was affected.

“Hey, I’m Gay!” is a autobiographical comic about Fulcarà’s experiences as a gay man. There are so many real stories and experiences of being LGBTQIA+ in this crazy world of ours, and there are some comic creators that are kind enough to share their lives with us, to help us all understand each other and really see one another. Below are just a few such wonderful individuals.

1. “DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary” by Erika Moen

To start us off, we’re going to go a bit old school with a completed series. Before Erika Moen was educating us all about healthy sex lives, toys for our bums, and exploring kinks in Oh Joy Sex Toy (NSFW), Erika penned a comic diary from 2003 to 2013. The final page is a summary of the journey over the comic, including questions about her sexuality. She now identifies as queer, rather than any specific label.

2. “Life is confusing” by Ashi

Right off the bat, Ashi let’s us all in by introducing himself as a bisexual trans boy. His pages are generally quick snippets into everyday life, with everyday issues, like when someone returns your headphones with gross gunk on them. Oh rude! Ashi also has two other webcomics, as well as a visual novel demo on itch.io.

3. “Mondo Mango” by The Kao

Anyone who has been on Tapas enough has seen The Kao. For one, the ad for the shirt shop has him on it, baring his mango-fied t-shirt in all its glory. His comic Mondo Mango has a chibified art-style and is clean, allowing for the expressions of his characters to really shine. He has also spoke on multiple occasions that he is pansexual, including the culmination of a year-long April Fools Day prank that he was NOT dating fellow Tapas comic creator CK/Icarus Mask (whose webcomic “Name Pending” is also an autobiography and identifies as queer), when he was in fact sailing his own ship the whole time. While Mondo Mango has a more chibi style, The Kao draws in a variety of styles and is available for commissions, comics, and illustrative work.

4. “Everyday Life of a Trans Boy” by Alyx (AJ) and  “That Professional Idiot” by The Lemon God

I’ve put two entries together for this one for a few reasons. Both of these comics are by young trans boys; they were in their mid-teens when they started them. They have both shared deep insight into presently growing up with gender dysphoria and self-discovery.

5. “My Gender Adventures” by Jams (JammyScribbler)

While not a long form comic, My Gender Adventures offers a collection of single-page comics and illustration about life as non-binary. While Jams gives us quirky and funny insights via comics, their illustrations are moving and poignant on the struggles of being told “you must be Male or Female–there is nothing else” when that just isn’t true.