Celebrate Pride with an LGBTQ+ Reading List

In honor of Pride Month, CBLDF has put together a reading list of graphic novels featuring LGBTQ+ creators and themes. Celebrate Pride by enjoying graphic reads that uplift LGBTQ+ voices and stories! You can support CBLDF’s fight to defend queer voices by picking up signed copies of LGBTQ+ graphic novels from the CBLDF Rewards Zone!

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LGBTQ+ Creators

Spinning

By Tillie Walden

Tillie’s Eisner award-winning graphic memoir Spinning captures what it’s like to come of age and come out, telling the story of Tillie’s childhood spent as a competitive figure skater.

On a Sunbeam

By Tillie Walden

Tillie combines a queer coming of age story with a look at a utopic future in this gorgeous science fiction epic.

Fun Home

By Alison Bechdel

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a masterclass in graphic memoirs and an essential read this June.

Dykes to Watch Out For

By Alison Bechdel

Dykes to Watch Out For is the classic newspaper strip and one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture. Balancing biting political commentary with honest portrayals of friendship, it’s also the source of the famous “Bechdel Test.”

Iceman

By Sina Grace and Alessandro Vitti 

Iceman follows X-Man Bobby as he handles life as a superhero while grappling with his identity as a gay man.

Grease Bats

By Archie Bongiovanni

A collection of the misadventures of queer friends trying to make it through their twenties.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

By Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

A beautiful coming of age story that tackles queer love and queer heartbreak.

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns

By Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

An important educational comic that helps introduce gender neutral pronouns.

Bingo Love

By Tee Franklin, Jenn St. Onge, and Joy San

A beautiful queer love story that spans over 60 years.

LGBTQ+ Themes

Exit Stage Left: Snagglepuss Chronicles

By Mark Russel and Mike Feehan

A poignant satire using Hanna Barbara characters to tell the tale of a closeted playwright living in New York City during the height of the Red Scare.

Batwoman Elegy

By Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III

A masterfully crafted superhero adventure with psychedelic art that elevates the story. A character defining story that helped bring Batwoman to the forefront of the DC Universe.

Gotham Central

By Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark

Gotham Central flipped the script on typical superhero comics by showcasing Gotham’s police force as they tackle the city’s crime in the shadow of Batman. The series features Renee Montoya, GCPD Detective, as she deals with the city’s crime and corruption while struggling with her identity as a Lesbian.

Love and Rockets: Is This How You See Me?

By Jaime Hernandez

Love and Rockets was one of the defining queer series in the alternative comics scene. Is This How You See Me? revisits Hopey and the gang as they try to recapture their youth during a weekend reunion.

Strangers in Paradise XXV

By Terry Moore

A beautiful follow up to Moore’s long running slice-of-life love story.

Paper Girls

By Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang

A sci-fi adventure that follows a group of 12-year-old paper girls dealing with an alien invasion.

LGBTQ+ Reads for Younger Readers

The Avant-Guards

By Carly Usdin and oah Hayes

A fun story of friendship and basketball featuring sweet, queer relationships.

Heavy Vinyl

By Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva

A YA teen romance that follows Chris as she starts a new job at a record store, joins an underground fight club, all while dealing with a crush on her cute co-worker!

Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass

By Lilah Sturges and Polterink

The first original graphic novel in the Lumberjanes universe, Infernal Compass is a sweet story that centers on Mal and Molly as they become more comfortable with their budding romance.

Snapdragon

By Kat Leyh

A middle grade magical realist graphic novel about forging friendships and finding magic in oneself featuring wonderfully represented queer characters.

As the Crow Flies

By Melanie Gillman

An impactful queer coming of age story that explores 13-year-old Charlie Lamonte’s spiritual, cultural, and identity growth during a stay at a Christian sleepover retreat. Use our Teaching Comics Discussion and Activity Guide as a resource as you read!

The Prince and the Dressmaker

By Jen Wang

A beautifully drawn fairytale about  identity, young love, art, and family.


Even as we celebrate Pride, identity censorship, a form of censorship that targets books and speakers based on the identity of the author or characters in a book, remains a major threat. LGBTQ+ content is the most frequent target of identity censorship, including 8 of the 10 most banned books of 2019. Right now, states across the country are proposing legislation that targets LGBTQ+ creators; author events are being canceledbooks are being challenged, and community programs like Drag Queen Story Hour are being attacked. When this happens, CBLDF fights back.

We’re standing up to fight bans of LGBTQ+ creators, books, and events all over the country, but we can’t do it without your help. Join us in the fight against identity censorship by using these valuable resources we’ve created to support our community. You can also support this work by becoming a CBLDF member today or by grabbing a book from our Pride bookstore!

Join CBLDF and share our resources with your community to help fight identity censorship. Use the hashtag #DontBanMe and spread the word that every voice should be heard no matter how the speaker identifies. Voice your support by checking out the CBLDF Don’t Ban Me collection on Teespring. Grab a t-shirt or a sticker and show that you’re willing to take a stand against identity censorship.