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Earlier this week, I wrote in regards to the 2025 Trans Rights Readathon, so I’m right here with the primary of a number of advice posts! This time, I’m speaking about a few of my favorite trans graphic novels. These are all by trans authors and star trans characters. There are such a lot of glorious trans graphic novels on the market; that is only a small sampling that I actually loved, plus one on my TBR. I’d love to listen to your suggestions, too!
I’ll have extra recs for the precise prompts of the readathon, however I believed I’d begin with trans books you would learn in a single sitting, because the readathon is simply a few week lengthy. Let’s dive in!
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
This can be a attractive, extremely acclaimed graphic novel in regards to the complicated relationship between two ladies — one cis, one trans — and the niece they babysit. It’s heartbreaking and tender and all too reasonable. Bron finally ends up returning to her household to attempt to discover closure, however they will’t settle for her being queer and trans. When you like literary fiction, I extremely advocate this one.
Lsbn by Emma Jayne
This can be a graphic novella, so it’s a really fast learn. And who can resist a trans lesbian “mech rom-com graphic novel,” because the blurb describes it? It follows two trans ladies engaged on LSBN, a mech that’s meant to assist in the conflict towards large alien invaders — however then peace is asserted, they usually resolve to go on a pleasure journey in LSBN collectively earlier than it’s decommissioned. (And perhaps that pleasure journey is a bit more…joyful…than you have to be at work.)
A Music for You and I by Okay. O’Neill
Okay. O’Neill’s cozy center grade fantasy graphic novels are all the time one thing I sit up for, and their newest isn’t any exception. This can be a beautiful graphic novel, particularly in terms of the landscapes. Winding by means of it’s the understated story of two characters studying to simply accept themselves and one another. Each major characters are gender nonconforming. The official description calls this a “soft sweeping fantasy romance,” and I’ve to agree.
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Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
This can be a satirical graphic novel a few transfeminine particular person named Sammie who’s invited to an outdated good friend’s bachelor occasion. The occasion is at El Campo — assume Las Vegas turned as much as 11 on a floating island. This can be a dystopian capitalist world the place you possibly can hunt your clone as informal leisure. There, Sammie appears to be the one one who notices a creepy cult slowly changing all the opposite members of the occasion, whereas everybody else tells them they’re overreacting. Even with out the supernatural parts, although, the fixed misgendering and micro- and macro-aggressions Sammie experiences are fairly upsetting. Fortunately, they’re all the time capable of name their spouse and queer mates for recommendation and help. There are many over-the-top parts, however the emotion is grounded, and Sammie felt like a defiant character who refused to be swept up within the cult of cisheteromasculinity round them.
Boys Run the Riot by Keito Gaku
This one I haven’t learn but, however it’s on the high of my TBR. It comes extremely really helpful by Patricia Thang, who says:
Written and illustrated by a transgender creator, and translated into English by an all-transgender localization crew, Boys Run the Riot is among the greatest and most considerate coming-of-age manga of the previous few years. Ryo Watari is a transgender highschool pupil who doesn’t really feel like he has anybody he can speak to truthfully about his id. Nonetheless, he is ready to discover an outlet to precise his genuine self by means of avenue vogue and finds a good friend in Jin Sato, a fellow outcast who shares this curiosity. Collectively, the boys set out on a journey to launch their very own vogue model.
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