Queer Comics

Tof Eklund is a Lecturer in Language and Culture at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. An aneurotypical nonbinary parent, and an occasional game designer and zine comics creator, their research interests lie at the intersection of the theoretical, the subcultural, the digital, the creative, and the queer, and their passion is for how people find and create meaning, for good and ill.Sam Orchard is Assistant Curator of the New Zealand Cartoons and Comics Archive at the National Library of New Zealand, and a working comic artist. He has developed comic resources and contributed to publications and journals across the globe. Sam is particularly interested in inclusive and intersectional ways of working that acknowledge the importance of accessibility, decolonisation and feminism.

• Chapter 1: What are Queer Comics?IntroductionWho are we?What is Queer?Comics are QueerQueer in FormDefinitionally ResistantPeripheral Art FormConstantly EvolvingQueer in FunctionSites of Resistance and SubversionEngaging in the politics of representationAs an accessible tool to speak back to powerQueer Comics: A SummaryChapter 2: Queer Comics HistoriesPre-20th Century HistoriesQueer-Coded Comics and Early Queer ComicsMoral Panics and Comic Book BansQueer BeginningsEstablishing VoicesQueer Comics go MainstreamConclusionChapter 3: Social and Cultural ImpactsTechnological impacts: Webcomics and CrowdfundingThe rise of queer webcomicsCrowdfundingCase Study: Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please!Impacts of these technologies on traditional publishingSmartphones, Market Changes, and BacklashQueer Comics and the impact of CensorshipState-Based Censorship and CriminalisationBook Challenges: "Community"-driven CensorshipQueer Hearts, Minds, and BodiesIntersex comicsFatness in Queer ComicsDisability in Queer ComicsNeurodivergance in Queer ComicsAging Queerly in ComicsAce ComicsSpirituality and Indigenous Frameworks in Queer ComicsConclusionChapter 4: Key TextsMoomins and KakeTom of Finland’s KakeTove Jansson and the MoominverseThe Legacy of Laaksonen and JannsonHorror Hospital UnpluggedKariTarot Yohualli EhecatlApsara EngineConclusionChapter 5: Critical QuestionsWhat are the obstacles facing queer comics?CapitalismArtificial IntelligenceAnti-Diversity Campaigns: ComicsgateHomonormativity“Acceptable” Narratives“Unacceptable” NarrativesThe New Queer Comics UndergroundSexually Explicit and Pornographic ComicsThe Monster and Queer IdentityConclusionReferencesChapter 1 ReferencesChapter 2 ReferencesChapter 3 ReferencesChapter 4 ReferencesChapter 5 References

Queer Comics is a comprehensive, well-researched, and well-argued scholarly work that will undoubtedly appeal to students and researchers alike. The authors’ engaging, conversational approach—paired with their scrupulous attention to detail and sharp critical perspectives—make this book a welcome addition to the critical comics and comics history corpus.