A comiXologist Recommends (a great new sci-fi anthology)
Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology
Edited by Sfe R. Monster
With Star Wars withdrawals and shakes finally coming down I’ve been absolutely aflutter with the possibilities of the sci-fi and fantasy genres outside of the blockbuster franchise. There are so many things to read and enjoy–not to mention the all-too-familiar feeling of “Where to begin?” If you’re facing a similar conundrum, start with Beyond, a superb collection of queer sci-fi and fantasy comics edited by Sfe R. Monster.
Stories featuring war, space exploration, post-apocalyptic settings, and fantastical pirates are but a few of the downright awesome additions to this collection. The richness of the characters and shared themes throughout the book create an excellent cohesion despite the wide spectrum of stylizations of its artists. With most all characters being inherently or assumedly a member of the LGBTQA community it is easy to start identifying the themes they convey more succinctly. Science fiction and fantasy associate themselves with many themes that involve personal identity, self-confidence, self-image, and challenging overwhelming odds. These are all things that if you are a member of the community or are close to someone in the community you should be able to identify almost immediately. These stories actually make them more succinct.
The first submission in Beyond, “Luminosity” by Gabby Reed and Rachel Dukes, tells the life story of two girls who grow up to be an astronaut and a ship’s power source. They are intertwined by their need for one another if they intend to see the stars. It is a poignant love story that hit me right in the heart of all my feels (pardon the vernacular). Although it’s hard to narrow it down, my favorite story in the anthology is “The Graves of Wolves.” It is the tale of two men and their alien son living in a tank to protect each other from a weaponized darkness. One day, scruffy dad takes cricket son out to hunt and they end up fleeing from an all-consuming shadow as it descends upon them. I want to nerd out about the ingenuity of this story’s simplicity, but I can’t say more without spoiling the ending. Unfortunately, it’s somewhat difficult to go into a deeper discussion on Beyond without spoiling ANYTHING because it is a short story collection.
The stories included in Beyond are all so sharp and clever in their use of classic genre themes that it is an absolute shame that they run the risk of being branded as simply “queer” as a result of the anthology’s title. It’s a shame that genres that traditionally pride themselves for being inclusive still require queer stories to announce themselves as such.
The fact that there is a chance family friendly this book wouldn’t be welcome in a general sci-fi collection opens a lot of room for discussion about the nature of the genres in question. That discussion, however, can be saved for another time after you read this fantastic collection that combines themes, narratives, and stylizations of art that will inspire and delight anyone and everyone.
Matthew Burbridge is a Digital Editor at ComiXology and his dream is to stop leaving socks everywhere and celebrate by buying his girlfriend one thousand Pomeranians, and then immediately regret it because one Pomeranian is already a lot of work.
Congratulations to Sfe R. Monster for winning the Lamba Literature Award for LGBT Anthology – Fiction for Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology!
A comiXologist Recommends (a book about the little details in life)
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal
Amal Chakravarthy, an anxious med student, has made a deal with a laid back stranger to drive them from Berkeley, CA to Providence, RI in time for Amal’s sister’s graduation. It’s the kind of decision you make when you come out to your parents, ruin their arranged wedding plans for you, get disowned, and get trashed. TJ, his passenger, has offered to pay for all expenses while the pair drive from coast-to-coast, growing closer together as they run away from their problems in California. This is their less-than-epic adventure.
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal is a comic that explores the little details we tend to miss when our world gets turned upside down: the complicated lives of the other Waffle House patrons, oft-overlooked natural beauty, the subtle expression you make when a casual conversation takes a personal detour. Cartoonist E.K. Weaver ( @bigbigtruck ) breathes life into every page with her focus on conveying emotional beats, taking the time to nail each expression and communicate the feelings behind everything her characters say, and the thoughts that go unsaid. Her sublime visual storytelling makes it feel so sincere and earned whenever TJ and Amal find unexpected understanding out of their disparate lives, and it exposes the heart of the funny road trip conversations that Weaver writes with equal charm.
Weaver grounds TJ and Amal’s goofy hijinks in true-to-life locales. Her gorgeously rendered environments convey the specific atmospheres of each rest stop and hotel the pair find themselves in between the coasts. Each location is filled with unique characters with rich internal lives, adding to the authenticity of the adventure without losing the focus on Amal and TJ’s relationship.
The strong command of body language that Less Than Epic’s storytelling hinges on adds layers of character development to Amal and TJ’s intimate moments, and, to be blunt, it makes these scenes even hotter. Tight visual storytelling and beautiful anatomy sell each little beat, channeling the perfect amount of emotion while making each act feel tangible and, uh, appropriately sweaty. Each steamy scene is essential; they beautifully portray the evolution of Amal and TJ’s relationship, with their vulnerabilities fully on display, but that undercurrent of anxiety raises the sexy bar instead of making the sex come across as an unfeeling narrative device.
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal is an emotionally rich joyride across America, exploring two vulnerable and fully realized men as they discover something new on the road to Providence. This collection is the definitive edition of an all-time favorite comic, so don’t miss this exit!
Eric Alexander Arroyo is a Brooklyn-based cartoonist and a Digital Editor at comiXology. He’s probably drawing giant robots and listening to ABBA.
Congratulations to E.K. Weaver for winning the Lambda Literature Award for LGBT Graphic Novels for The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal!