A Few Days Before Christmas, Our Selection of LGBT+-Themed Graphic Novels to Put in the Little Stockings for 12–18-Year-Olds
Article by Florian Ques and Tessa Lanney
The countdown has begun! For those who are late to the game and still don’t know what to give for Christmas to the teens in their circle, we have selected six queer graphic novels. Narratives alternately intimate, fantastical, adventurous, or social to raise awareness of LGBTQI+ topics or simply say “you are not alone”.
- The Year I Became a Teen, by Nora Dåsnes
The year will be one of change for Emma—but she doesn’t know to what extent. Not only does her best friend have her first boyfriend, which creates friction with her other best friend, but more importantly, there is Mariam. Affable, smiling, she is, for Emma, above all else. It might even be that her presence gives Emma butterflies in the stomach! Between the diary and the sketchbook, The Year I Became a Teen by the Norwegian author Nora Dåsnes vividly depicts the early lesbian upheavals of a blossoming adolescent.
>> Available at Casterman
- Vertu de St-Cyr, by Rutile and Yllogique
Adapted from a webtoon, Vertu de St-Cyr moves the engaged BD to the side of military schools. The heroine, Vertu Dumas, lands at Saint-Cyr convinced that her duelist talents will be enough, before clashing with the “tradis,” a clique of sexist, racist, homophobic, and nationalist individuals who run the institution. Rutile, the author behind the success Colossale, continues to pull the thread of emancipation and social justice, supporting her narrative with an archival work composed of a selection of case facts. It won’t take more than a few pages to want to wield the foil in a tight uniform!
>> Available at Dargaud
- Les Normaux, by Janine Janssen and S. Al Sabado
In this other webtoon adaptation, there exists an alternate Paris where humans with supernatural abilities mingle with creatures of all kinds. It is there that Sébastien, after having long been kept in check by his parents, can finally use his magic without limitation. But his new start is quickly shaken by his meeting with his neighbor, Elia, a vampire as influential as he is seductive. Approved by Heartstopper author Alice Oseman, Les Normaux offers a delightful gallery of LGBTQI+ characters, spread across romantic intrigues that grip from the first page.
>> Available at Casterman
- Écuyère, by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas
In Écuyère, Aiza, a girl from an oppressed people, dreams of becoming a knight of the Empire that oppresses her. In training camp, she hides her origins, discovers propaganda, ordinary racism, and the violence of the meritocratic dream. Inspired by a Middle East reinvented by a Palestinian-American author and a Jordanian-American illustrator, the graphic novel dismantles the power fantasies at adolescent height. Varied bodies, ambiguous friendships, marginalized characters: without brandishing a queer flag on every page, Écuyère speaks of belonging, of passing, of internalized shame… all that weighs on young queers or those questioning themselves. The whole in a dynamic shōnen-style drawing that makes you want to raise the sword for a good cause.
>> Available at Bliss Éditions
- La Gardienne des papillons, by K. O’Neill
With La Gardienne des papillons, K. O’Neill, a non-binary author of The Dragon-Tea Circle, signs a very gentle nocturnal tale: Anya becomes the guardian of moon butterflies, alone in the desert while her village depends on her work to survive. Vigil, fatigue, a sense of being “aside” from others… the author delivers a very concrete account of a teen who doubts her place but wants to be useful. As always with K. O’Neill, the universe is inclusive, lightly gendered, filled with diverse characters and explicit messages of kindness toward oneself and others. For a queer teen, it’s like receiving a heated blanket in a graphic novel.
>> Available at Bliss Éditions
- Le Cercle des Dragonnes, by Ingrid Chabbert and June
New school, new start for Éloïse who, after a mysterious scandal, was expelled from her previous high school. But rumors spread quickly, and her reputation precedes her. Wary, she ends up opening up to a small group of girls who, like her, have faced harassment. Together, they decide to lean on each other and become the Dragonesses, a 100% female secret circle where judgments and taboos do not exist. Le Cercle des Dragonnes is a work that does not shy away from thorny topics, from slut-shaming to transphobia, while including initial lesbian crushes and a sorority energy that shines through every page.
>> Available at Jungle
