A heartbreaking intercultural romance, an exploration of dating apps, a lesbian grandma who leads the investigation… Here’s a fresh selection of graphic novels brimming with LGBT+ characters.
Text by Florian Ques and Laure Dasinieres
The sunny days are arriving, and it’s time to rush to your local bookstore, then settle in the sun with a graphic novel in hand. We’ve kept an eye on releases to assemble a selection that is as queer as it is varied.
- Sex Friends, by Richard Mèmeteau and Colin Atthar
After publishing in 2019 his essay Sex Friends, How (to) Mess Up Your Love Life in the Digital Age, Richard Mèmeteau adapts it to the graphic novel format with illustrator Colin Atthar. The duo offers a choral narrative in which the romantic misadventures of a group of friends, mostly queer, intertwine as they navigate their complicated relationship with dating apps. Between disappointments when meeting in real life and disillusionment about the abundance these platforms claim to offer, this work presents a spicy yet authentic snapshot of contemporary dating.
>> Available at Steinkis Editions
- Queen Investigates, by Louise Aleksiejew
Doted with exceptional powers of deduction, Queen Gorowski, the protagonist of Queen Investigates, is a talented investigator. Her motto: never trust appearances. A piece of advice one would also give to readers of the graphic novel in which she is the heroine… Behind its childlike illustrations, the book tells the adventures of this eccentric grandma as she finds herself, often despite herself, solving murder or poisoning cases. Think Arabesque in a lesbian, cute and zany version.
>> Available at Biscoto Editions
- Summer with Olivia, by Melhia Martin
Forced to spend scorching holidays with her mother and grandmother, Anna, 10, feels boredom looming until she meets Olivia, who is visiting the village for the season. A friendship forms almost instantly, between sun-drenched swims and improvised sleepovers. But as summer nears its end, Anna realizes that new feelings are emerging when she thinks about her new companion… Elevated by a tender, endearing black-and-white drawing style, Summer with Olivia offers a tender and poetic look at first crushes, experienced away from labels or social pressures.
>> Available at Biscoto Editions
- Love Languages, by James Albon
Leaving London for Paris, Sarah hadn’t planned on a dull daily life where her main concern was her high-powered job at a large corporation. Along comes Ping Loh, a young Chinese au pair encountered by chance. Despite the language barriers between them, the two women gradually manage to forge a friendship that takes a romantic turn, disarming them both. Rich in text to immerse us in the thoughts of its central character, Love Languages is a beautiful ode to intercultural romances.
>> Available at Glénat
- Glitchs, by J. Personne
Without her mother and grandmother whom she left in La Réunion, Lia sinks into depression. Between the greyness of Paris, financial hardships, and a world on fire, the student finds only one escape: online video games. Her refuge is Blue Fire, a popular streamer she reaches out to and with whom she ends up growing closer. Behind the virtual, real feelings emerge as Lia’s mental health becomes increasingly fragile. With a narrative that gradually tilts toward a Black Mirror-like dystopia, the graphic novel Glitchs sharply examines the distress of a queer young person, a symbol of a generation anxious about an uncertain future. More than a work about the refuge offered by video games, a rather unflattering portrait of a humanity where bearings fade.
>> Available at Glénat
- The Theory of Evolution, by Rapsody Morris
Through a simple visual approach — minimalist drawings on a white background — The Theory of Evolution channels the pulse of a lively, ever-changing contemporary society with multiple concerns, sometimes trivial and sometimes crucial, explored here with a heavy dose of irony. Feminist and queer-friendly, the graphic novel is built as a collection of spicy, bite-sized snippets of daily life, full of wit and sometimes vitriol. In addition to being a quick and hilariously funny read, the work begs to be given as a gift to loved ones—perhaps to plant some pretty truths under their noses.
>> Available at Lapin Editions
- Crossed Loves: The Ones We Were, by Laura Nsafou and Camélia
Four years after their charming Crossed Loves, author Laura Nsafou and illustrator Camélia reunite for a second volume. Yari and Hide, who had broken up, cross paths by chance in the metro, putting back in motion a love not entirely extinguished. Anchored deftly in a Paris quarantined during Covid, Crossed Loves: The Ones We Were continues its true and sensitive exploration of contemporary relationships, augmented by an effective ensemble drama where sisterhood takes precedence. We also note the return of Cynthia, the graphic novel’s lesbian character, who inherits a lovely romance not without some turbulence.
>> Available at Marabout
- Saigneurs, by Lou Lubie
Imagine a society where vampires systematically oppress humans and where bites, supposedly condemned, are tolerated or even covered by the highest-ranking bloodsuckers. Making vampire domination a metaphor for patriarchy, and the bite a metaphor for sexual violence, Lou Lubie (Goupil or Face, Racines) delivers a sharp and original critique of male domination and rape culture, with the bonus of a lesbian vampire ally character.
>> Available at Delcourt
- The Passage, by Mathieu Persan
As he has just buried his father, Mathieu Persan receives a call: his elder daughter has shared on social media her intention to take her own life. In this modest and moving graphic novel, the illustrator tells the downward slide of the adolescent and the father’s distress in the face of his daughter’s depression. Not a queer work here, but an essential piece on mental health, a theme dear to us.
>> Available at Hachette
