Finding stories which fit this description can be a challenge, since queer and trans narratives are hard to find in mainstream media, let alone narratives written by people from our community rather than seen through a cishet lens. Thankfully, one area in which I've found a number of queer creators creating equally queer content has been webcomics.
For the uninitiated, webcomics are comics that are primarily, if not exclusively, published online. I like webcomics, and as you know I love LGBT+ content, so I thought I'd share with you five of my favourites. All of these prominently feature LGBT+ characters and are made by members of the community.
Just one note: some of these comics are not fully available online as they've now been turned into published, physical comics (hurray for queer success!). As frustrating as it is to have to stop a story partway through, I hope if you enjoy any of these you might feel inclined to buy the full book and help to support real-life queer creators who are giving us the representation we need. Anyway, on with the list!
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
When I first heard about The Tea Dragon Society, I thought perhaps I had stepped into an alternate reality where all my dream stories actually existed. The plot of this webcomic surrounds two girls who are introduced to the world of tea dragons - tiny dragons which produce tea! There's also friendship, queerness, and adorable little creatures (not just the dragons), all illustrated beautifully in light and natural tones. To top it all off, it's completely family friendly, so even young LGBT+ readers can enjoy it. If you like tea, cute things, or the idea of running off to live in a cottage with your girlfriend and your pack of animals, I highly recommend you read The Tea Dragon Society.
Status: complete, fully available online
Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer
Full of action and intergalactic adventure, Cosmoknights is about a band of misfits who roam space, rescuing princesses and being gay. The artwork is breathtakingly gorgeous and really gives a sense of the awe and excitement that the main character, Pan, no doubt feels when she takes off on her first outerspace adventure. This story has gladiators, strong women, futuristic space worlds, and a plot to take down the patriarchy. It also has one of my biggest fictional crushes at the moment, Cass (｡♥‿♥｡). Plus, I once tweeted about Cosmoknights and Hannah Templer literally replied to my tweet to say thank you, so how could you not want to support comics by a person as lovely as that?
Status: complete, partially available online
High Class Homos by momozerii
This is a newer comic for me, which I discovered through the webcomic platform Webtoons. I'd been sceptical about Webtoons ever since the Zuckerbot's hellsite started bombarding me with adverts for it, but once I started reading High Class Homos, all of my concerns about targeted advertising flew out the window and were replaced with love for this group of chaotic gays. High Class Homos, which arguably has the best title of all of these webcomics, follows a lesbian princess and a gay prince who decide to enter a lavender marriage with each other so they can keep being gay in secret. But even if those two give the series the "high class" part of its name, they are hardly the only homos. The story also includes their network of friends and love interests, most of whom are LGBT+ in some shape or form. While the setting is medieval and homophobia drives a good part of the plot, this webcomic is also incredibly funny. If you wish you could have a Disney princess story that also includes queer friendship and plenty of comedy, I would like to point you in the direction of High Class Homos.
Status: currently updating
(Note: I couldn't find a good photo of a "cover" for High Class Homos, so here is a poorly-embedded picture of Princess Sapphia that was posted on momozerii's Instagram)
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
You might know Noelle Stevenson as the creator of the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power TV series or possibly her Lumberjanes comics (both of which are very popular among the LGBT+ crowd, for good reason), but before either of those, I knew of her as the creator of Nimona. The eponymous main character of Nimona is a young shapeshifter and generally chaotic miscreant. One day she turns up at the door of supervillain Lord Ballister Blackheart and demands to be his sidekick, to which Ballister reluctantly agrees. As the story goes on, we get to see Nimona and Ballister's relationship develop, as well as learning more about Ballister's history with his nemesis Ambrosius Goldenloin. It's a funny, action-filled, and emotional story about acceptance and found family in a magical steampunk world. Looking back on Nimona now, it's especially cool to see how Stevenson's art style develops over the course of the series, and it's inspiring to know she has gone on to such success while still telling queer stories.
Status: complete, partially available online
Pandora's Tale by Xanthippe Hutcheon
Most of the stories I've mentioned so far have involved one of my favourite tropes (and one which I think is especially meaningful to LGBT+ folk), the ragtag bunch of misfits. Pandora's Tale is no exception, but in this webcomic's case, the main bunch of misfits has an added layer of coolness: they are also a branch of a resistance movement operating underground in a dystopian society. The titular character of the story, and the newest member of this band, is Pandora. She is a "helper", which is basically a mentally-programmed slave created to serve the upper classes of the society she is born into. After the people who train the helpers find out she is a trans girl, she escapes and ends up being adopted by the aforementioned resistance sect, including her new best friend, resistance member Isabelle. This is a story about dystopia and defiance that is also about identity and friendship, and it's also incredibly cute. I'd venture to say Pandora's Tale is less well known than the other webcomics on this list, but it is just as queer and endearing.
Status: currently updating
There you have it! Those are my top 5 LGBT+ webcomics. These are hardly the only ones out there, and I will admit that my choices are heavily influenced by my own preferences, both artistic and romantic. While most of these do include representation for other LGBT+ groups, most of these do clearly focus on relationships between women. If anyone else has any recommendations for LGBT+ comics that represent any other letters of the acronym, I would love to hear them.
I think that while mainstream representation is important, as a community we should also make a greater effort to support media that is created by and for LGBT+ people. We don't need to beg for scraps from the likes of Disney, Star Wars, and other media giants when fellow queer and trans folk are making the gay princess, trans space gladiator, queer tea dragon stories of our dreams. Let's try and support each other, in stories and beyond.
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