It’s Pride Month, so for the rest of June we will be running a special series of articles to spotlight LGBTQ representation in various mediums — comic books, film, etc.
Personally, as the co-comic book editor, naturally I want to focus on comic books for this. The spotlight will look at writers, artists, and/or characters. To be honest, while this representation might not be as vast as we would like (though, I’d say it’s growing!) great demonstrations of LGBTQ+ content can be found within many publishers.
The first series I want to spotlight is InSexts, which was originally released in 2015. Written and co-created by Marguerite Bennett with art by co-creator Ariela Kristantina, and published by AfterShock Comics. Jessica Kholine and Bryan Valenza served as the colorists on InSexts, while A Larger world worked as the letterer.
InSexts takes place during the Victorian era and follows a pair of vengeful vixens, Mariah and Lady, as they discover a newfound ability to transform into insectoid-like creatures.
Now able to rid themselves of their chains, they descend into a dark world they didn’t know existed where they must fight, and kill, more than just their human oppressors in order to live a happy life with each other and their child.
I also want to spotlight writer, Marguerite Bennett, because not only is she one of my favorite writers and incredibly talented, she is an openly queer woman whose LGBTQ+ stories and characters have been nominated for GLAAD Media Awards.
Plus, she was the first queer creator to work on a Batwoman series, which is baffling to me because Batwoman is a lesbian.
