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Last week, GLAAD announced the nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. These accolades, created in 1990, recognize and honor different types of media for their fair representation of queer people and their approach to issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. Among the many awards considered, the GLAAD Award For Outstanding Comic Book honors comic writers and artists for their LGBTQ+ positive work.
The 10 nominees are selected considering four qualities: Proper Representations of the LGBT community, Boldness and Originality, Impact on Mainstream Culture, and Overall Quality. These 10 comics achieve excellence in the four criteria. Without a doubt, they deserve a spot in the LGBTQ+ media Hall of Fame. Sadly, only one can win. Which one will it be?
10 Aquaman: The Becoming Provides Black Queer Representation
After Aquaman’s training facility and half of the Atlantean palace are blown up, Jackson Hyde, aka Aqualad, has to prove he didn’t commit such heinous acts. This journey forces him to mature and question his life decisions. Created by Brandon Thomas and Diego Olortegui, Aquaman: The Becoming tells Jackson’s story as he takes the Aquaman mantle.
Since he first appeared in comics, Jackson Hyde has been an openly gay character. Although Aquaman: The Becoming doesn’t revolve around Jackson’s sexuality, this comic effortlessly introduces his sexual orientation as an important part of his persona. The comic showcases Jackson as a positive example of Black queer representation in comics.
9 Barbalien: Red Planet Tackles Homophobia And The 80s AIDS Crisis
Barbalien: Red Planet by Tate Brombal and Gabriel Hernández Walta introduces Mark Markz, aka Barbalien, a shapeshifter from Mars living on Earth working as a police officer during the 1980s AIDS Crisis. The series follows this superhero as he battles a Martian bounty hunter while also coming to terms with his own homosexuality.
From the Black Hammer universe, Barbalien: Red Planet is only a five-issue series, but it offers the readers a powerful story that touches on important topics such as homophobia and the AIDS pandemic without holding any punches, while also playing with superhero fiction. This comic is a compelling yet painful tale about the LGBTQ+ community’s main struggles.
8 Crush & Lobo Features A Lesbian Main Character
After her run with the Teen Titans, Xiomara Rojas, better known as Crush, finds herself face to face with her father, Lobo the intergalactic bounty hunter, who’s in prison. The Czarnian tricks his daughter into taking his place in prison, and now Crush needs to find Lobo and clear her name, becoming the intergalactic bounty hunter herself.
It isn’t news that Crush is a lesbian. Before starring in Crush & Lobo, she even had a girlfriend named Katie. While Crush & Lobo doesn’t revolve around Crush’s sexual orientation, it’s also a constant topic about her character. For example, in Crush & Lobo #6, she goes on a blind date with an alien girl. Unfortunately, things don’t end well given Crush’s temperament.
7 The Dreaming: Waking Hours Is A Gay Love Story
The Dreaming: Waking Hours tells the story of Ruin, an anthropomorphic nightmare who falls in love with the guy to whom he’s supposed to cause nightmares. Denying his own nature, Ruin finds a way to leave his world, The Dreaming, to find the boy, but in the process, he traps Lindy Morris, a human, in this horrific oniric realm.
According to its artist, Nick Robles, The Dreaming: Waking Hours is a story “about a nightmare who falls in love…and all the chaos that ensues!” The series doesn’t clarify if Ruin is gay or pansexual, but this comic is, among many other things, a story about a powerful being who condemns himself to mortality in the name of love. Just as tragic and as powerful as any story in The Sandman universe.
6 Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour Is All About Harlivy
A six-issue series, Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour is a spin-off of the animated series Harley Quinn TV series. This comic, which takes place between the second and third seasons, depicts Harley and Poison Ivy as they escape Commissioner Gordon after Ivy abandons Kite Man at the altar in the second season finale.
Harlivy — as the fandom calls them — is one of DC’s most popular LGBTQ+ couples from the last years, especially thanks to the HBO series. Given this, it isn’t surprising that a comic inspired by this show has gained traction among the queer community. Harley and Ivy’s relationship is the friends-to-lovers story all sapphic women love to see.
5 Al Ewing’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Has Six LGBTQ+ Members
Created by a bisexual man, Al Ewing’s Guardians of the Galaxy run followed this team through 18 issues of adventures while this team battled colossal threats, such as the gods of Olympus, the Progenitors, and even The Great Enigma, Dormammu. The Guardians of the Galaxy have always been a diverse team, but Al Ewing’s roster stands out because it includes a lot of prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community as main characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy features three queer relationships. First, Hulkling and Wiccan, a gay couple since Young Avengers, then Moondragon and Phyla-Vell, a lesbian and a bisexual woman in a sapphic relationship. Finally, two bisexual icons Hercules and Marvel Boy develop a romance in Guardians of the Galaxy #6. There’s no doubt LGBTQ+ representation in Marvel took a hit when they canceled this run.
4 Killer Queens Is Pure Unadulterated Queer Sci-Fi
Max and Alex are the Killer Queens, two gay reformed hitmen on “a space romp that features queer characters but isn’t your typical LGBTQ storyline.” After leaving their former boss, the Killer Queens take a job on a planet ruled by a belligerent dictator. What could go wrong?
Killer Queens, by David M. Booher and Claudia Balboni, promises Max and Alex “put the sass in assassin.” This Dark Horse Comics series tackles serious issues such as love, homophobia, and xenophobia in a hilarious matter, while also telling a science fiction tale. In addition to this, Killer Queen’s colorful covers are a cheerful celebration of diversity.
3 Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Includes A Lesbian Lead
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra is one of many new Star Wars series created after the 2015 run. It tells the story of Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, a morally questionable archeologist who used to work for Darth Vader but now travels through the galaxy in search of valuable treasures to obtain.
Since Doctor Aphra is canonically a lesbian, the comics feature her in romantic relationships with other women such as Sana Starros and Magna Tolvan. Her rogue nature forbids Doctor Aphra from settling down, but her constant attraction to women that happen to be her adversaries is one of Doctor Aphra’s most charming traits.
2 Superman: Son of Kal-El Gave The Fans A Bisexual Superman
The newest Superman series, Superman: Son of Kal-El introduces Jon Kent, Clark and Lois’ son, as the new Superman. In addition to this, he’s featured as a bisexual man romantically interested in Jay Nakamura, an alien reporter living in Metropolis. Although their romance is short-lived because Jay leaves Earth in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5, it’s a promise for more queer romance in Jon’s life.
Superman has been DC’s most iconic character for a while now, so showcasing him as a proud bisexual man is a step in the right direction to proper LGBTQ+ representation in comics. Jon’s sexual orientation is a hopeful message for future queer generations about their right to appear in mainstream media.
1 Wynd Wants Fans To Accepting Who They Are
Wynd is a young boy whose only wish is to live a normal life. Unfortunately, he can’t, because his elf-like pointy ears reveal him as a magical being in a world where that’s punishable by death. In order to understand himself, Wynd embarks on an adventure with his best friend Oakley, and Thorn, the groundskeeper’s son and Wynd’s love interest.
Created by James Tynion IV, a bisexual man himself, Wynd is a coming-of-age tale with a queer love arc. Although gay romance isn’t its main topic, this comic holds a beautiful message underneath its fantasy-ridden plot: embrace yourself, love yourself, be yourself.
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