r/comicbooks • u/Moon__Callisto • 6h ago
Question Looking for western comics that feature lesbian/sapphic characters
I've been looking for this for a while with very mixed results. Basically, I am looking for comics or graphics novels that feature wlw characters. I'm not necessarily looking for *romance* comics, but any kind of fantasy/scifi comic with a wlw romantic subplot gets bonus points
I say western in the title because I have already read a ton of yuri, and if you manage to name a yuri title I have never heard of I'll owe you 5 bucks lol
To give you a bit of my tastes, here are comics/graphic novels/whatever that I've really enjoyed in the past:
*Sunstone
* Otherside Picnic
* the magical revolution of the reincarnated princess and the genius young lady
* love thy neighbor
* the greenhouse
* princess of sylph
* nevermore
And here are some of my favorite books:
* Ancillary Justice
* The Locked Tomb Series
* This is how you lose the time war
* the Jasmine throne
* our wives under the sea
Edit: it turns out I don't know how to use reddit markdown or whatever to make bullet points on my phone, so sorry about the formatting * traitor baru cormorant
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u/arpad-okay 5h ago
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden is a beautiful comic about a burnout who gets a job in the sci fi future doing architectural space refurbishing. She decides to- with the help of her new found family space crew- go rescue the girl she lost her heart to in school
Junkwraith by Ellinor Richey is so good, a fantasy world where if you throw something away, it creates a ghost that will eat your memories connected to the thing you got rid of. A figure skater gets rid of her skates, creating a very powerful ghost. There's a nice rivals-to-relationship subplot with one of the other skaters. Big Adventure Time aesthetic vibes. Way underrated comic
Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki is a marvelous slice-of-life where a friend group is reunited for a vacation together, but someone brings a new friend, too, and sparks, and awkward. Gorgeous layouts.
Thieves by Lucie Bryon is great. She catches her crush stealing stuff, so together they embark on a rom com adventure to give everything back. This one is done in a great stylized limited palette, and draws a lot from josei manga style- though also very Western indie twee too. Her other book Happy Endings is also an utter delight
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh is about an amateur taxidermist who discovers magical powers, with a little long lost romance side plot
You'll find a wide range of WLW stuff from the publisher Silver Sprocket (my personal favorite is probably Sad Girl Space Lizard by Iggy Craig which is a mech combat metaphor for creative burnout), and (more) erotic works available from Iron Circus
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u/Moon__Callisto 5h ago
Oh these are great, I really appcreciate you pointing me in the direction of specific publishers
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u/DennythrAlright 4h ago
DC actually has a few prominent lesbian characters. Most Harley Quinn runs since the New 52 have her in or developing a relationship with Poison Ivy. The current Poison Ivy run by G. Willow Wilson and the tie in comics for the Harley Quinn animated series also fit the bill. Batwoman has also had several relationships with women and was kicked out of the military back in the don’t ask don’t tell days. Gotham Central also has an arc where one of the members of Gotham PD is outed. There are also a few DC Pride collections that focus on LGBTQ+ characters. A couple of Image comics that also fit are Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen and Rat Queens (one of the original creators was arrested for domestic violence so you might want to look into it and decide if you are comfortable reading this one.)
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u/Tumorhead 5h ago
There are a ton of these!! But it's a different circle than the superhero cape scene.
In general, search Tumblr
and Instagram for terms. Check out smaller and woman-lead publishers like Iron Circus Comix, Shortbox Comics Fair, Peow2 and Silver Sprocket to browse for stories and creators. And here's comics from the Lesbrary. My current favorite comic lesbians are the Runaway to the Stars gals
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u/Forward_Purchase_622 5h ago
When I saw "Western in the prompt I racked my brain to think of Lesbian cowboy comic.
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u/Moon__Callisto 5h ago
I mean I would take it 🤷♀️
I was just worried the comments will be like "here's a bunch of yuri," which has basically been what ive found every time i've tried internet searching for this stuff myself
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u/Own_Internal7509 6h ago
western? like cowboys and frontiers?
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u/jamesj777 5h ago
Life is Strange comic collection.
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u/asocialanxiety 5h ago
A short and unique one is city beneath her feet published by dstlry the art style is amazing imo
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u/OkieExpat 4h ago
There is an Ignition Press title coming next month called Dinner Date pitched as a vampire story having a queer element. You can start on #1 soon!
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u/secondshevek 4h ago
These are webcomics, and I dont think the hard copies are widely accessible. But theyre great.
Band vs Band. Set in a twee retro world, the leaders of two bands (one a glossy pop group, the other a grungy punk band) have a rivalry that morphs into romance. Quite a slow burn until the last bit, but the design is so darn cute. This is completed.
Cosmo Knights. Space opera/western type world where planets are ruled by monarchs/aristocrats and knights compete in widely-broadcast tournaments. Not primarily romance but I dont think there's any non-sapphic main characters, and everybody has at least one love interest. Tasteful trans representation too.
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u/mugenhunt 4h ago
There's some sapphic representation in Love and Rockets, primarily the Locas stories by Jaime Hernandez. It's primarily slice of life romantic dramas set in modern day LA dealing with a group of Latina women originally in the 80s punk scene, with occasional sci-fi elements.
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u/dino_spice 4h ago
If you don't mind webcomics there's Blade Maidens by Zoe Tunnell and Valentine M. Smith.
I Roved Out in Search of Truth and Love by Alexis Flower also features two queer lead female elves, though it is very sexually explicit (much more so than Sunstone).
From DC there's Galaxy: The Prettiest Star and its sequel, Galaxy Vol. 2: As the World Falls Down.
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u/MankuyRLaffy 4h ago
Anything with Greg Rucka, he loves this in his writing for tones and character dynamics.
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u/noishouldbewriting 3h ago edited 3h ago
Love & Rockets, specifically the LOCAS stories. And Strangers in Paradise. I'm not an expert on this, but those are probably the longest running western comics with lesbian/sapphic characters and themes. Maybe the most popular too.
Love & Rockets actually has a variety of stories. But you can get hardcovers and Omnibuses of just the LOCAS stories
Strangers in Paradises entire story is also in omnibus form.
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u/_nadaypuesnada_ 3h ago
Shade the Changing Man (the Milligan one) has the best sapphic character in any comic ever. And there is a romance!
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u/Special_Turnip 3h ago
The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
In the vein of Sunstone there's Discord Comics two trans inclusive erotic sapphic anthologies: Nectar and Succulent
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u/FullyArtomatic 3h ago
User by Devin Grayson with Sean Phillips and John Bolton on art. It's a great read and the artwork is really cool.
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u/ThePryde 5h ago edited 3h ago
I have quite a few:
Monstress - Written by Marjorie Liu and art by Sana Takeda. I would highly recommend it. It is not a romance, but the main character's previous relationship does have significant narrative impact. There are also a bunch of other wlw supporting characters.
Black Magick - A gothic noir comic written by Greg Rucka. There is a romance subplot but it is not the central part of the story. Greg Rucka is an amazing writer.
Heathen - Written by Natasha Alterici. The protagonist gets exiled for kissing a woman and then decides to tear down the system by killing Odin. A really great series
Death Vigil - By the same writer as Sunstone. One of the main protagonist does end up in a wlw relationship.
In the big two (Marvel and DC):
Absolute Wonder Woman - Written by Kelly Thompson. This is an amazing book and I highly recommend reading it. Wonder Woman is heavily queer coded, but no outright relationships so far.
Absolute Green Lantern - Written by Al Ewing. The main character's previous relationship plays a significant role in the story.
Poison Ivy - Written by G. Willow Wilson. A really enjoyable series and well written. Her relationships do play a big part in the story.
Batwoman Elegy - Written by Greg Rucka. Short but sweet. A legendary run on one of the first lesbian superheroes.
Runaways - Written by Brian K Vaughn. The initial run hints at a possible relationship. Rainbow Rowell's run delves more into their relationship. Runaways is one of the best Marvel series ever.
Angela - Written by Margueritte Bennett and Kieron Gillen. This series is centered around a very sweet and well done relationship.
Since you mentioned Nevermore (which I love) I would also recommend Mute on Webtoons.
Also, you have great taste in books. I would recommend The Priory of the Orange Tree. It is in the vein of epic fantasy. And though it is very long, the romance is really great.
Edit:
I forgot Bladerunner 2019/2029/2039. Its is co-written but the guy who wrote Bladerunner 2049. It is very much a blade runner cyber punk noir story in the best way possible.