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For all the woes that can sprout from the abundance of movies and TV shows being produced in a given year, one fashionable silver lining is the growing number of LGBTQ+ projects for audiences to experience and connect with. We’re seeing some of the best LGBTQ+ TV shows and movies ever being produced in the streaming era, and the comic book industry has celebrated a similar growth in queer storytelling of all genres and flavors.
Two of the most celebrated comic book series of the modern era — Bryan K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man and Vaughan & Cliff Chiang’s Paper Girls — were gloriously adapted in 2021 and 2022, respectively, but both diversity-driven shows were rather unfairly canceled for reasons outside of content quality. A wide variety of other LGBTQ+ comic series and graphic novels are ripe for TV and film adaptations, however, so let’s dive into some of the most deserving horrors, romances, mysteries and more that need to take over Hollywood.
Lumberjanes (Boom! Studios)
What’s Lumberjanes About?
On its surface, Lumberjanes is about a group of girls experiencing the summer of their lives while away at camp. But immediately below that surface exists an entire universe of historical figures, dinosaurs, shapeshifters, sentient racoons, and all manner of mythological creatures that are destined to keep the core squad of campers from easily getting their desired badges at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types.
The team of creators — Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Gus Allen and Noelle Stevenson — filled this fantastical world with LGBTQ+ representation. We have trans Navajo teen Jo (who was raised by two fathers), the cutesy coupling of Korean-American Mal and the highly self-conscious Molly, and the non-binary recruit Barry, and that’s just among the main characters.
Why Does It Deserve A TV Show?
With its main series having reached 75 issues, not including specials, short “stories,” original graphic novels and standalone novels, Lumberjanes is brimming with fun, hilarious, extremely exciting adventures for its characters to get caught up in, whether voluntarily or completely unwittingly. Given the fact that the Lumberjanes (as well as the counselors and other campers) are engaged in a magically eternal summer, any series adaptation would likely be best in animated form to avoid age-related changes with live-action cast members.
Back in 2015, after the comic went from limited series to ongoing, 20th Century Fox picked up the rights to try and spin things as a Lumberjanes feature film, with those plans getting derailed when Fox merged with Disney. Then, in 2020, it was reported that Noelle Stevenson (who also developed She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) was set to write and direct an animated feature special and follow-up series for then-called HBO Max. Unfortunately, little has been revealed about that project’s development in the years since.
Sins of the Black Flamingo (Image Comics)
What’s Sins Of The Black Flamingo About?
Coming from writer Andrew Wheeler and artists Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain, Sins of the Black Flamingo follows master thief Sebastian Harlow, who uses the titular moniker to commit high-profile robberies involving mystic artifacts owned by the occult-leaning underground in Miami. But after Sebastian takes on what appears to be the biggest windfall of his under-the-table career, he gets far more than he and his belief system bargained for.
In terms of pop culture comparisons, Sebastian is on par with American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman as a style-obsessed narcissist whose greed isn’t bound by laws, though Black Flamingo gives its Robin Hood-esque storyline a vital Christianity-infused pulse that makes it stand entirely alone in comics or any other medium. He’s also a sex-loving hedonist, which just adds to the sweaty and sleazy vibes.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie?
Just saying “queer occult noir” should be like a Manchurian Candidate-ish post-hypnotic trigger that starts a bidding auction for the adaptation rights. Sebastian Harlow is a character that needs to exist in LGBTQ+ cinema, preferably at a point when Matt Bomer can don the sparkly domino mask.
Fence (Boom! Studios)
What’s Fence About?
Sports fiction is as het-centric as genres get, but you wouldn’t know it from writer C. S. Pacat and artist Johanna the Mad, whose Fence makes queerness as natural and fitting a part of its universe as the titular sport of fencing. The story largely takes place at an elite boys school where rising-star fencer Nicholas Cox is roommates with his highly skilled arch rival Seiji Katayama, and it isn’t long before they’re forced to work together.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kings Row is an academy whose student body is fairly active when it comes to same-sex relationships, whether monogamous or as fleeting as Aiden’s trysts. And as much as anything else, it all helps sell the sporting intensity and good-time vibes that Fence consistently delivers.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
It’s not like there are so many dozens of fencing dramedies or shows set at boys-only institutions clogging up our screens, so I think having one should be easily doable. Especially one based on such acclaimed and fan-beloved source material.
Spirit World (DC Comics)
What’s Spirit World About?
Part of the Dawn of DC launch, writer Alyssa Wong and artist Haining’s Spirit World marked the DC Comics debut of non-binary Chinese hero Xanthe, who is capable of traveling to and from the normal world to the titular land of the dead. (They also have the power of creating real objects out of folded joss paper, which is excellent.) Xanthe aligns with fan-fave occultist John Constantine to help Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl in her plight with a horde of Chinese vampires called jiangshi.
Xanthe is rather unique within the DC universe, both for their Chinese heritage and for being non-binary. (To be fair, Cassandra’s mother Lady Shiva is of Chinese/Japanese descent.) And you know things are going to get knotty when Constantine is around, though it usually has more to do with his magic than his bisexuality.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
I realize that some major groundwork would need to be laid for a Spirit World project to pop up anywhere in James Gunn’s DCU, so the first Gods and Monsters chapter is presumably out. But I also know I’m not the only fan who loves it when live-action DC leans into horror vibes while still keeping things fun and exciting, and Spirit World is a great launchpad for Xanthe to head up future projects on their own.
Goldie Vance (Boom! Studios)
What’s Goldie Vance About?
With easy comparisons to be made to the strongest years of Nancy Drew’s literary history, Hope Larson and Brittney Williams’ Goldie Vance centers on the titular 16-year-old developing her detective skills while working at a Florida resort managed by her father. Each arc of the series, which transitioned from monthly issues to OGNs to illustrated novels, centers on a different mystery for Goldie to solve at the exasperation of on-staff detective Walter Tooey.
One of Goldie Vance’s strengths is its 1960s setting in which a mixed-race teen can date a woman of another race without controversy or a built-in message, and Goldie and Diane’s romance is so adorably perfect for an all-ages series. As well, the teen sleuth having a brainy Black BFF — go Cheryl! — is another plus for overall diversity.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
As the aforementioned reference to Nancy Drew proves, teen detective stories are big with every generation that grows up with them, and it’s not hard to see why Goldie Vance would make a great starring vehicle for an up-and-coming talent. A ‘60s throwback without racism or bigotry staining everything? All the yes, pleases.
Following the release of the first three comic arcs in 2017, Kerry Washington was set to produce a film adaptation of Goldie Vance with Rashida Jones handling writing and directing. At the time, it was announced as having franchise potential, but news about the project dried up the next year.
The Nice House On The Lake (DC Black Label)
What’s The Nice House On The Lake About?
Created by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno, The Nice House on the Lake is the 12-issue first arc of the duo’s DC Black Label horror-verse, in which a group is gathered together for what appears to be a dream vacation, as invited by their mysterious mutual friend Walter. But it’s soon clear that Walter had different intentions, and that their picturesque setting is more than it seems to be. It’s freaky AF, and hits all the emotions.
Both sexuality and gender play into the group’s various relationships, such as Norah “The Writer” Jakobs’ male-to-female transition being a sticking point for some. Walter’s own fluidity comes into play as a reason why his connections with everyone have stuck.
Why Does It Deserve A TV Show?
Plain and simple, James Tynion IV is one of the best storytellers in comics today, particularly in the horror realm, and the Eisner Award-winning Nice House is filled with clues, iconography and personal lore that TV audiences would obsess over. And Álvaro Martínez Bueno developed a realism-heavy world that perfectly suits the dark and twisted tale, and would seemingly make for an easy transition to live-action.
Dodge City (IDW)
What’s Dodge City About?
Think the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, but with young people, and it’s nowhere near as broad or ridiculous, and there’s representation and heart. Okay, so I guess Josh Trujillo and Cara McGee’s story of the Jazz Pandas taking on a new team captain in Tomás isn’t really like the Ben Stiller comedy at all, except for the whole dodgeball thing.
Though Tomás doesn’t appear to represent the LGBTQ+ community, he’s an ally alongside queer teammates Drew, Elsie and Huck, whose deafness is also a factor in the story.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie?
There’s never enough live-action representation for those who are both queer and deaf, in the first place. But even beyond that, Dodge City is a fun, funny, and sweet sports story with a diverse set of characters that would appeal to audiences of all ages. Something on the level of the ‘90s best kids sports movies like The Sandlot and the Mighty Ducks movies.
Bitch Planet (Image Comics)
What’s Bitch Planet About?
Created by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro, Bitch Planet is unabashedly a homage to the exploitation subgenre at large (and women-in-prison movies more specifically), and is set on an off-planet prison facility dubbed the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost. The series follows the various female prisoners who were locked away for being “non-compliant,” both through their backstories and their current-day actions within this hyper-heightened mini-society.
Bitch Planet’s characters cover a wide span of the gender/sexuality spectrum, with a variety of races, creeds, belief systems and more. Across the ten issues of its main story and five anthologized issues, the series tackles a lot of ever-pressing social issues in interesting ways, while never losing sight of its inspirations.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
This comic has all the high-octane badassery of George Miller’s Mad Max movies combined with the take-no-bullshit personality of Pam Grier’s Foxy Brown character, with a smattering of the sloppy excellence of John Carpenter’s Escape films. In some ways, it feels like a comic version of a movie that already happened. Despite being published around the same time as Orange Is the New Black, Bitch Planet is on a whole other tip, and would stand out even more years after the Netflix series concluded.
Moonstruck (Image Comics)
What’s Moonstruck About?
A cozily calamitous and supernatural adventure that also gives big rom-com, Moonstruck comes from creators Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle, and Kate leth, and centers on the relationship between a Latina werewolf barista named Julie and her new girlfriend Selena. Each story arc gives the shapeshifting couple a different set of fantastical challenges to sort through, with a steaming mug of java never far.
A big part of why fans adore Moonstruck, no pun intended, is Julie and Selena being big, beautiful women, with Beagle and Leth’s art really bringing them and others to life. Not to mention all the hysterics and sweetness coming from assorted side characters like Cass and Chet, and the general embrace of all forms of diversity.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
Moonstruck feels destined to be a show that inspires certain viewers to come out of the closet, either as queer or a mer-person, with so much representation for race, body size, mythological entity and beyond. And bringing these characters into live-action could hopefully improve upon some elements from the source material that didn’t work as well, such as the pacing and Julie-bashing.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (First Second Books)
What’s Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me About?
The award-winning duo of writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell teamed up for more accolades with the 2019 graphic novel Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, centering on teen Frederica “Freddy” Riley who is unable to avoid continuously falling into the trap of heartbreak named Laura Dean. The wildly popular girl uses and dumps Freddy with reckless abandon, which adds stress to the latter’s life and other friendships.
Freddy isn’t just a lesbian, but is also biracial, with her background being a mix of white and East Asian, adding an extra layer of diversity to the emotional tale, as do other characters within Freddy’s friend circle.
Why Does It Deserve A Movie Or TV Show?
Unlike many stories about a character hung up on their ex, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me doesn’t pull punches when it comes to its main character’s mental state and self-esteem. Tamaki intentionally sought to tell an authentic love story without easy answers for its central character, and it could make for a far more nuanced piece of cinema than the usual teen romance.
Deadline reported in December 2023 that 13 Reasons Why vet Tommy Dorfman was tapped by Wildling Pictures and MXN Entertainment to direct a feature, with Mariko Tamaki writing the screenplay. Hopefully this project continues moving forward until it’s officially one of our favorite LGBTQ+ romantic comedies.