With it being
Pride Month this month (and myself being about as straight as a slalom course), I decided I'd spend this month reading as many new series with positive LGBTQA+ representation as I could. Luckily for me, Webtoon just so happens to have a
Pride Month 2021 section detailing a bunch of their series that have LGBTQA+ characters and themes. That doesn't mean all the series I will be talking about this month will be LGBTQA+ series, just that I expect the majority will be.
- Dark Mortal: Being called a freak isn't so bad when you have a spunky little black blob as a companion. An explosion leaves Nam Kang orphaned, scarred, and nearly blind, but he toughs out the daily bullying with the help of his imaginary blob friend, Inky. Until one day, Nam wakes from a bad beating to find his scars healed and his vision restored. At a new school, Nam is finally given the chance to live life as a normal kid. But it isn't just his scars that have disappeared. His best friend Inky is gone, too.
- The Wolfman of Wulvershire: Lady Carina would rather be single forever than become any man's baby-factory. So when she shows up at the Duke of Wulvershire's annual Spring Fling wine and dine, it's a shock to everyone — but not more shocking than the ensuing series of murders! Will Carina make it out alive, and, more importantly, will she find herself a hunky husband?
- Lovebot: In 2049, highly advanced and affectionate robots are becoming humanity's primary companions in place of real relationships. Xada makes his living by modifying these bots to fit their owners specific wants and needs. However, his newest job leaves the LoveBot strangely sentient, and asking for his help... Sparks will fly as Xada relearns human connection and helps uncover the truths behind the LoveBots' existence.
- Boyfriends.: A comic about getting yourself a boyfriend... or multiple boyfriends! Four college students begin a polyamorous relationship and navigate the adventure that is their dating life!
The fact that
Dark Mortal was the series I enjoyed the least this week should not be held against it (if anything it should be used to highlight just how amazing the three other series I've read alongside it have been). It's also the one series this week I read that was not from Webtoon's
Pride Month 2021 selection. With only 10 chapters currently available, there isn't much to this series yet, but the building blocks that we have been gifted so far have done more than enough to grab my attention. There are just so many mysteries to so many of the characters. Just who, or what is Inky? How did Inky heal Nam? Who is the other, more menacing blob in Nam's subconscious? Who or what really caused the fire that killed Nam's parents? And just what does Nam's grandpa seem to know about all of what's going on? For the moment, I will be keeping a close eye on this drama series and seeing how its mystery and action elements play out, and whether either will become a major player in the story as it progresses.
What can I say about
The Wolfman of Wulvershire without spoiling the story's mystery? I can talk about Cary and Ren, and how amazing they are not only together but individually as well. Cary is breathtaking in almost every aspect, from her realistic, curvey and buxom body, with all its imperfections serving to just make her that much more eye-catching, to her agency and forwardness with how she flirts with Ren. Cary is a woman who fucks. Cary is not shy about people knowing she fucks. And she is certainly not averse to letting Ren know exactly just how submerged her mind is in the gutter (and just how submerged between her legs she'd like him to be). Yet, at the same time, she is definitely not a one-note character, and the story does an excellent job of showing, displaying, and explaining the reasons behind each and every facet of her existence. In a world full of demure and modest female leads whose sole goal seems to be attaining a relationship and forming a family, Cary is a breath of fresh air. And I love her for it. Ren, himself, is no slouch either, but his character is much less overt in their brilliance, with the subtle and more mysterious aspects of his character (not to mention how positive and supportive of Cary he is) are where he truly shines. If you want to watch two gorgeous people try to find time to fuck while being constantly interrupted by a murder mystery, this is the story for you!
Lovebot is written and created by the duo of Chase Keels & Miranda Mundt. Now, if you have read any of my previous recommendations spreads one of those names will possibly be familiar to you, as Miranda Mundt is the author/artist for another one of my newfound favourite series,
Muted, a series I praised for its breadth of positive LGBTQA+ representation (and its lesbian, witch, plant-demon throuple), and
Lovebot does not disappoint in that regard either. With its main character being a disabled gay trans man of colour (of what I assume to be African-American and Indian/Asian descent). The way it handled and explored Xada's childhood and adolescence brought tears to my eyes with the beauty, love and warmth of it all. But the real meat of the story is the blossoming friendship (and attraction) between Xada and Lacey, the LoveBot he accidentally grants sentience to when doing an illegal modification to Lacey for his original piece-of-shit owner. Well, that, and the mystery of just how and why Lacey was able to develop sentience in the first place, and what does Astrobleme Enterprises have to do with it all. If you enjoyed
Muted and wanted more of its themes and messages but in a Sci-fi setting,
Lovebot is what you're looking for, and I highly suggest you give it chance to wow you as it did with me.
What's the gayest thing I've ever read? Until very recently, I would have been hard-pressed to give an exact answer to this question. Now, however? It is without a doubt
Boyfriends.. This work is dripping in gay, from the colour palette to the characters and their interactions. Everything just oozes gayness at an intensity that I had not experienced until now. And what an amazing cast it is. From the flirtatious and husbandly trans character Goth; to the gay panic disaster that is Prep; to the overly horny virgin, Nerd, and the confident himbo that is Jock, they are all just perfect rainbows of joy and happiness. I did not stop grinning from the moment I started reading this series to the moment I finished reading the last of its 32 currently available chapters. It was just that gay, good, and happy!
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