For Pride Month, it is only appropriate that we see some LGBTQ+ comics being released to celebrate. In the final week of June, we are going to see the launch of GALACTIC, a brand new online anthology on galacticcomic.com. It’s the brainchild of Dublin-based comics writer – and now editor – Chris Fildes.

“I’ve published a few queer comics before via fundraising platform Kickstarter,” Chris explained. “I really love writing my own FANNY GALACTIC comic series about a time-travelling drag queen and am currently working (slowly) on their 3rd volume.

“When I started writing it, my intention was to serialise it in an anthology comic with other LGBTQ+ creators’ stories. A bit like long running British sci-fi comic 2000AD – but queer! So that’s when the idea of GALACTIC came to me. The project was too big for me to do at the time, but I decided to come back to it now as an online standalone project.”

So back in December Chris put out a call for other queer creators to pitch five-page stories for the anthology. “I was really surprised by the volume and quality of the pitches,” Chris added.

“I expected to get a few but got over 50 during the pitching period. It was so hard to choose, and I now have about 15 I really want to publish. For this first collection we have a really great diverse selection of six stories that I hope is a statement of intent about what GALACTIC is about. As we publish more in the future, I’ll be really looking to make this a really diverse platform in terms of different parts of the queer community – particularly underrepresented ones.”

 

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Without further ado, here is a list of the comics included in the anthology:

A Changed You – Noah Schiatti
June 23
In an oppressive community where everything is firmly controlled, Niro decides to flee to the undercity to find their freedom.

“Overtime, I’ve grown increasingly aware of the significant role visual language plays in conveying messages and telling stories.” author Noah Schiatti commented. “Almost all my works share the themes of gender and identity in some form or shape. Queer stories and trans issues are still hardly depicted in comics. Despite growing interest from mainstream publishers, we hear more nuanced stories that aren’t as neat and easily classified via the Internet and from independent publishers. Several comic artists have inspired me to pursue this career. Through my comics, I hope to offer my readers joy, determination and hope – things I have obtained from others’ works.”

The Airlock – Kat Dela Cruz
June 24
When Maisey and her wife, Tallulah, navigate a barren spaceship with no memory of what happened to their crew, Maisey comes face-to-face with a heart-stopping surprise she never thought she’d ever encounter.

“I love sci-fi, and I love horror with the inclusion of LGBTQIA+!” author Kat Dela Cruz said. “Something that I always strive for in my work is to write and create stories in genres where you wouldn’t usually expect queerness to be such a big part of it. Robust Heat‘s protagonist is a bi-polyam man with a wife and boyfriend set in a fictional world inspired by the 1940s-50s. Or Ane & Ere’s, my comic inspired by Lovecraftian Horror and Filipino mythology, where I feature a Filipino and Roma protagonist who also happen to be queer platonic partners. As a Bi+, Filipino sequential artist, given the opportunity, I always try to create space for us queerfolk and BIPOC people in the form of comics in genres that didn’t always make space for us in the past.”

Baby Love Rock – Hunter Berube / Inks Vitor Werde
June 25
Martian siblings seek, transform, and procure demons into angels, saving the Earth from an evil, plastic-polluted nightmare.

“Everything I touch turns to glitter. Much like the Drag Queen Yvie Oddly, I like to stretch the word ‘queer’,” ​​author Hunter Berube said. “I use art to explore the universal struggle with who I am. I believe the queer journey is inherently spiritual. We all have demons. When I was in the closet, I saw myself as this incomplete, imperfect entrapment. I saw evil. But when I allowed myself to be myself, I saw love. I saw angels. These spiritual beings represent the pendulum of shifting views queer people have of themselves.”

“Baby Love Rock embodies my deep search for the self through science fiction. We’re talkin’ demons, space travel, Martian corporate greed, and that campy Unknown. Inspirations include: Steven Universe, Ben 10, Scavengers Reign, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. This anthology is a chance to pay comic homage to the stories that have taught me self-love and to cope with existential dread. GALACTIC offers me an opportunity to boost climate awareness, class consciousness, and anti-overconsumption one panel at a time. Baby Love Rock reveals the richness of authenticity: glitter!”

Purchase – E.B. Hutchins
June 26
Two female space pirates try to enjoy their first paycheck together but have to avoid the Imperial police while they do it.

“I’m a black lesbian artist/writer from TX, who’s currently in MA,” author E.B. Hutchins said. “I’m currently working with BCN to make comic strips. My work is very gay. Purchase in five pages gets across the main draws of sci-fi for me, which are unique locales, species, scientific ideas and political ideas. For this short, the idea that joy is seen as violence to our oppressors, especially if done ‘incorrectly’ sprang to mind.”

The Faithful – David Ferguson/Artist Jaime Lalor
June 27
The Vatican has created a robot priest that is free from the temptations of the flesh!

Jaime Lalor is a queer illustrator and comic artist working predominantly with digital art. His work focuses on identity, music, alternative subculture and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as exploring neurodivergence through his characters.

David Ferguson is a former EIC of Irish Comic News, a pop culture guru at GCN and occasional writer of (mostly) queer comics.

“This story is about the evils of AI and the dangers of replacing humans with robots. It also looks at the difference between faith and religion,” David Ferguson said.

Old Ones, New Ones – Mars
June 28
A pilot is sent to investigate a long-distance anomaly and must grapple with not understanding their place in the universe.

Mars is a non-binary artist located in the Pacific Northwest, working primarily on book covers, character design, and graphic novels. “This story provides a metaphor through which I see my own experiences with being trans, being seen as “other” by a large part of society and being at peace with knowing not everyone will understand who you are. But in space!” Mars said.

GALACTIC can be found at www.galacticcomic.com and @galacticcomic on Instagram or Bluesky.

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*GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity – Charity Number: 20034580.