One day, a long long time ago (February), I was just like you... receiving my very much anticipated Walt's Comic Shop Newsletter and adding every single thing to my wishlist like it was Christmas (it wasn't).
And now I’m writing one of these myself!!! (So maybe it is kinda like Christmas?!!!)
If you don't know me, let me introduce myself.
I'm Math, and along with Petar and Daniel, I have been writing articles for the now 3-months-old (wow, time) Beyond The Panels Blog at Walt's. We have been crafting reading recommendations, and more often than not sharing our own deep nerdy secrets with you every week. I'm immensely proud of the work we've done so far and hope you guys are reading and enjoying those.
But I digress (as you can see is often the case if you have been reading my articles).
It's June. So it means it is time for every company out there to put some Pride flags on the wall and try to make you buy some new shoes or something. Instead, here at Walt's we at least try to make you read some new awesome queer stories (and that's better than shoes, you don't need those rainbow Spongebob shoes, trust me)
They Called Us Enemy
If you, like me, were a TV-obsessed kid, you know there wasn’t a lot out there when it came to out-and-proud role models. For a long time, there was George Takei – and that was about it. You might remember him as Sulu from Star Trek. My dad used to spend all of Saturday watching Star Trek while I sat on the sofa, nursing a weird crush on Takei (yeah, that explains a lot about my early 20s).
He's releasing It Rhymes With Takei next week, chronicling his journey as a queer man. And while I can’t wait to read it, first we need to talk about his last graphic novel – the Eisner Award-winning They Called Us Enemy. If this one slipped past you a few weeks ago, it’s time to catch up, because it’s simply a phenomenal book.
They Called Us Enemy is a comic expansion of his TED Talk about his family’s experiences after Pearl Harbor and the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans in what were essentially concentration camps. It’s haunting, profound, and unafraid to be political, taking sharp jabs at 2020s America – a version of the country that’s very much back and not showing signs of going quietly. One particularly powerful scene shows his mother, after their family has been robbed of everything, smashing one of her belongings so it won’t be sold for pennies. It’s a moment that lands with force and lingers.
And they have an expanded edition with documents, scripts, pictures and the whole shabang.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei GN TP
€17,99
€19,99
New York Times Bestseller! Discover this award-winning masterpiece before the release of George Takei's deeply personal follow-up, It Rhymes With Takei (June 2025).A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II.… read more
F*ck Off Squad: Remastered Edition
For something more wholesome, here’s an incredibly funny graphic novel. If you were a fan of Rocket Power growing up and thought, “They should be more gay,” F*ck Off Squad is for you. It’s about three teen skaters figuring out their stuff and dealing with the relationship and sexuality b*llsh*t we all probably once thought was the most important thing ever. It’s unapologetically queer, proud, and refuses to follow the usual scripts. We’re very much allowed to do stupid things, just like any other stupid kids.
It has a Scott Pilgrim vibe – and I hate throwing that reference around – but I mean it specifically in terms of the quickness in the dialogue and the way the characters are written. Except here, it’s more grounded. It’s highly underrated, and I honestly wish I could just keep reading about this group of people going on with their lives forever.
F*ck Off Squad Remastered Edition GN
€21,99
Three would-be miscreants attempt to navigate the trials and tribulations of growing up in Los Angeles. Needless to say, it's the greatest comic about Instagram, skating, and low-key trying to date someone while you're still in a relationship ever made.… read more
Men I Trust
Now for something that I don’t wish I was reading forever, but that will stay with me for a long time: a deep exploration of comic language to portray depression and addiction. All hand-painted, resulting in figures that feel more like light ghosts. Talk about queer people being allowed to be flawed.
In Men I Trust we have a single mom in her early-thirties trying to figure out her life and a woman in her late-twenties figuring out if even there is a life for her. When their paths cross, we’re already deep in Parrish’s blurry world. A broken world that doesn’t look like it’ll ever fix itself (sounds familiar?), and the toll it takes on our own mental stability — the way it stains. Queer people live in the same world as everyone else, and it’s so refreshing to see these women allowed to be sad, to mess up, to try to fix things — or not. Feels very in tune with the blues my approaching-thirties generation can’t seem to shake.
Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish HC (Fantagraphics)
€34,99
(W) Tommi Parrish (A/CA) Tommi Parrish Tommi Parrish's sophomore graphic novel establishes them as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary literature. Eliza is a thirtysomething struggling single mother and poet. Sasha, a twentysomething yearning for direction in life,… read more
And if you want even more queerness, then check out all the graphic novels in this collection:
And Beyond That...
There’s so much I want to talk about and so little time. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a space to talk endlessly about graphic novels?
Well, thanks to Walt’s we do! I recently published full articles diving into some queer comics legends.
One of them is on Tillie Walden - she tells awesome stories about queer characters like On A Sunbeam, a sci-fi romance that keeps expanding in creativity.
Another one is Mariko Tamaki, who captures the voice of a queer teen like no one else in the already-classic Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (c’mon, if you love Heartstopper – and I know you do – you got to pick that up).
And, of course, superstar and super-awesome Zoe Thorogood (what could be more queer than self-referential comics?).
I’m always out there reading full bibliographies and nerding out for you guys. And I know I’m being repetitive, but this is such an awesome thing Walt’s is doing. The support and freedom they’ve given us is pretty much unheard of (like, seriously), and we’re working our hardest to carve out a space where everyone can hang out and discover comics. So see you out there. (And keep an eye out for some queer character spotlights too!)
And thanks to Gloriana for letting me step into this newsletter for her this month! She’s Beyond the Panels biggest cheerleader, and if you’ve been loving it, be sure to send her a huuuuge thank you.
Ok. That 's it. Byyyyye. Merry Christmas!
