Queer comics were once an illicit art form, circulating from person to person through underground networks. Although comics have always been a little queer (Batman and Robin anyone?), not all superheroes wear capes. When censorship began to loosen in the 1970s, comics emerged as a vital medium in LGBTQ meaning making and provided another window into a world that still tends to remain hidden. Often mistakenly dismissed as not serious and too simplistic, queer comics from artists such as Tom of Finland to Alison Bechdel have functioned as acts of activism, especially during times of political conservatism.

On display here are the works of your very own underground queer comics artists on campus. These wonderfully smart and insightful, and at times sad and painful projects were completed as part of a class assignment for Queer Comics (GSWS 290) taught by Visiting Assistant Professor Helis Sikk in the fall of 2016. The themes covered here inform the everyday lives of you and your fellow students: coming out, navigating relationships with your family, friends, and lovers; and finding the people who accept the true beautiful human self – be it asexual, bisexual, questioning, trans, or queer – that you are.

Warning: Exhibit contains sexually explicit imagery + representations of violence

Artwork by Shea Simmons, Kristen Claman, Taylor White, Erin Owens, Sara Schmieder, Sarah Grady, Riley Walker, Jake Hope, Talia Wiener, Katherine Carris, Jacob Hopkins, Larkin O’Hara, Jonah Bhatnagar, Isabel Jabaley, Mia Guzman-Vogele, Calvin Kolbe, Taylor Medley, Kalli Doyle, Isabella Arias, Elijah Levine, Bethany Jackson, John Edwards, + two anonymous students.

Exhibit sponsored by Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program