Coming Out of the Storm 🌀

New comics, graphic novel picks, plus opportunities for artists

Author

Crucial Comix
June 20, 2025

 Read new comics!

» Coming Out of the Storm by Nie Dos - The Pulse nightclub was the first place that felt like home for me as a queer person—then the shooting happened.

» Hotel Dieu by Emma Akins - Freshly sober, trying to sleep in the same room as a fridge full of alcohol was like trying to sleep in a room with a monster.

» Young Love by Sadie Levine - A playful memory of my first crush: a second-grader who loved to pick his nose.

Behind the Comic

“Coming Out of the Storm” is artist Nie Dos’s first-ever published comic. She created the memoir comic reflecting on the joy she found at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub before the 2016 shooting. After Nie pitched the comic in March, Crucial paired her up with volunteer editors Mattie Lubchansky and Audra McNamee. “Over the past nine years, I’ve read and watched so much about the Pulse nightclub shooting. It felt rare to read stories that captured what Pulse was like before the tragedy,” says Nie. “Pulse was a place where I could just be as a queer, gender-nonconforming, mixed-race Latina. It was also the first space where I truly felt the power and importance of community. Creating this comic was both challenging and cathartic. The visual storytelling came most naturally and old journal entries helped me reconnect with specific memories. But articulating how I felt in words was hard. This is where I’m especially grateful for Crucial Comix’s editing support. With Audra and Mattie’s help, I was able to clarify the narrative, improve the pacing, and make room for emotional honesty. I’m proud to have this story be my first published comic. Pulse really was so much more than a nightclub, and I hope this piece honors that.”

 Upcoming events

✨Drink and Draw!✨ We’re hosting a chill in-person drink and draw in Portland on June 26th outside “best comics shop in the world” Books With Pictures (1401 SE Division). Come hang out, draw, and meet some new people!

June 22nd: Summer Story Fest in Portland, Oregon - Stop by this adorable little festival celebrating zines, riso printing, and illustration. Plus there will be ice cream.  

June 28-29: Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) - We’ll be at this very fun gathering of cartoonists in the great Midwest. It’s free, come hang!

 Upcoming classes

All of our classes are sliding-scale and offered online, so they’re affordable and you can join from anywhere. We also have free spots available in every class and workshop for people who can’t afford the price—get in touch if you’d like to request a free spot!

• Intro to Digital Drawing with Procreate: Just picked up a new iPad? Want to get into drawing digitally? This beginner-friendly workshop led by Audra McNamee will go over a basic comics-making workflow in Procreate. Monday, July 14 from 5-7pm PST/8-10pm EST

• Make Your Dang Comic! Cartooning Fundamentals: Artist Kane Lynch’s popular class on kickstarting your creativity returns for a new eight-week session in August. Whether you’re an experienced artist or a total beginner, this class will put you on track to create a finished comic you can be proud of. Tuesdays from 5pm-7pmPST/8pm-10pm EST from August 12th – September 30 

• How to Never Get Writer’s Block Again: Berlin-based animator and comic artist Ami Bogin will share a series of prompts and practical techniques to blow away the brain fog and help you develop a creative practice that works for you. This is a two-part online workshop in the Central European Timezone. Saturdays August 9th and 16th from 2pm-4pm CET.

News

In a heartbreaking blow to trans teens and their families, the Supreme Court ruled this week that state bans on gender-affirming care for trans teens can remain in place. While every major medical and mental health organization in the US has found that gender-affirming care can be evidence-based and medically necessary, since 2021, 26 states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for minors. Cartoonist Al Benbow wrote about the hypocrisy of this manufactured controversy in their Crucial comic “Why Wouldn’t I Want That?” Many people receive gender-affirming healthcare without controversy—when cis people receive hormonal and surgical treatments, it’s just called “healthcare.” As a teenager, Al was prescribed hormonal acne treatment Spironolactone. In college, they learned that the drug is a hormonal anti-androgen and is often taken by trans women. “I’ve mostly just been thinking about how this Supreme Court decision is going to make so many trans kids in red states feel so hopeless,” says Al. “I want to emphasize to them that regardless of whether you’re able to medically or socially transition as a teen, it’s still so possible to grow up and have an incredibly fulfilling and happy life as a trans person. It wasn’t possible for me to transition until I was in my 20s, and I made it. Trans futures are always possible!”

What we’re reading

Joaquin Golez is an illustrator, teacher, tattoo artist, and “mixed-race unsortable gender goblin” who is currently teaching Crucial’s very fun class Sexy Comics for Shy People. We asked Joaquin to share three scintillating queer comics he loves.

đź’ś Cuckoos Three by Cassandra Jean + MossKat ~ This has become one of my comfort comics. A friend lent it to me during yet another one of my post-breakup depressive slumps and I truly didn't want the story to end. Despite being a sweet and wholesome romance, the characters have some very real mental health challenges that get me right in my good cry zone every time. Not to mention the art style is gorgeous.

đź’ś When I Arrived at the Castle by E.M Carroll ~ I literally just purchased and eagerly consumed this deliciously sexy and BEAUTIFULLY executed horror comic from master of queer horror, E.M Carroll. GODDAMN it's like this was MADE FOR ME. Big titty furry girl + menacing sapphic vampiress bathed in blood and visual decadence = my freaky niche.

đź’ś Hanamonogatari by Schwinn ~ I really like reading stories about older queer people because, well, I'm getting older. As queer people, we often find ourselves without the guidance of community elders so I find myself very comforted by these kinds of perspectives. Hanamonogatari is a subtle, sexy and beautifully crafted slice of life Yuri manga, that emphasizes queer resilience and the infinite ability to reinvent ourselves.   

$$ Opportunities for artists $$

• Fall comics festivals are taking applications now for tablers. Check out the applications for Short Run (Seattle), Ann Arbor Comic Arts Fest (Ann Arbor, Michigan), and a very sweet sounding youth comics festival in Massachusetts for artists ages 8-18. 

• Create a comic about fat liberation for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Their community blog is looking for submissions and pays $125 for accepted pieces—they’re encouraging comics artists to submit work! 

• Are you looking for places to pitch a graphic novel? The newsletter Tea Golbin Cafe put together a very helpful spreadsheet of publishers and anthologies currently looking for submissions.

This newsletter is written by Shay Mirk. If you have comics or opportunities you think we should feature, email Shay at [email protected]. đź’Ś