In the documentary feature No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, producer Justin Hall presents a history of the queer subculture in comics along with perspectives from comic artists. In 2013, Justin Hall's graphic anthology of queer comics, No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics compiled over 300 pages of LGBT+ comics from 1970 onward. Such comics often only circulated in safe spaces like LGBT+ newspapers isolated from the mainstream. In these spaces, creativity thrived, evolving to the rich landscape of beautiful and nuanced works of art available in graphic novel and comic publications today.

Justin Hall continues his historical investigation with this documentary venture. In No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, he interviews prominent queer comic artists Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Howard Cruse, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wing.

Watch the documentary preview. The Library invites the ArtCenter community to attend a screening of the documentary and panel discussion with Justin Hall hosted by ArtCenter President Karen Hofmann.

Documentary Screening and Author Talk with Justin Hall at ArtCenter
November 13, 2023
6 - 10pm
Ahmanson Auditorium
Event details.

Check out these graphic novels and comics available in our catalog by queer comic artists.

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics by Justin Hall
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Wendell All Together by Howard Cruse
The Other Sides of Howard Cruse by Howard Cruse
Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home by Nicole J. Georges
7 Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz
Last Girl Standing by Trina Robbins
Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months by A.K. Summers
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
Gumballs by Erin Nations
The Contracts of the Fall and Other Stories by Gengoroh Tagame
Wuvable Oaf by Ed Luce

Special mention of Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, a debut work often targeted in censorship and book-banning efforts. Gender Queer has been the most challenged book in America since its publication in 2021.