A new children’s comic book now being crowdfunded follows four sisters as they travel back in time to 1980s Paris, on a mission to save their dads and the city itself in an alternate universe where love has become a crime.
The Michaels Girls, by queer, nonbinary Canadian television writer Nelson Leloup, shows us how Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose find self-love and courage as they seek to defeat the evil Mercuror and his terrible army of Love Shaders. Nelson explains his motivations on the project’s Kickstarter page:
I grew up with stories that taught me that exploring my feminine side was wrong. I learned to hate my body, the way I looked, and the way I expressed myself. The other comic books or TV shows I found were bland, dry, and just boring.
Younger generations need to be able to laugh, love, and get excited by stories that are both super duper cool, and that show them that anyone can be a hero: no matter your skin color, body type, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Everyone deserves to be loved….
“The Michaels Girls” is more than a fun read. It’s a needed book about love, chosen families, diversity, courage, and self-acceptance. Most importantly: it’s a book about how kindness and caring for others is all that we’ve got.
On top of all that, however, the book (in French and English) does look to be a fun read, if the promotional panels are any indication. Snarky siblings! 80s styles! Villains in top hats! Heaps of queerness!
Leloup says that the script is done, and the artists (illustrator Ana Karenina GarcÃa, colorist Mariam Trejo, and letterer Dominik Schwäger) have already started work. The Kickstarter to get it finalized and out the door launched just a few days ago and closes on October 2, 2019. Check out the video below and see additional images and more details at Kickstarter.
http://kck.st/34s34vo
This post is one of an occasional series on crowdfunded efforts to increase LGBTQ representation in kids’ media. These aren’t endorsements or requests that you send them money; only you can make that decision. I think it’s exciting and important, however, to see some of the wonderful, creative projects that people are doing to help all kids’ see positive images of themselves and the people around them. If you are launching such a project yourself, please let me know.)
