March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility, and to celebrate, The Beat is spotlighting trans and gender nonconforming comic creators! According to the GLSEN website, “The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.”

This list is by no means exhaustive! Do you have a favorite trans comic creator who wasn’t included on our list this year? Give The Beat a shout-out and let us know, either here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat!

  • Crystal Frasier

Crystal Frasier is the writer behind the graphic novel Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms and the recent Marvel Comics series Gamma Flight. She also has experience writing video and tabletop games and fiction, which you can learn more about on her website.

trans day of visibility 2022

In 2021, The Beat’s own Avery Kaplan got the chance to interview Crystal for Prism Comics about Gamma Flight.

  • Lilah Sturges

Lilah Sturges is the writer behind graphic novels like Girl Haven, The Magicians and Lumberjanes OGNs, and the recent Dune adaptation. The Beat has had the opportunity to speak with her several times over the years (and it is always a pleasure), most recently on our affiliated podcast, Matrix 404.

And The Beat’s own Rebecca Oliver Kaplan got the chance to interview her about the Dune graphic novel over at Prism shortly after the movie was released in 2021!

  • A.C. Esguerra

A.C. Esguerra is the cartoonist behind the breathtaking graphic novel Eighty Days, which is nominated for a GLAAD Award! The Beat got the chance to interview A.C. in advance of the graphic novel’s release in 2021. 

And here’s a video interview with them, conducted by Avery for Prism Comics:

  • Seth Smith

Seth Smith is the genius behind the webcomic Hellbound. He also illustrated two upcoming graphic novels: Theo Page’s Guide to Being a Guy, written by Kacen Callender and scheduled for publication in 2023, and Kicks, written by Danny Lore and scheduled for publication in 2024.

https://twitter.com/sethsmithart/status/1457362676666019850?s=20&t=wS8EkVQytvza0k0EYWqtzQ

During the summer of 2020, The Beat visited his Animal Crossing island!

  • Jeremy Holt

Jeremy Holt is the writer behind Made in Korea and the webcomic House of Slay. Their work has also appeared in recent Marvel Comics anthologies.

The Beat got the chance to chat with them in advance of the release of Made in Korea in 2021, and in 2020 regarding the modern day rom-com Virtually Yours.

  • Pseudonym Jones

Pseudonym Jones is the cartoonist behind the adorable characters Fanlee and Spätzle, who frequently appear in her webcomics and in the collection Fanlee and Spätzle Make Something Perfect! She also makes many comics about other original characters, as well as familiar pop culture characters from places like Pokémon and Homestar Runner. 

The Beat visited her for Acrossing the Miles during the summer of 2020.

  • Grace Freud

Grace Freud wrote the graphic novel Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song, the one-shot Rick & Morty: Jerryboree, and a story in the upcoming Marvel’s Voices: Pride anthology. She also writes for television, and with April Grace, is one half of the stand-up comedy duo Girl God.

  • Tamra Bonvillain

Tamra Bonvillain, colorist extraordinaire, has appeared on the creative team of many high profile comics, including Crush & Lobo, Once and Future, Proctor Valley Road, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

  • Danny Lore

Danny Lore is a comics writer with credits at both Marvel Comics and DC! They will be writing the upcoming graphic novel Kicks, which will be illustrated by Seth Smith, as well as co-writing DC’s Multiversity: Teen Justice series with co-writer Ivan Cohen and artists Marco Failla & Enrica Eren Angiolini, which is set to debut as part of the publisher’s Pride celebration in June.

The Beat got the chance to interview them about the James Bond series they co-authored with Vita Ayala, as well as about Queen of Bad Dreams.

  • Trung Le Nguyen

Trung Le Nguyen is the cartoonist behind the graphic novel The Magic Fish. They also made Star Spinner, an inclusive, diverse Tarot Deck, and their work appeared in the 2021 edition of the DC Pride comic anthology.

  • The Kao

The Kao is the cartoonist behind Magical Boy, which first made its debut on Tapas before being adapted into a graphic novel duology by Scholastic Graphix! The Kao also recently edited the anthology The Out Side. The Beat’s own Avery Kaplan got the opportunity to interview The Kao for Prism Comics:

  • Maia Kobabe

Maia Kobabe is the Ignatz-winning cartoonist behind Gender Queer, eir memoir graphic novel. E sat down with Brian Hibbs in 2019 to discuss the book:

  • Kendra Wells

Kendra Wells is a cartoonist whose work includes Tell No Tales, an ages eight and over historical graphic novel, and Real Hero Shit, an ages sixteen and over fantasy story from Iron Circus Comics! The Beat got the chance to interview Kendra back in 2019 about Real Hero Shit, and more recently, The Beat’s own Avery Kaplan got the opportunity to speak with them about Real Hero Shit over at Prism Comics:

  • ND Stevenson

ND Stevenson is the cartoonist behind Nimona and Lumberjanes! They are also behind the Netflix adaptation of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

The Beat got the chance to talk with them about their more recent project I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand in October 2021.

  • Mathew New

Mathew New is the cartoonist behind the beloved children’s comic Billy Johnson and his Duck are Explorers.

The Beat got the chance to interview Mathew on their Animal Crossing island during the summer of 2020.

  • Cool Friend

If you are a fan of A Year of Free Comics, you may remember Cool Friend from their Star Trek: The Next Generation-inspired Data comics! They will have a few physical versions of Data Visualization available soon, so be sure and stay ahead of the curve if you want to socre a copy from this limited run.

  • Ned Barnett

Ned Barnett specializes in history and medical comics, with a special emphasis on World War I! You can read many examples of his work right now on his website. In his self-published graphic novel Dreamers of the Day, Ned recounted his 2019 research trip to visit the TE Lawrence archives.

https://twitter.com/TheNedBarnett/status/1452667739496124425?s=20&t=iLrotxzYLsKHOz5u0TYKIA

  • Casey Nowak

Casey Nowak is the Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist behind the graphic novel Girl Town and webcomics like Bravo. You can join their Patreon page for access to more of their work, including pages from their ongoing Bodyseed comic!

  • Shelby Criswell

Shelby Criswell was the artist on Terminal Punks and the cartoonist behind the nonfiction graphic novel, Queer as All Get Out, which gives you a chance to take a walk with them and learn about the biographies of ten people who have inspired them.

You can read The Beat’s 2021 interview with Criswell about Terminal Punks here!

  • Vita Ayala

Vita Ayala is the writer behind many fantastic comics, including Static Shock: Season One and Submerged.

They also wrote a Serial Box audio drama about Jessica Jones, which The Beat got the chance to interview them about in 2020.

  • Melanie Gillman

Melanie Gillman is the cartoonist behind comics like Stage Dreams and As the Crow Flies, as well as the forthcoming Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales, to be published in September by RH Graphic.

  • Colleen AF Venable

Colleen AF Venable is the writer of the Katie the Catsitter graphic novel trilogy, illustrated by Stephanie Yue! 

The Beat got the chance to interview both creators in advance of the release of Katie the Catsitter and Katie the Catsitter: Best Friends for Never!

  • Emma Jayne

Emma Jayne is the cartoonist behind the comics Trans Girls Hit the Town and Trans Girls Hit the Field. She has been awarded a Prism Award and an Ignatz Award for her work!

  • Tara Avery

Tara Madison Avery is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in many anthologies, including We’re Still Here and The Out Side. She founded Stacked Deck Press, a publisher with a focus on LGBT work, and according to her Prism Comics profile, she is currently working on a new comic, Merrier.

  • Kaitlin Chan

Kaitlin Chan is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in publications like The New Yorker. However, you can also read many comics on their website.

Her forthcoming graphic memoir, Homecoming, will be published by Surely Books in Fall 2022.

  • Steenz

Steenz is the cartoonist behind Heart of the City, and they were the illustrator behind the graphic novel Archival Quality and the forthcoming Side Quest! They are also an educator who cannot help but share their passion for comics with those around them.

In summer of 2020, The Beat got the chance to visit their Animal Crossing island for our inaugural interview in the Acrossing the Miles series!

  • Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Jude Ellison S. Doyle is the writer of the recent comic Maw, illustrated by A.L. Kaplan, which will be collected in paperback in August 2022.