Transgender Homebody by Nuka Horvat (Mini Kus! #120)

I won’t bury the lede and will come right out and tell you this is an excellent book, and stands among the best comics, mainstream or indie, that I’ve read this year. (I’ll wink here to editor David Schilter and say that having just attended the ceremony at San Diego Comic Con for the 20-something-eth year, work like this should be submitted for Eisner Award consideration if not already done so.) Transgender Homebody was a joy to consume, using shapes and lines that almost coalesce into recognizable forms just on the periphery of our understanding, in an effect that must mirror the disorienting sensation of gender dysphoria. It’s a smartly constructed work that plays off of voyeurism, exhibitionism, (non?)consensuality, the edging and the erotic, with in your face with sumptuous lines like “i squirt on his pussy.” Generally, I’m not a fan of quoting a bunch of dialogue in a review, preferring to leave much for the reader to discover on their own. But with charged prose like this, my descriptions just won’t do it justice. There’s a gorgeous purple and seemingly engorged two-page spread that reads: “he proposes to my T-dick. he marries my throat. he commits to my identity, until I girlboss all over his face.” Sadly, by the end, everything seems to be fleeting and transitory, but oh the journey. Transgender Homebody revels in the brinksmanship of leaning into gender identity and affirmation as raw kinky turn-on, and seriously, what is hotter than seeing someone for who they truly are and accepting them with all-in joie de vivre? I love this book.