ABOUT THE Crash comic anthology
FAMILY & COMMUNITY
The theme of our anthology is particularly sensitive for LGBTQIA+ people. We might all come from different experiences, but family and community are integral parts of our lives as human beings. It’s a complex and delicate subject and in this volume you will find three stories that reflect the unique vision of the Crash artists on the topic.
Family can be many different things to different people. It can be a safe place of unconditional love where we can really be ourselves or an environment where we have to hide parts of ourselves. Family can be the one we are born into, the one we lose, the one we build from scratch, the one we found and chose in the important people in our lives.
Community it’s the people who share aspects of ourselves that are fundamental to who we are. Building community can be hard work, made of disagreements, arguments, compromises. Community must be a place of inclusivity, understanding, respect. When the systems around us fail us, community is there to help us pick up the pieces and build again.
three artists · three stories
OUTLAW, SPY, SUPERHERO · ALEN Timofeyev
Candy is a cheerful and imaginative trans guy living with his mom, who doesn’t necessarily know about his true identity. In order to cope with his secretive home life Candy has to retreat into his imaginary world where he is free to be anyone and anything.
Alen’s work is a heartfelt yet funny look at the happiness of discovering one’s identity and the stress of having to hide it. It’s a story about how complicated family relationships can be, how we can be close to our family but needing to find community outside of it.
MOM FRIEND · EUGENIA ERBA
At the end of a night out dancing at the local queer club, Monica and her friend Billy are trying to find their two friends, Jay and Katie, who wandered away while partying. Especially Jay who is notorious for always getting in trouble and making wild choices. The search for their friends during the night exposes the relationship drama and the roles within their little family. At the end we see how anger and resentment can be met with compassion and understanding, when people have each other’s backs despite everything.
Eugenia’s work is a poignant but hilarious story about chosen family and its complex dynamics. It’s a love letter to all the mom friends out there and it’s a reminder that the people who truly love us will always have our best interest, no matter what.
4C · Zouzouo Williams Obrou
Two friends meet after a long time, to mourn together the death of a person dear to them. This moment of vulnerability will bring to the surface wounds that have never healed. About their queerness, about their blackness.
Will’s work is a beautiful story about the intersection of blackness and queerness. It is a soulful reflection on what it means to belong and how, sometimes, we risk losing a part of ourselves whether we choose or stay or walk away.
