Writers: Kathryn Calamia, Wells Thompson, Kay Rose, Jimmy Gaspero, Andrea Towers, Christie Porter, Julius Dulinayan, Tiffany Babb, Haley Rose-Lyon
Artists: Dominic Bustamante, Ile Gonzalez, Kay Rose, Beck Kubrick, Elaine Tipping, Philip Sevy & Sarah Stern, Maru Davalos, Megan Huang, Eileen Widjaja
Editor: Kathryn Calamia
Letterer: by Taylor Esposito
Cover artists: Melissa Caprigilione, Sebastian Franchini, and Papurrcat
Bisexual Visibility Day is coming up on September 23rd and there’s an anthology comic titled Bi Visibility you should know about! Spearheaded by editor and also contributor Kathryn Calamia, Bi Visibility features the work of over twenty bisexual creators discussing topics and situations familiar to folks who make up the B part of the greater LGBTQA+ acronym.
In this collection you’ll find character driven stories spanning the genres of romance, fantasy, action, slice of life, and a little sci fi. Each of them relates the human condition everyone feels deep down – the need for validation, acceptance, and love. Who and how we love and express ourselves as individuals and in relationships are questions we all deal with throughout our lives but these questions become more complicated for bisexuals thanks to misunderstandings and pressure coming from heterosexuals and some queers who insist bisexuals must “pick a side.” That’s an attitude I first encountered among fellow gay men as I was coming of age as a gay man in the 1980s and the prejudice was certainly not a recent one. One group of people who know discrimination based on who and how they love telling another group who and how they can love is simply hypocrital. Each creative team tackles various situations with sensitivity and humor. Matters such as whether or not to come out to family and friends if you’re in a straight appearing relationship; can your bi card be revoked and just how would that happen anyway; how to respond to those annoying personal inquiries that someone inevitably asks; bi erasure and bi phobia; unexpectedly realizing later in life that you’re bisexual; and falling in love with your childhood best friend.
Stating the obvious here, Bi Visibility is made for bisexual people as validation and its creators have done an outstanding job with their efforts. And hey, if you’re not bisexual you can still enjoy this anthology! These stories can be appreciated by everyone else for the insight into the challenges bisexual people deal with!
The comic is being crowdfunded right now on Kickstarter. Pledge levels for Bi Visibility start at $5 for a digital copy and $15 for print with higher tiers including enticing rewards in addition to the digital “Queer Indy Comics Bundle” included with the intro tiers. With the stories already completed the wait time between the project’s deadline and delivery should be minimal. The campaign closes on September 30th so don’t wait too long!