My reply is straightforward. Learn our comics, and see for your self.
Because the Lily launched 5 years in the past, we’ve revealed a whole bunch of intimate, humorous, private and necessary tales within the type of comics. And this 12 months was no totally different. We revealed comics in regards to the 12 months’s greatest tales: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings, the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, American gun violence and naturally, the end of Roe v. Wade. We featured thought-provoking conversations, hilarious satire and cultural deep dives.
Oh, and one other factor I’m notably pleased with: We revealed our first long-form, enterprise comics story. It took six months (and some Google Maps deep dives) to report and depict.
Removed from trivializing these matters, the comedian format brings them to life in methods which are intimate, visceral and deeply human. There’s one thing about sequential artwork that feels each private and common, accessible however wholly quick. It’s why I fell in love with the style, and why I’m so proud to be on a workforce that prioritizes it.
To shut out one other nice 12 months of comics storytelling, we rounded up 10 of our favorites so that you can sink into. Yulia Vus wrote about her life in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee dove into the cultural discourse round altering your title after marriage. Pepita Sándwich detailed what it was wish to freeze her eggs. LA Johnson depicted two vastly totally different tales of miscarriage in Publish-Roe America.
We hope you see a little bit of your self in every of them. We hope that they shock and delight you, make you snort or educate you one thing new in regards to the world round you.
Thanks for being with us for an additional 12 months.
P.S. Should you like our comics, there’s some excellent news: The Washington Publish is expanding its comics journalism. Within the subsequent few months, I’ll be working throughout the newsroom to inform much more tales on this format.
As I start this new journey, I’d love to listen to your enter: Send me an email and let me know what you consider our comics, what you’re loving on the earth of graphic storytelling and what you’d wish to see from this new initiative.
1
Life in Ukraine amid months of battle
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the individuals, and the entire nation, won’t ever be the identical. We’ll be listening to phantom sirens for years. We’ll be afraid to plan our lives for greater than per week. And I guess we’ll combat PTSD, too. However the principle process now could be to win, whereas nonetheless preserving our sanity. Read the comic by Yulia Vus.
2
Why I selected to maintain my final title once I acquired married
I’ve a tough time adjusting to alter. My husband, Arnav, however is tremendous versatile with regards to this stuff. Earlier than we met, he had moved a number of occasions and traveled to many international locations and cities. So after coping with prenups, combining taxes and updating our insurance coverage data once we acquired engaged, my maiden title was nonetheless lingering at the back of our minds.
I’ve at all times had sophisticated experiences with my title, which I’ve written about in previous comics. I’ve been referred to as “Dorkey,” “Door Hinge” and “Dor-Hee.” I’ve heard all of it. You’d suppose I might be completely satisfied to drop the title in spite of everything of these years. But it surely was a bit of extra sophisticated than that. Read the comic by Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee.
3
Sisters in miscarriage: Two totally different Zip codes, two totally different outcomes
In a post-Roe world, your Zip code can have an effect on the sort of maternal medical care you obtain. My sister and I acquired pregnant at about the identical time this previous summer time, and we have been utterly unprepared for what would occur subsequent. Read the comic by LA Johnson.
4
What I want I’d recognized earlier than I froze my eggs
I wasn’t positive when or if I might ever have youngsters, so I made a decision to return to my dwelling nation and endure an egg freezing process at a fertility clinic. I wasn’t pondering an excessive amount of about it, however I quickly realized I used to be unconsciously evaluating myself to my associates who had undergone the process earlier than.
The result was not what I anticipated, and I felt like my physique had failed me. Experts say the youthful you might be, the higher your outcomes shall be. However I realized you will need to be ready for the emotional aspect of egg freezing — and the potential that it received’t give you the results you want. Read the comic by Pepita Sándwich.
5
I confronted colorism rising up in Korea. Now I embrace my pores and skin tone.
I’ll not have “glass skin” — a Korean complexion development — and I by no means will. As a substitute, I’ve glowing golden olive pores and skin that I’m proud to embrace this summer time. Each pores and skin tone is gorgeous! Read the comic by Hyesu Lee.
6
It’s time to understand home artistry like stitching and baking
Final summer time, I had espresso with my grandmother. The girl who sat earlier than me was a talented textile artist, designer, weaver, upholsterer and woodcarver. And but, in 83 years, she had by no means acknowledged her personal artistry.
I started to surprise: How a lot expertise has gone uncelebrated as a result of we really feel entitled to ladies’s work? Read the comic by Sólveig Eva Magnúsdóttir.
7
As a trans girl, I wish to mix in — however is surgical procedure the reply?
Having been raised as a boy, I spent my adolescence torn between the stress to be masculine and the need to be female. At age 26, I lastly started “transitioning,” and within the 5 years since, I’ve lasered my facial hair right down to peach fuzz, grown my hair out and began taking hormones. Now, I put on make-up and female clothes. And I’ve discovered that, due to this stuff, nobody questions my gender.
Nonetheless, I can’t assist however surprise — is all of it sufficient? What’s going to it take for me to be comfy in my very own pores and skin? Read the comic by Bea Hayward.
8
No, you’ll be able to’t ‘decide my mind,’ and right here’s why
“Can I decide your mind?” is a query I’ve gotten rather a lot as an artist, however it may be a predatory strategy for creatives, particularly for ladies within the office. Making associates as an grownup has been tough for me due to circumstances like this. Even then, setting boundaries can go away you questioning whether or not you anticipate the worst from others. However once I lastly understood that my concepts and time have been priceless, I started defending myself. Read the comic by Sharon De La Cruz.
9
My incapacity made it arduous to simply accept my gender id. Right here’s how I made peace.
As a disabled individual, I’ve needed to settle for my physique for what it’s. However when my gender dysphoria sparked a want for change, I realized a lesson in acceptance that I didn’t anticipate and found a newfound love of my physique and self. Read the comic by A. Andrews.
10
Concern of gun violence shouldn’t be on my daughter’s back-to-school listing
Final fall, I started reflecting alone childhood experiences as I ready my daughter for her very first day of faculty. However one thing a lot darker loomed at the back of my thoughts: worry of the unspeakable. School shootings pepper our headlines every year and little appears to be finished to stop them in any respect. What’s going to it take to make sure our youngsters can really feel protected at college once more? Read the comic by Gina McMillen.
