Celebrating Pride Month!

A few of our earliest creators helped pave the way toward inclusivity within the comic creation space.

Doonesbury character Andy Lippincott, the first openly gay character in a nationally syndicated comic strip, was diagnosed with HIV in 1989 and died of AIDS in 1990. Andy’s story arc later resulted in Garry Trudeau being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

In 1993, For Better or For Worse character Lawrence Poirier, a close high school friend of one of the comic strip’s primary characters, Michael Patterson, revealed to Michael that he is gay. Creator Lynn Johnston was a “nominated finalist” for the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for the strip that “sensitively depicted a youth’s disclosure of his homosexuality and its effect on his family and friends.”

We are grateful for our creators and the stories they share, which add incredible value to AMU and readers around the world. To read works by our creators in the LGBTQ+ community, check out our list of Pride Reads.