On Wednesday, and the first day of Pride Month, digital comics platform WEBTOON and Atlantic Records announced the new webcomic miniseries Love Stories. The three-episode series will “explore deeply personal love stories inspired by songs from” lesbian pop star Hayley Kiyoko, singer Ava Max and queer Australian popster MAY-A.
Kiyoke’s episode is inspired by her song “forever” and will be available on June 12. The song features Johnny Rain. Art for the issue is by Kuru.
“Pride Month is all about celebrating and learning to love yourself,” Kiyoko said in the press release. “A big part of why I’m excited to collaborate with WEBTOON is the opportunity to hopefully inspire people around the world to love themselves in a new way, bringing hope to people who are at different points in their Pride journey.”
Kiyoko’s story will premiere June 12.
MAY-A commented on the importance of this visibility.
“I have such a soft spot for telling and sharing queer stories, so being able to see my own inspire a webcomic on WEBTOON is so sick. I hope it helps others within the LGBTQ+ community feel seen,” she mentioned in the release.
WEBTOON changes the traditional approach to comics with its scrolling format and allowing anyone to become a creator and share stories in this style. With almost a million creators worldwide, the publisher offers a platform for folks of all communities to tell their stories.
“Providing a platform for creators to tell authentic, personal stories has been at the heart of WEBTOON’s mission since day one,” WEBTOON’s VP of Content, David Lee mentioned in the release. “WEBTOON is home to amazing stories and voices from the across LGBTQ+ community, where artists are bringing new diversity and perspective to comics with their work. We’re incredibly proud to have our creators collaborate with these iconic recording artists to celebrate and elevate the LGBTQ+ community in a new medium during Pride Month.”
Find the issue on the WEBTOON site.
–Rich Lopez