LONG REVIEW POST + Big announcement at the end!! I’ve had some good opportunities to catch up on my reading list in the shop while it’s been slow and I took FULL advantage. Strap yourselves in because I have a number of reviews in this post. (Or skip to the end to see the announcement and read the reviews later)
Before we begin, here are some things going on in the store right now:
Current promo in the store for Slayyter’s birthday, on April 5th – Slayyter is one of the street sheet vendors who you will see on 16th St. Any cash donations in his cup up front will get you 10% off non-consignment items in the shop. Let’s help make his birthday special!
This month’s book club book pick is The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen.
ALL OUT: The Not So Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
This was my YA LGBT+ pick for the month of March (thanks to everyone who came out last month!) – and I honestly thoroughly enjoyed it. There were some incredible LGBT+ writers featured, such as Malinda Lo, Alex Sanchez, Shaun David Hutchinson.. and a lot more. There was only one story that I didn’t *like* as much, which is to say that it didn’t have any type of happy or hopeful resolution. When I’m looking for a gay story I’d like it to be fun, cute, or at least hopeful/optimistic. But given that the other 90% were all of the above, I still consider it a great success.
East of West vol 1
Well, fuck. I know this is a long-ass series so I am getting myself into hot water by starting this but damn… It’s pretty freakin’ good. It’s one of those post-apocalyptic/dystopian future types and with some interesting world-building twists. There’s a lot of death, gore, and just generally fucked up shit so yeah, safe to say I’m going to read the next few volumes.
Mooncakes
Just to take a complete 180 from the previous title… Mooncakes is a ridiculously cute magical, gay, beautifully written and illustrated YA graphic novel about a witch and a werewolf, the witch’s 2 nanas (hello elder lesbian representation!), and an evil horse lady who happens to be in a cult. This graphic novel is just SO adorable, and has the benefit of being a one-shot as well so you don’t have to worry about keeping up with future volumes.
Weeaboo
This book was actually so heartfelt and beautiful – I know there are some certain connotations with the name, and it is definitely a major part of the book as well. The author/illustrator Alissa Sallah does an amazing job crafting a tale that is equal parts coming-of-age as an outsider, touching upon socioeconomic hardship, racial disparities in nerd spaces, and gender presentations outside the ~norm~ during high school years. It’s such a lovely book and I actually ended up selling out of it before I got the chance to remember to take a picture (hence my googled image).
The Girl I Want is So Handsome!
Another cute gay one-shot is this cute + wholesome yuri manga which is the complete series in one. It’s a story of a chaotic lesbian who falls in love with the school’s basketball jock and accidentally ends up on the team (spoiler: she sucks!) The two end up falling in love and the road to their happiness is littered with teen angst, awkward “Does she like me like THAT?” “Does she know I love her?” etc moments and it is really worth a read, especially if you are a gay girl who enjoys manga.
How Do We Relationship?
SPEAKING of gay girls who enjoy manga – if you are one of those (ahem) then boy howdy do I have the manga series for YOU! This one is FANTASTIC, and easily some of the best WLW representation in manga that I’ve ever seen. It’s a little cringe but in a very relatable and realistic way, and there are a lot of moments that make you shake your fist but because you’ve probably done the exact. Same. Thing. Or know someone who has. It’s definitely geared towards an older audience than some of the other yuri titles in this list, so you’ve been warned – this is more of an Older Teen (16+) title.
Dick Fight Island
OOOOK AYYYYYYY. This is one certified spicy, XXX, 18+ BL / yaoi / MLM titles. I mean it’s GOOD, don’t get me wrong, and if you are looking for a sexy gay book, this might be right up your alley. The concept is one I literally cannot even describe without blushing – the clans of this island all send their one champion fighter to compete to become the King of the island. And do you know how they win? By making their opponent ejaculate before them. So yeah, that’s pretty much what you’re in for.
Spectacle: Book One
This book is, first of all, GORGEOUS. I absolutely love the art style so much. It is just fantastic. Second of all, it is a supernatural story (yay!) set in a circus theme – which I feel like was very popular in the early 2000’s (hello Britney Spears calling) but hasn’t been popular for a minute. I actually felt a little nostalgic! And, twist – it’s a murder mystery. An intriguing one at that. Worth picking up if you like ghosts and murder mysteries.
Beauty and the Beast Girl
Another painfully cute yuri manga title- this one is about a beast girl who exiles herself after being so horribly ostracized by the town that she lives in complete seclusion until a blind girl wanders into her part of the woods. The down side is that the representation of disability really is not good at all (also kind of weird that her family name is Blind..) but it’s a cute analogy for queerness / being forcibly outed and ostracized by society and there is a cute + happy ending for both of them.
The Heart Hunter
This was a fantastic, beautifully illustrated story set in a magical, cursed place where the residents have their hearts living OUTSIDE of their bodies and are frozen in time (immortal) until they are united with their soulmates. Only then can their hearts become a part of their bodies and are they able to age normally. Of course the evil king doesn’t want to do that, so he hires a “heart hunter” to kill his soulmate. This is a really wonderful fantasy tale that presents a very digestible allegory for the processing of human emotions like loss, grief, love and community. And it is a one-shot so there are no follow-ups and the story is contained in one volume. Highly recommend adding this to your collection. (Oh and it’s gay by the way.)
Other Boys
This is a wonderfully heartfelt coming of age graphic memoir of a young boy who was orphaned as a baby. It is as much a tale about grieving and loss and dealing with painful emotions as it is about being gay, and not expressing the gender we are assigned at birth “correctly.” I really loved it and I thought it was such a great comic about being young and confused and learning more about yourself and how the world sees you.
Lumpia with a Vengeance issue #1
I was SO impressed with this story / issue and am so excited to be one of the few comic shops in the bay area to have all 3 issues in stock. This is a comic anthology of LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE characters that is all leading to promoting the movie, and I am really stoked for when that comes out. The art is amazing, the story is FUN and funny as hell and it’s all by local Filipino artists / writers which is super awesome and I’m beyond thrilled to support.
Kim & Kim
I believe at this time that there are three distinct Kim & Kim storylines and I started the first one in the single issues I have at the store. It’s pretty cute- I love the art, how stylized everything is and the OUTFITS!!! These girls and this story sort of makes me think of Bratz dolls bounty hunters in space. I thought it was really fun and cute and have been recommending these gals to anyone looking for something light hearted, a little gay, and colorful.
Given vol 1 + 2
Ugh I am obsessed with this manga series now. GREAT. Just what I need.. If you know anything about obtaining manga you know how annoying it can be – things are constantly backordered and it can be really difficult to get ahold of titles. So when you get sucked into a series… prepare for heartbreak. ANYWAYS. I’m in love with this series. It’s a band BL (boys’ love) series that is so thoughtfully written, and funny and precious and I’m really upset that I didn’t have volumes 3 or 4 in the store. (I read the first two REAL fast.) I’m a sucker for any band story and it’s gay romance, which you know I love, so it was inevitable that I’d love it.
Blue Flag vol 1-3
This one is sooo good. It’s a slice of life high school drama that sort of ends up being like, a love rectangle?! Square?? Well, anyways, it’s hard to describe because I can’t call it a coming out story or even a story about being closeted but those are sort of some themes involved. It’s kind of a romance? But also kind of a friendship story? But trust me, it is good. And it will get you hooked.. which is unfortunate since there’s 8 volumes and 4-7 are backordered until ???? Who knows when.
My Androgynous Boyfriend vol. 1
If you’re reading this thinking, “Wow this bitch reads a lot of manga” then yes, you would be right. I picked this up knowing it would be cute and fun and well, of course I was correct. (In my humble opinion) This is a cute story about a very cute + beautiful influencer (?) and his very normal, average girlfriend (and her very large boobs) – it’s a rom-com style manga and it’s pretty slice of life. His best friend is a famous model and he works at a retail store part-time in addition to all his ~influencing~. He is famous for being very androgynous and extremely cute. I like it so far and will definitely read the next couple volumes.
Genderqueer
Okay yes this one took me a while to finally read. Admittedly, I only read it because it’s the book club pick for Fabulosa’s book club. It was great! I don’t relate that much to it but there were some things that really made me feel seen and I imagine that a number of people felt strongly represented in this book and I’m glad that it exists for that.
ANNOUNCEMENT!
Sour Cherry Comics now has a PATREON page! This is an 18+ space as patrons have full access to my unadulterated, unfiltered boobielicious drawings. They’re not really explicit in my opinion, but Patreon regards any type of nudity as 18+ (boo, tomato tomato) so in order to follow the rules I had to make it for adults eyes only.
The patreon has 3 tiers. The first tier is $8, for Boobie Luvrs and includes full access + digital downloads of all art, plus VIP access to events/workshops. The second tier is $16, with all that PLUS a 15% off discount on non-consignment items in the store and a little goody bag of stickers for signing up. The ($37) big spender tier is a MYSTERY GIFT tier that will include a free mystery item per month.
You will have to redeem the gift + then pick up any items purchased with your discount in-store as we do not offer shipping at this time. And of course the VIP workshop/event access tier is in-store only. If online events are offered that will of course be included.