Hey, Mary!

Teenage Mark considers himself a good Catholic boy from a devout Catholic family. But when Mark’s gay friend, Luka, receives an opportunity to transfer out of their insular Catholic school and into a more accepting institution, Luka begins openly advocating for himself and other queer entities within their school. Desperate to adhere to the expectations of the church he’s attended his whole life, Mark distances himself from Luka, even as Mark contends with conflicting emotions related to Luka’s imminent departure, his growing feelings for Luka, and everything he’s been taught to believe about life and morality. Key adult figures appear throughout, acting as guides as Mark reckons with his learned behaviors and internalized prejudices. An imagined appearance by Joan of Arc, introduced as a “genderqueer warrior saint,” dispenses information about the way historical texts obscure queer peoples’ lived experiences, while a local drag performer shines a queer lens on biblical tales, and a priest at Mark’s church assuages the teen’s fears with assurance (“most churchgoing Catholics are on the [queer] community’s side. And I believe that God is as well”). Through these interactions, Wheeler (Cat Fight) crafts a compassionate, welcoming graphic novel about the intersections of faith and identity. Expressive, thinly lined artwork by Hickman (The Harrowing) brings Mark’s palpable nervousness and Luka’s infectious self-confidence to life. Characters are depicted with varying skin tones. Ages 13–up. (Apr.)