Blackward

by Lawrence Lindell

Black, weird, awkward and proud of it. Welcome to the club!

Tired of feeling like you don’t belong? Join the club. It’s called the Section. You’d think a spot to chill, chat, and find community would be much easier to come by for nerdy, queer punks. But when four longtime, bookish BFFs—Lika, Amor, Lala, and Tony—can’t find what they need, they take matters into their own hands and create a space where they can be a hundred percent who they are: Black, queer, and weird.

The group puts a call out for all awkward Black folks to come on down to the community center to connect. But low attendance and IRL run-ins with trolls of all kinds only rock everybody with anxiety. As our protagonists start to question the merits of their vision, a lifetime of insecurities—about not being good enough or Black enough—bubbles to the surface. Will they find a way to turn it around in time for their radical brainchild, the Blackward Zine Fest?

Lawrence Lindell’s characters pop from the page in playful Technicolor. From mental health to romance, micro—and macro—aggressions to joy, our crew tackles everything life throws at them in this heartwarming tale about building a place to belong and the power of community.

Genres: Graphic Novels, LGBT, Comics, Queer, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

Lawrence Lindell is an award winning cartoonist, musician, artist and educator from California. He co-founded Laneha House.

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four friends, Lika, Amor, Lala, and Tony, bonded in a bookclub over being Black, queer, weird and punk. They clearly see the need for a community space for folks like themselves, but struggle with how and where to build that space. After their first attempt is ruined by trolls, they ask for guidance from a local bookstore owner and zine fest organizer. So the idea for the Blackward Zine Fest is born, an event to showcase creativity, make new connections, and maybe even find dates. This book doesn't shy away from the negative sides of existing and creating as a minority in public, but it is also a celebration of friendship and community and the power of comics!

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A YA graphic novel published by D+Q. I'm probably not the right audience for this, but I usually check out D+Q books when they pop up at the library.

We follow 4 black queer youths who are trying to create a community for non-conforming black youths. Black and Awkward - Blackward! They end up starting a Zine Fair.

It's alright. I like the characters and the subject matter. The artwork is pretty amateurish to my eyes, but no terrible and maybe appealing to a younger audience.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vive la différence! A friend group of Black LGBTQ+ nerds want to find more people like themselves so they try to start a larger group at a local community center to disastrous results.

It's all a little weird and a little awkward, but I guess that's part of the mission statement.

I don't always buy into or understand what's happening on the page but I do like the energy.


(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023
• Publishers Weekly 2023 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels

This book made the PW list.)

[SerenaBeReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be a member of Blackward! Loved the artwork and characters. My good sis LaLa was ready to beat up everyone. The hotep character was a mess. We all know someone like him and the pick me white girl. Loved Mr. Marcus’s character. He was hilarious. Please turn this into a series!

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blurb: Four longtime, bookish BFFs―Lika, Amor, Lala, and Tony―can’t find what they need, they take matters into their own hands and create a space where they can be a hundred percent who they Black, queer, and weird.

This YA graphic novel explores friendships, figuring out where you belong, and the power of community. I liked the illustration style and the diversity on the page.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

This is a YA graphic novel. It focuses on four friends (Lika, Amor, Lala and Tony). They are Black and awkward (Blackward).

This book has Black rep, mental health rep, and LGBT rep. And while I couldn't relate to some of what these teens were dealing with it was still an interesting read.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a warm-hearted and necessary comic. It’s full of queer black nerd representation, lovely friendships and community building how-to, while not shying away from the grief gotten for being black and openly queer. It’s packed with funny extended reactions and chibi moments, dipping into a looser drawing style when needed for optimal emotional and humorous impact. I love all the body acceptance and genderqueer moments told through the drawings. This book is the first of its kind in many ways and will be momentous for a lot of kids.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved! this! so! much! Fantastic graphic novel about four young queer Black people trying to connect with more nerds like themselves. It feels like a love letter to the work of building community, I adore all the main characters, and honestly I teared up a little at the end because my heart was so full. Plenty of emotion & also plenty of wonderful humor. Great stuff!

[Meepelous · Rating 5 out of 5]

And today's pick is Blackward by Lawrence Lindell. Published by Drawn and Quarterly in 2023. Blackwards was also nominated for a Lambda Literary LGTBQ+ Comics Award in 2024.

I picked this title up for both my Black comics and queer comics TBRs.

Content notes for some nudity, bullying, and homophobia.

Keywords that came to mind: community, mentorship, nerding out, bold and pride.

Lawrence Lindell (he/they) is an educator, artist and musician in California. His work focuses on "Blackness, mental health and queerness". They also run the small press Laneha House with their spouse Breena Nunez.

Looking at the writing, this was an engaging romp of a read. A story of fighting off bullies and how neutrality protects the status quo. Not only just an interesting story, I appreciated the way this volume is also a stealth introduction to organizing. A+

Looking at the art it was engaging, expressive, bold and colourful. Pumping up the text with fairly diverse but super easy to follow page layouts. Each character had a distinct and expressive design.

Looking at the identities and themes I like to talk about in each of my reviews:

Race is obviously an important aspect of Blackward. Focused exclusively on a collection of Black queer nerds, their Black bookstore owner/mentor, and the Black homophobe that is determined to shut it down. Having a focus like this allowed readers to be exposed to a wide variety Black characters who have a diversity of opinions, styles and attitudes.

Sexuality was pretty front and centre, although in a different way then I usually see. An adventure story of friendship, Blackward is pretty platonic. Although there is some queer flirting and pining etc. Plus our main cast is out and proud.

While I don't remember the exact location of the story coming up, a lot of elements of place are pretty important to the story. Namely the community around The Section. The community centre that kicks the victims of bullying out. The local bookstore that not only encourages local literacy but also mentors our youngsters in how to take action.

Gender also saw a decent amount of diversity.

Class and disability felt the least explored.

Wrapping things up, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any other books from Lindell. Five stars.

Bye y'all, keep reading and stand with striking workers.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like, if I was still in undergrad, this book could have come up in both my english or women & gender studies departments. It's a good book for a casual reader, but I also think it could be used as a text when discussing issues of race, gender, sexuality, community, etc. It's hard to be a person without community and it's hard to build community.

I love the tenacity of these characters. I'm pretty sure they're in highschool? Which is a very radical time for some young adults. The story is a good example of thoughtful, angry, brave kids coming together to make a place for themselves which is always encouraging, but the story is also gritty enough that it's realistic. All the characters (not just the main four) are great as well.

The art is very fun and visually accessible, which I always appreciate.

I feel like I'm probably not explaining myself very well on my feelings of Blackward, so I guess you'll just have to read it for yourself and maybe give a copy to every queer kid of color you know.

[Zay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vibrant colorful , truthful , and funny book 4.5

Only picked it up from my local library because it had a “ New “ sticker on it

“ Todays a Good Day “

A recommend read for black freaks and geeks or anyone who supports or is in the LGBQT+ community

Slow beginning but short chapters , eventually you will understand eventually why this book is called Blackward

“You couldn’t change it up “
“But I Did . I changed my socks ! They yellow ! “

Opens your eyes to the pain and hardship that this friendship and people all have over the world go through everyday no matter the background for trying to be there selves

Needed more character backstory or development I dont feel like i truly got the idea who the main characters was but understood what they stood for

[Haylee Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO good! I don’t know where this YA graphic novel about a group of Black, queer, weird friends has been hiding, but it’s one that should be more well-known. I love the illustrations and the use of color to represent the four main characters, and I just love the idea of a group for awkward, Black weirdos. I lowkey want a sequel about Freddy and the BQP…just a suggestion to the author.

[Stuart Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and cute, with a dynamic, expressive art style and cast of characters. Kind of nothing happened. I could keep reading it forever.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/ufOrlqraYoo

Enjoy!

[Nuha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very QT POC book that follows a team of young Black Queers as they start their own book club. I wish I could go follow Lala, Lika, Amor and Tony on all the adventures

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of four Black nerds (some if not all of them queer) reaching out to others for mutual support. Zine-inspired, in a good way. Realistic, yet also delightful, which is no easy trick to pull off.

Pretty sure I'm not the primary target audience (being an old white guy), but I loved it, and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates Black Weirdo Joy.

[Liz Yerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this comic !!

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four friends find a community for those like themselves—black, queer, nerdy—by embracing zine culture. The art is bright and colorful, bursting through the panels with joy, exuberance, and real life charm and conversation. Creativity, culture, and being yourself is celebrated.

[Danielle Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish I got to know the characters a bit better, not much plot to it. Really thought the idea of the book was very important and inspirational though.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this book, it was more of a 3.5 leaning to a 4. the characters were adorable and the art was vibrant. the story was inspiring and quick. i loved the lil group they had with each other that was so supportive. and the zines!! yes!! bringing people together to embrace their art and identity and blackness and queerness despite the hate from others was cool. mr marcus was probably my favorite character and i loved when he was like “yeah back in 1966 i had to face a lot of discrimination opening up a shop as a black man” and then they show him the hateful comments they’re getting online and he’s like “oh god get that away from me thank god we didn’t have the internet in 1966.” it was cute and funny and heartwarming tbh

[kj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the characters & their found family dynamic. The themes of pro- queerness, Blackness, and weirdness were lovely to see so joyfully on page. It’s a cute story about creating community, even in the face of pushback from dicks. The art was bright and youthful, and reminded me of the 90s for some reason. I honestly wasn’t quite sure how old the characters were supposed to be (I could have missed context clues tbh). The plot was a little bit stretched thin; it almost felt more like the major touch points of a story, rather than a complete story on its own. But I enjoyed the read, and would recommend

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything about this is so great.

[Ags · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is funny and thoughtful - it made me smile and laugh out loud in the library. Really colorful, expressive, humorous artwork. Nice references to important literature by Black writers. Endearing characters + heartwarming ways the four youth characters form a really supportive group for each other. I love Mr. Marcus!

I think this would be an especially good read for a youth group/youth activist or education/awareness-raising group to read together. It includes good queer and youth mental health (particularly anxiety and depression) representation, depicts some steps for organizing an event (e.g., brainstorming as a group, relying on elders with experience), and complications when it comes to organizing for a social cause that is close to your heart (e.g., dealing with homophobia, how to respond when your group gets a "bad reputation" due to early missteps, getting discouraged/hurt when you aren't viewed the way you want/need to be viewed).

I just wish there was some more background/depiction of how they got the other zine artists to come to their event; it felt like the story sort of fast-forwarded at the end.

[Lourdes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So one day while walking around my local book store I came across this book and I found it to peak my interest. I didn’t read what it was about by I’m glad i bought it. It follows four friends who are trying to create a club for people like them. Black and weird. What they say is weird is black kids who may be lgbtq, into anime , enjoy reading, basically anything that isn’t seen as “cool “. These four friends just want to give people like them a safe space to make friends and connect . I thought these kids were brave, but also very funny. They protected each other and accepted one another for who they are inside and out . Really a cute graphic novel that at its core is about a group of friends wanting to create a space for people who may feel left out .

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of four Black nerdy friends who feel like outcasts. They’re queer, and have personal issues… anxiety, ADHD, depression. They love skateboarding and reading but just don’t seem to fit in anywhere. After their club is unjustly banned from the community center, they find a new home in Mr. Marcus’s Black-owned store Books N Thangs. Here they organize Blackward (Black + awkward) Zine Fest. It’s a big success!

For me,there wasn’t enough backstory or character development. I got a bit lost in the lingo used in the text.
While the characters look younger, the appropriateness of this book is more suited for high school readers.

I will pass on this one.

[Estibaliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Though I got this in the Adult Graphic Novel section at my library, it clearly is better suited for a younger audience, being as it actually is a YA story, with some fun and colorful art that I'm sure it will appeal to teenagers much more than it did to me (and not saying I didn't like it).

The four characters are pretty well defined for how schematic the author maintains the dialogue and scenes, and this graphic novel sure does a great job when it comes to representation (black and LGBTQ+).

Over all, a short entertaining read with some important messages, but I would have enjoyed some more depth when it comes to character development.

[Salamah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. First the graphics are really fun and cute. They made me smile and gave each character a sense of uniqueness. This book has some laugh out loud moments as well, like when the super pro Black male teen teamed up with the white female teen who behaved like a super ally but really just liked the Black teen. Or when Mr. Marcus said the kids ghosted him! Even though the story is entertaining, it is real and at times uncomfortable bringing to light issues that teens who are different in terms of their gender, sexuality, nationality and personalities may face in life.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Congrats for the Eisner Award nomination for Best Publication for Teens: Blackward by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly). A pretty lively story without much actual story about a bunch of black queer kids who eventually form a group they call (ha) Blackward, as they themselves are awkward, if not exactly backward. The prototype for this is Family Matters, Steve Urkel, but these folks are not quite Steve. Though they are geeks!

The Blackward guys get a zine event together with the help of a local bookstore owner. There's some humor and a certain sweetness about it.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an adorable and fun read! I just wish there was a plot though, and more character development. We don't really ever get to know who these characters are outside of their gender identities and sexuality, and with not much of a story around them, it felt like nothing was really happening, and a lot of the dialogue was hard to read just by the nature of this author's graphic design style. I'll definitely be checking out more of the author's work though for sure. This just felt very underdeveloped tbh despite how cute the characters are on the surface.

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

LaLa, Lika, Amor and Tony are four friends who hang out together and support one another. They call their little group "The Section" and are looking to expand. They are having a hard time finding other nerds, weirdos and queer black folk so they try a variety of options to find their tribe until they settle on "Blackward" meant to be a portmanteau of black and awkward. They are hoping their zine fest will bring out the like-minded who will want to join their circle. Very sweet and fun.