Comics
A collection of comics I’ve created from 2016 to 2023, all exploring intimate realities of my trans experience. From waiting to medically transition, top surgery complications, tomboy childhood gender euphoria, to affirming moments of gay trans masculinity.
Click on a cover to read the full comic!
Comfortable (2019)
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Comfortable is a comic created from a journal entry Samuel wrote to process his complicated feelings and emotions about being one year on testosterone, yet still feeling uncomfortable in his body. It’s a very intimate look into his trans experience, sharing vulnerabilities about body image, childhood memories of gender, socialisation, and navigating the world as a trans person.
‘Comfortable’ was originally created for the event ‘Read To Me’ (at Knox Street Bar, Chippendale, NSW) and read in front of a live audience on May 7, 2019.
First edition printing of 50 copies. 2021. 44 pages. Each book is numbered and signed by Samuel.
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Gay Boy (2021)
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Gay Boy is Samuel’s first comic series about his sexuality as a gay trans man. He delves into his doubts and fears, sharing intimate insights of coming to terms with an identity he feels so close to, yet so removed from. He overlays illustrations of himself shirtless, baring his post-op chest and his empty underwear, with text about his sexuality. He questions past and future lovers, as well as the objectification or tokenisation of the trans body in cis gay male spaces.
Gay Boy was created for ‘Mardi Queer', a group exhibition at Goodspace Gallery, NSW, celebrating “Joy is Resistance". March 8 - 10, 2021.
Second edition printing of 25.
15cm x 21.2cm. 12 pages.
Each comic zine is numbered and signed by Samuel and comes with a sticker!
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Bluebird (2023)
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Bluebird is a sweet and sentimental comic about reclaiming childhood items, reconnecting with my past self, and bringing that person into adulthood with me as I’ve transitioned.
This comic also talks about my feelings about the term "deadname" in the trans community, and my experience of keeping ties to my younger self when I transitioned.
This comic was created for Read To Me, and read in front of a live audience at Ashfield Library on November 8th. Read To Me is always the perfect to share complex stories I’ve kept inside. It’s a joy to articulate them with illustrations, and reflect on intimate moments. Thank you for spending time with this little story.
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Special hard cover comic, soon!!
Tomboyhood Series (2021)
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Being a tomboy was a way for me to express and experience an 'almost' boyhood; through boyish interests, hobbies, activities, and memories. It's also a way for me to affirm my gender, in my memories, all these years later.
This series was originally exhibited online for the Emerging Writers Festival Comics Exhibition: Comic of Age (theme of "coming of age"), June 2022.
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You can purchase a print via Sock Drawer Heroes:
How to Grow Your Own Gender (2016, 2022 Reprint)
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How to Grow Your Own Gender is a little book of affirmations for when you are exploring your gender. It references plants and gardening as metaphors for self care, and personal growth.
This book can go beyond gender, and be a thoughtful set of reminders for simply remembering to take it easy, take your time, and to take care of yourself.
Samuel originally created the content for this comic in 2016, in an Artist Book class, while studying in Montréal. The format has been updated from a hand bound pocket book, to a digitally printed & perfect bound A5 book.
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Soon!!
Matter (2016, 2021 Reprint)
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Matter reflects on my experience of being transgender, referencing parts of my trans body and trans experience I am confronted by, while also thinking of a future body that was yet to come.
I use illustration and poetry to explore childhood struggles in relation to body dysphoria, belonging, self-acceptance, and personal growth. This book further represents my body with the three changing dust jacket covers; to signify the changing self-portrait as I navigate my gender transition (and gender expression).
I created Matter in 2016 as a way to articulate my thoughts and feelings about my body, and how my trans experience has shaped who I am. But also to reach out to any other person experiencing a similar narrative. It’s so important trans people know that they are loved, are not alone, and know that they matter.
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Coming soon!
How to be a Gender Explorer Series (2017)
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How to be a Gender Explorer is an ongoing graphic narrative series about gender exploration and self discovery. The story is based on Samuel Luke’s personal experiences of being transgender, and uses themes of ‘transitional spaces’ and outer space to represent infinite and expanding possibilities of (gender) exploration. The book also provides positive affirmations and validation to other Gender Explorers on similar journeys, to create awareness, understanding, and acceptance of being transgender.
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Embodied (2018)
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Embodied explores Samuel’s transgender experience of having a body in transition, anticipating a future body, while continuously being on this journey of self-discovery.
This mini series was created after Samuel started his medical transition of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) of testosterone in April 2018. This work is a direct response to his previous comic books How to be a Gender Explorer, where Samuel was still waiting to start his medical transition, was unable to pursue “top surgery” and felt like his medical transition would never start.
Embodied (Vessel, Elsewhere and Supplies) engages in a new dialogue about Samuel’s gender transition; using the metaphor of the space shuttle to represent the body itself as a vessel in transition, while also showing the intense amount of anticipation and preparation it can take to undergo gender affirmation procedures.
Gender Explorer Series Revisited (2018)
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Gender Explorer: Revisit was the beginning of Issue 3 of my How to be a Gender Explorer series. Sadly, it remains unfinished and abandoned.
After I finally started my medical transition in 2018, I was going through so much, and unlike these comics say, I couldn’t keep up with the changes. I was overwhelmed, and took a step back from the Gender Explorer comic. I haven’t addressed this series since 2018.
I initially created the series because I needed comfort while I was waiting to transition. Those comics were a crucial part of processing those raw complex feelings. But sadly I couldn’t do the same while I was actually starting hormones.
I truly let autopilot take over. I still kept a journal, and wrote down my changes, milestones, and potential comic plans. I may revisit this series one day. But not right now. I feel like I have outgrown it, and it’s helped me get to where I am today.
Launch (2018)
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Launch is a 28-panel comic about finally starting HRT (hormone replacement therapy - testosterone) in 2018.
It is a response to, and a revisit of, a tiny comic zine I made in 2017, called INTERVENTION, when I was previously unable to start testosterone.
Body in Retrograde (2020)
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Body in Retrograde is an intimate collection of comics that illustrate some of the complications Samuel experienced while healing from his top surgery. The work is centred in outer space, yet grounded in the reality of having a body in recovery. The comics use cosmic themes to address unexpected imperfections about his surgery results; focusing on the scar formation, open wounds and concave tissue in the chest. He relates these bodily experiences to planetary bodies, blackholes, impact craters, retrograde orbits, and even supernovae.
These comics were exhibited as part of ‘Body In Retrograde’, Samuel’s first solo show, at Goodspace Gallery on January 22, 2020.
Top Surgery Recovery Series (2018)
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This series of comic illustrations use Samuel’s continued theme of space exploration, as seen in How to be a Gender Explorer (2017), but now address his lived experience of recovering from ‘top surgery’, a double mastectomy and chest masculinisation surgery.
Samuel continues to document his gender transition through autobiographical comic illustrations, paired with creative writing to critically reflect on his journey so far.
These illustrations also reference previous scenes, items, and imagery from How to be a Gender Explorer, adding depth to the ongoing narrative and special insight into Samuel’s history.
Transitional Spaces (2016, 2020 reformatted)
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Transitional Spaces is a poetry zine that has been adapted into a zine format from content Samuel created in 2016, before he started testosterone or had top surgery.
It shows a photograph of Samuel in his chest binder, before delving into illustrations of his body parts fragmented and drifting in space amongst asteroids.
The illustrations are accompanied by a poem, discussing his thoughts about existing in a trans body. The zine also proposes a ‘future body’ drifting in space; an edited photograph of Samuel with his body parts ‘stitched’ back together, finally feeling whole again.
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Gender Explorer Studies / Mini Zine Series (2017)
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During my Honours year in late 2017, our cohort formed smaller collective groups of likeminded peers. I was a part of the “Self/Society” collective, where we generated our own prompts and key words to create an art piece once a week, reflecting on the self and relation to society.
I chose to use these prompts as titles for mini zines, and create “studies” for my How to be a Gender Explorer series that I was currently writing for my Honours year project. It was a brilliant exercise, and I ended up using many of these comic panels in the final version of my How to be a Gender Explorer comic books.
INTERVENTION also acted as the starting point for my larger comic, Launch.
All of my comics are available to read for free!
If you’d like to support me, please consider buying a physical print or comic book, or leaving me a tip! :)
Some comics will be restocked and available later this year :)