Loved Heated Rivalry? Here are 6 LGBTQ+ sports comics for you to devour
Heated Rivalry fans rejoice, because here are the six best LGBTQ+ sports comics to hold you over until season two!
Few pieces of media have united the queer community more than Heated Rivalry. Based on the novel by Rachel Reid, this series about the secret affair between feuding hockey stars has awed audiences with its tense yet tender love story (and the steamy scenes that come with it). But while fans were overjoyed to hear that the program was getting renewed for season two, many have been left scrambling. Season one ended only a few weeks ago, and already they can’t cope without the sports romance they’ve come to love!
Luckily for them, television wasn’t the only medium that explored the pulse-pounding chaos that comes from mixing D1 athletes and desire. Many creators have delved into this intersection before, with each offering a unique yet riveting portrayal of what happens when athletes can’t stop themselves from falling in love.
Fence by C.S. Pacat
Few sports are as elegantly lethal as fencing. This tenuous arena is filled with athletes searching for exactly the right moment to strike, and in C.S. Pacat’s hit queer romance, Fence, readers learn just what it takes to rise to the top of this sport today. Following rivals as they try to one-up each other and become the best fencer of all time, their feud introduces viewers to the complexities of this sport…and a simmering romance both boys try their hardest to ignore!
Set in a prestigious all-boys school, this casually LGBTQ+ environment introduces a myriad of queer characters just waiting to become someone’s fan-favorite. Accompanying these young athletes as they tirelessly train, the comic features themes of both identity and ambition as these teens debate what really matters to them: glory, or community? Throughout all of this is a central enemies-to-lovers romance reminiscent of Shane and Ilya’s on Heated Rivalry, making this comic the perfect follow-up for anyone who can’t get enough of that love story!
Dodge City by Josh Trujillo
Any person who has actually played in an LGBTQ+ league knows that few sports are as competitive — and ruthless — as dodgeball. It’s a dangerous arena where players are forced to literally put their bodies on the line with each throw, and it comes to life in hilarious detail through Josh Trujillo’s underdog story, Dodge City.
Centered a team of wannabe dodgeball stars, the series not only has the emotional weight of your classic sports story but an ensemble filled with proudly LGBTQ+ characters. While the league our main team, the Jazz Pandas, are a part of isn’t explicitly queer, readers will find multiple LGBTQ+ characters making up their ranks with each bringing a diverse background and distinct goal to this brutal sport. Ramping up the tension with each match, Dodge City brings attention to not only this niche pastime but the importance of allyship — especially while trying to dodge balls flying at your face!
Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu
Nothing is as (unfortunately) relatable as struggling to pay for college. It’s an experience that so many young adults have gone through, and it’s one that art student Molly, star of Ngozi Ukazu’s Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid, finds herself in as the comic begins. Destitute after learning that her full-ride scholarship has been revoked, the determined artist devises a plan: secure an athletic scholarship by putting together the best, queerest softball team this school has ever seen!
As funny as it is heartwarming, Bunt! uses its bright artstyle to portray not only the stresses of modern education but the anxieties of starting out at a new school. By following Molly in her early days at college, both she and the reader learn how important it is to rely on your queer community whenever you feel lost in the world. Through the bonds she creates within her ragtag softball team, Molly discovers that she’s never truly alone when it comes to tackling her problems, financial and athletic alike!
Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier
One of the biggest issues in modern athletics is how, despite being arguably the most competitive and physically demanding one out there, so many people still refuse to recognize cheerleading as a legitimate sport! Luckily, it finally gets the appreciation it deserves in Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier; the story of two high schoolers joining the cheer team for very different seasons, this narrative showcases the struggles of queer youth today (along with some jaw-dropping mid-air stunts!).
Focusing on a pair of teen protagonists — one a lesbian and another a transgender girl early into her transition — Cheer Up! offers a resonant, endlessly sweet plot about the scary discomfort of trying to find yourself in high school. Filled with both tearjerking moments of microaggression and thoughtful conversations about gender identity, this graphic novel uses the sport at its center to explore how pride comes from finally embracing your most authentic self. And, with its central friends-to-lovers arc, it pairs all of these thoughtful interrogations with a couple that readers just can’t help rooting for!
Grand Slam Romance by Ollie Hicks
Softball and magical girls, who could ask for more? Set in a world where sports and mystical heroes are treated with the same level of intensity, Grand Slam Romance by Ollie Hicks stars Mickey Monsoon, the nonbinary MVP of their state’s legendary softball team. All Mickey wants to do is focus on getting their team to the championships, a goal that their ex — a flirty, death-defying magical girl — is determined to complicate at every turn.
Filled with as much hilarity as it does heart, Grand Slam Romance spotlights the inherent queerness of major league sports through a magical subgenre that so many fans love. It merges these aspects of its story seamlessly, using all of these chaotic elements to portray the many messy romances at its center. Oh, and for Heated Rivalry fans: while it doesn’t feature the full-on smut of that title, it’s safe to say Grand Slam Romance has the exact kind of sporty spiciness that so many came to that program for!
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
It’s time to cap off our list with one of the most popular sports comics ever: Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please! Following Eric ‘Bitty’ Bittle as he struggles to become the best player on his college hockey team (all while trying hiding his crush on the mysterious team captain), this renowned webtoon has broken records with how many people have tuned in to its story of love on the ice!
As sentimental as it is cutthroat, the romance between Bitty and his team captain, Jack, is a slow-burn that blossoms over the comic’s countless chapters. Every gradual step of their romance feels meaningful, and along the way the story portrays other pivotal moments in a queer person’s life like coming out, navigating romantic feelings, and trying to find a support system that will love you as you are. Filled with both gay love and obscure hockey terminology, this is just the comic for anyone who can’t get enough of Heated Rivalry!
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