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Shout Out

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Bold queer heroes seize the spotlight!

Join us on the adventures of young demon hunters, star-crossed Viking lovers, and cyberpunk street artists as we invite you into new worlds where brave heroes with diverse queer identities demonstrate the strength of their hearts and the power of their dreams!

Inside this book you’ll find eighteen LGBTQ2SIA+ stories crafted by award-winning international creators. Find your place alongside ace necromancers, glamorous jazz musicians, fey outsiders, friendly monsters, and a superhero still finding his way out of the phone booth.

Spotlighting the work of diverse voices, this collection includes Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine), Kelly & Nichole Matthews (Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy), Vivian Ng​​ (Legend of Korra: Turf Wars), and many others.

Our stories have heroes who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, two-spirit, and asexual, from creators who share those identities.

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2019

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About the author

Andrew Wheeler

67 books25 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Andrew Wheeler is a Shuster and Eisner-winning writer and editor. His credits include Another Castle at Oni Press, Love and War at Comixology, the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurers Guides, and the Prism-nominated all ages LGBTQ anthology Shout Out.

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5 stars
76 (48%)
4 stars
59 (37%)
3 stars
18 (11%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for destiny ♡ howling libraries.
1,625 reviews5,070 followers
February 9, 2020
What a fantastic collection of short stories! I adore positive queer rep in books, especially happy queer rep written by queer authors, so I jumped at the chance to read this anthology and I adored every moment of it. There are so many talented creators involved in the making of Shout Out, and so many lovable stories within it. I won't go into detail of every single story, but I would like to name off my favorites:

Amaranthine
In the introductory story, a garden spirit receives an unexpected visitor who decides to stay around a while. The art was so lovely in this, and I thought it was the perfect introduction to the collection.

How to Summon a Demon
In contrast, this one was hilarious and cute; a boy summons a demon to ask for practice kissing, so he can learn whether or not he really is attracted to other boys. I loved this.

Ergi
A sickly Viking wants to die in battle so that he can join his recently deceased lover in Valhalla, despite the priest's insistence that homosexuals cannot enter Valhalla. There's a bit of a twist ending that I didn't see coming, and I adored it.

Fifteen Minutes or Less
This was so fun, and would make a really cute animated short. It follows two best friends/coworkers as they go on a "pizza-noodle" food delivery run, but get caught up fighting off one of the friends' ex-girlfriends through a sci-fi kickboxing match!

Shine So Bright
While most of the stories were just happy and cute, this one actually choked me up and really made me think. It's set in the 1920s (I think) and follows a "couple" who are both secretly queer and only pretending to be together. They visit a private LGBTQ+ nightclub, and there's just something really simultaneously sad and heartwarming about it.

Manicita & the Songkeeper
As far as the art goes by itself, this may have been my favorite of the anthology. It's so gorgeous! It tells of a young island girl who meets the 'Songkeeper', who explains to her that many women have existed in their culture who loved other women. It's just positively stunning and feels so rich and sweet.

While these were my top favorites, there wasn't a single bad piece in the whole collection. If you enjoy queer stories by queer creators, with loads of happy endings and heartwarming, mushy moments (especially some rep that we don't see much in media, like queerplatonic relationships, aro-ace people, loads of trans rep, and more), you absolutely can't afford to miss out on Shout Out!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Profile Image for Maia.
Author 26 books2,080 followers
June 16, 2019
I was very impressed by this collection of LGBTQ genre stories. Some standouts include one in which a teenage boy summons a demon to help him decide if he is gay; one of a Viking being reunited with his lover in Valhalla after a heroic death; one about an asexual and aromantic necromancer; one about rival food delivery service people (so much more at stake when you are racing against your ex); one about a nonbinary dentist to magical creatures who befriends a werewolf; and one about queer graffiti artists who live in a virtual reality. I contributed one illustration to this book, so I'm not exactly unbiased, but I think it's a very strong anthology!
Profile Image for Kathy.
Author 1 book220 followers
June 15, 2020
This is pure queer joy and I just want more of it.
Profile Image for Alex Nonymous.
Author 18 books333 followers
April 25, 2022
I didn't stop smiling for a single second of this it's quintessential feel-good queer lit and criminally underrated.

Shout Out features a ton of really short (yet also really good) comics from a variety of all your fav queer cartoonists and graphic novelists. It covers a wide variety of different queer identities and genres AND everyone gets a happy ending. Because fuck burying your gays.
Profile Image for The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori).
1,163 reviews1,300 followers
April 29, 2019
Full Review on The Candid Cover

Shout Out is an anthology unlike any other that I have read before. This graphic novel is diverse and full of interesting stories. If you are a fan of the genre, this is one book to check out!

I haven’t read that many graphic novels, but this book is something that really piqued my interest when I first heard about it. The concept is so fantastic and the amount of thought that has gone into its design is absolutely phenomenal. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this one.

❀ INSPIRING CONCEPT

The inspiration for Shout Out was to create an anthology of stories about romance, adventure, and friendship that feature queer characters who are heroes. As well, the book is written by an incredible group of 37 queer writers and artists to tell the stories for a new generation. It is put together for “young queer readers to know that they can be heroes too, and that their stories deserve to be told.”

❀ WONDERFUL ILLUSTRATIONS

The beauty of an anthology is that there are always a few stories that you can really connect with. In Shout Out, there are so many enjoyable ones to read. I especially enjoyed 15 Minutes and Shine So Bright. The artwork is fabulous and the writing is unique. Also, the humour and illustrations are wonderful and really had me laughing out loud! I highly recommend picking this book up.
Profile Image for Anne-Marie.
463 reviews2 followers
March 10, 2020
I saw this randomly at Librarie Drawn & Quarterly in Montreal and am so glad I picked it up on a whim.

This is an absolutely amazing, feel-good, chock full of talented writers/artists/letterers, #ownvoices anthology of SFF queer/LGBTQ2SIA+ comics.
Each story features different love stories (most romantic, some platonic) in various science fiction and fantasy genres at the YA/teen level of appropriateness (basically nothing explicit).
It’s basically everything happy and lovely that you want to read, with gorgeous artwork to boot.

While I really liked all the stories, a few particularly stood out and there’s some new creators I’ll be looking out for online.
Highly recommend if any of this remotely appeals to you.
Faves:
Amaranthine
The Name of the Forest
Ergi (this one made me cry in a good way)
Vows of Life
Sunlight
Glitches Get it Done
Shine So Bright
Manicita and the Songkeeper

Also... read the author bios - I got a real kick out of them!
Profile Image for Sara.
234 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2020
This anthology was everything I needed right now: great art, easy, adorable stories to dip in and out of and queer characters just living their best lives.

Here are my favourites:
-How To Summon a Demon
-Ergi
-Sunlight
-Show me your Teeth
-Shine so Bright
-Manicita and the Songkeeper (I want this one to be a full length graphic novel SO BAD)

Very excited to have a new list of authors and artists to check out!! And please, I want more anthologies like this!

Ps. The views expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the views of Indigo Books & Music Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. #IndigoEmployee
Profile Image for The Sapphic Nerd.
950 reviews42 followers
May 20, 2019
Oftentimes with anthologies, you never know what you’re going to get – a mix of creators means a mix of quality, right? Not so with Shout Out. Not only is there plenty of representation from all over the sex and gender spectrums, they’re good stories that show various cultures, time periods, alternate universes, fantasy worlds, relationship types and situations. These are stories young queer people can read and see themselves reflected in. Shout Out strives to inspire and bring hope and enjoyment – and it succeeds.
Profile Image for Katy.
421 reviews12 followers
September 26, 2019
I almost enjoyed the author bios as much as the stories themselves, because such a wonderfully interesting and diverse mix of humans brought this anthology into existence. SUCH a great selection of stories, most are very very short and come across as just punchy, bright queer little moments. It's a bit cutesy but I loved that, personally. A couple stories were misses for me but it was almost a sweep. Really great!
Profile Image for Emily Forsyth.
474 reviews7 followers
March 12, 2020
3.5/5

I always find anthologies so hard to rate because there’s some I really liked and some I didn’t, but they’re all so short that it’s hard to really say much about them. I enjoyed this though
Profile Image for Michelle (FabBookReviews).
1,052 reviews37 followers
August 10, 2019

With a tremendous and far-ranging roster of authors and artists, the Shout Out comics anthology is an exceptional read. Featuring "eighteen LGBTQ2SIA+ stories crafted by award-winning international creators", this momentous aimed-for-teens-and-up anthology includes stories by Killian Ng, Kelly and Nichole Matthews, Joamette Gil, Sunny Ôchumuk, Shaina Lu, Derrick Chow, Elodie Chen, and more phenomenal writers and artists. Shout Out contains a glorious mix of genre stories- everything from romance, horror, historical, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. As mentioned in the 'Inspiration' notes above, all of the stories in the collection feature diverse queer heroes and supporting characters: notably, the kinds of stories that were not available or accessible to the contributing artists and writers while they themselves were growing up.

With eighteen stories in Shout Out- all so very different!- there really is something for every reader, no matter your genre preference. (And if you're like me, you may take to and enjoy all the genres on offer!). While solid all around, there were some particular story stand outs for me in this collection, and include (in no particular order): Amaranthine, How to Summon a Demon, Curio, Fifteen Minutes or Less, The Fisher and the Jeweler, Show Me Your Teeth, Sunlight, Three's a Charm, Love in the Cloud, and Shine So Bright. Overall, the stories in Shout Out move from strength to strength- a testament to just how strong, vibrant, unique, and profusely talented all of the contributing authors and artists are. Uplifting, funny, romantic, surprising, and everything in-between, Shout Out is a gorgeous and noteworthy collection with needed- necessary- voices, characters and stories.

I received a copy of Shout Out courtesy of TO Comix Press in exchange for an honest review and for the purposes of a blog post. All opinions and comments are my own.
Profile Image for Nico.
514 reviews67 followers
September 11, 2019
My heart is full.

*Puts on announcer voice* Are you looking for happy and incredibly diverse Own Voices stories in many worlds of fantasy that make you want to cry with joy? Read. This. Book.

*clears throat* No really. I mean it. I will be shoving this anthology of LGBTQIA+ comics on every person I know, and maybe some strangers as well, just for good measure. The diversity and representation in here is absolutely off the charts, and it's published in Toronto. Yep, I'm officially beside myself.

I not even sure where to start. Just to give an idea of said representation, let me rattle off a few from various characters just using my memory: Lesbian, gay, nonbinary, PoC, different body types, transgender, Indigenous, asexuality, bisexuality, agender, undefined queerness... The list goes on. Most of the time you can pick at least two from the above list because intersectionality is also a thing that is everywhere both in reality and in this book. My favourite thing is that the characters' gender/sexuality/race etc. isn't always at the forefront of the plot. It's not all stories about coming out and fighting bigotry (although those stories are definitely in here if that's your jam). It was just glorious to have the variety. Sometimes two people just love each other and their gender doesn't have to be the biggest thing about their relationship. Maybe it's the giant magical lion that might eat them, or the Viking warrior who's seeking revenge, or the digital world you live in that's collapsing, or the fact that one of the people is actually dead and they're really trying to fix that thing. And yes, all of those are directly taken from stories.

I was impressed over and over again with how quickly I fell in love with the myriad of characters in such a short time. Each story is 20 pages or less each, but you could easily linger for 25 minutes just gawking at the art for each one. The styles were incredibly unique and often intricate, and I'm looking forward to re-reading this and really dissecting all the details I missed. The colouring was also stunning. Every page turn revealed an explosion of colour and culture and I soaked it in.

The stories themselves ranged from thoughtful to carefree to heartbreaking (and then always heartwarming again) to funny to suspenseful to charming. But they were almost always relateable. If you're anywhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, you will find yourself in these pages. But even if you're not, there is something here for you. The different fantasy worlds, the struggle of youth, the beautiful art, the journey of love, the meandering road most of us have to travel to find ourselves, the lyrical writing, the beauty of diversity in all its forms... I just can't say enough about this.

I also loved the little bios for the writers, artists, and letterers before each comic (with pronouns - hell yes). Many of them were Torontonian and it's insane the amount of talent we have in our city. However there are also some international names from China and England to name a couple, and, if you're a comic reader, you might recognize people from some relatively popular titles. That being said, most names were unfamiliar to me, and you better believe I will be doing some serious googling when I'm done here because I need more please and thank you. The note from the editor also made me unexpectedly emotional. Andrew Wheeler: I wish to give you a hug. Thank you for making this book happen.

Favourite stories I won't spoil but adored to the nth degree: All of them (No actually, this was really hard). *breathes deep and cries in indecision*

After pulling some hair out let's try again:
Amaranthine (The art, holy crap), How to Summon a Demon (fucking wholesome, I say), The Name in the Forest (some lines in there made me choke up with how acutely I understood, also again with the art), Show Me Your Teeth (<--this is an alternate way to spell 'delightful'), Sidekicks and Allies (I want more of this story please. Moremoremoremoremo-), and Shine So Bright (adored the atmosphere). For context, I think there were maybe 2 stories out of 19 I didn't love, and I they were still awesome in their own ways, just not my cuppa. I'm still kind of in awe of that. It's been awhile since I've read an anthology I was engrossed in from start to finish.

Bottom line: I lost count of the number of times I found myself smiling without really thinking about it. This made my heart happy and my day feels brighter after having read this. The next time I get depressed about gay characters dying, or trans characters being forced to not transition, or PoC characters being cast with white actors, or just that life feels like I'm swimming upstream and no one gets it - this is where I'll go. I hope you'll join me here; everyone needs more smiles.
Profile Image for Nicole Field.
Author 18 books143 followers
October 30, 2020
Gosh this was a gorgeously soft read that was able to be completed in a single afternoon. All of them revolve around queer characters and are written and illustrated by queer (mostly nonbinary) authors and artists.

I only knew a couple of the authors from this collection: Lindsay Smith, as well as the creator of The Wicked and the Divine. As is common for me with reading new creatives, the ones I'd never heard before were my favourite.

The first three in a row continued to be my favourite stories even after I came to the end of it.

We open with a huntress who protects their sacred garden and the ghost they find there one day. It is so beautifully illustrated and the story is soft and lovely.

Just when I thought that that would be the softest story, however, the next one is a story of a gay boy who summons a teen demon with whom he wants to practice kissing. There is no single part of this that I can pull out to say I loved the most as it was all spectacular.

Third, a trans kid in the forest who is stumped when a bodiless entity asks for their true name and they realise they don't yet know what that is. The two of them form a friendship, much to the entity's surprise.
Profile Image for Meepelous.
593 reviews35 followers
August 18, 2020
An extremely creative and positive collection of queer stories, relationships are pretty central to the collection although I would not say that they are all romance. A whole spectrum of gender and sexuality are represented.

Race is another point of diversity in this book both as far as creators and characters.

Unless I missed something class was not really a focus of any of the stories. I'm even less sure if ability vs disability was touched on at all. My default is to kind of to assume no, but my bad memory is even worse when it comes to details in a short story collection. I flipped back through twice and nothing jumped out at me... Either way, we should be asking for MORE representation.
Profile Image for Amanda.
1,522 reviews16 followers
April 19, 2019
This comic anthology is all of my jam. The comics are short, romantic and penned by some great writers and inked by just as great illustrators. They're like perfectly-sized bits of fluff. Highly recommend.
Profile Image for Amanda.
45 reviews
May 14, 2019
Great assortment of queer positive stories from some of my favorite writers and artists. Well done!
Profile Image for Anthony.
Author 10 books49 followers
June 19, 2019
A really wonderful collection of short comics centered on LGBTQIA+ characters by queer creators. All genres and styles of relationships are depicted equally and without judgment.
Profile Image for Andrew.
21 reviews
June 19, 2019
Fantastic collection of stories from an exciting array of voices.
Profile Image for Faeryn Koonce.
13 reviews
December 25, 2019
I am not going to lie, I originally picked up this book because the cover was colorful and visually appealing. I am very glad that I did pick up this collection of short stories though because it was full of so many beautiful stories of queer representation. There were tear jerkers, fantastic adventures, invigorating battles, and so much more.
Profile Image for Sarah.
602 reviews
January 29, 2020
Beautiful, colourful, joyful, and diverse stories. A great anthology. The artwork was gorgeous - especially the colouring. The stories were fun and diverse, both in their subject matter and in their character makeup. Like any anthology some stories were stronger than others, but I overall really enjoyed this and want more people to read it.
Profile Image for Kat.
499 reviews5 followers
May 4, 2019
Awesome! Lots of fun and diverse short comics.
Profile Image for Soobie's heartbroken.
6,199 reviews115 followers
February 17, 2021
Well, I backed three anthologies by TO Comics and this one is the best so far. The others being Wayward Sisters: An Anthology of Monstrous Women and Wayward Kindred.

Amaranthine by Joamette Gil and Kelly & Nichole Matthews: ★★★
I like both the art and the plot. And there's a ghost, which is always a plus.

How to Summon a Demon by CJ Walker: ★★★★
The art isn't really my thing but this is probably the best story in the anthology.

The Name of the Forest by Day Irwin and Vivian Ng: ★★★
Good one. I like the way the author draws the spirit.

Ergi by Kieron Gillen, V. Gagnon, and Joamette Gil: ★★★
This one is set during the Viking time and it does a good job.

Fifteen Minutes or Less by Marie Anello and Liz Parlett: ★★
Kind of cool but it's not as good as the other stories.

Curio by Andrew Wheeler and Michelle Dix: ★★★
I've never given so many 3-star ratings to an anthology. But I'm not lying, the stories are really that good.

Three's a Charm by Elodie Chen: ★★
Not as good as the others. And I didn't like the art that much.

Vows of Life by Nichole Robinson and Anika Granillo: ★★★
Despite being so dark, I like the art and the plot is good too.

The Fisher and the Jeweler by Sunny Ôchumuk and Shaina Lu: ★★★
Very sweet.

Torontokva by Nicholai Farber: ★★
The art is dark, albeit very beautiful. Not sure if I got the meaning of the story, though.

Sunlight by Anthony Oliveira, Josh McKenzie, and Nichole Matthews: ★★
Meh.

Show Me Your Teeth by Angela Cole and Cheryl Young: ★★★
Cute art!

Glitches Get It Done by Crystal Frasier and Molly James: ★★
Meh, again.

Love In The Cloud by Derrick Chow: ★★★
Weird art but good plot.

Girls Who Died in the River by H. Pueyo, Dante Luiz, and Joamette Gil: ★★★
I'm usually not a fan of the duo H- Pueyo-Dante Luiz but I really like this story.

Sidekicks and Allies by B.C. Holmes and Alex Moore: ★★★
Well, it was interesting...

Shine so Bright by Lindsay Smith and Adrienne Valdes: ★★★
Definitely love the art and the setting.

Manicita ad the Songkeeper by Ashley Gallagher and Helen Robinson: ★★★
Love the art here.

I'm really glad I backed this.
Profile Image for Shannon (That's So Poe).
953 reviews104 followers
June 13, 2020
This YA collection of queer SFF/superhero short comics has a lot to offer! The collection as a whole is focused on centering and uplifting queer characters as the heroes, celebrating their strength rather than just looking at their trauma. It's beautiful and heart-warming with absolutely stunning art. I particularly loved "How to Summon a Demon" by CJ Walker and "The Name of the Forest" by Day Irwin, illustrated by Vivian Ng. They both brought me such joy! There were a number of other comics in this collection that appealed to me as well, but I think that about half of the stories were only so-so for me, especially the super-hero ones which seemed to be a little bit too fast-paced and hard to follow (perhaps because I don't know much about superhero comic canon). I think for YA readers who love superhero comics, though, these might work much better! Regardless, there is a ton in this collection that is worth reading, even if not every story speaks to you.
Profile Image for B.
353 reviews
July 14, 2020
Every story was great and well formed. My expectations for anthologies has been raised thanks to this book and others collaborated with Nalo Hopkinson. Its perfectly uplifting stories were sweet and sentimental yet realistic.The diversity is all over the place and its to die for.
The stories ranged from futuristic to magic and yet each felt like they were driving toward the same goal. To call this anthology perfect is an understatement.Just read this book already
Profile Image for Ashley.
533 reviews64 followers
June 29, 2021
A graphic YA short story collection featuring a range of diverse representations of being (at first I wrote human experience but there are fey, demons, and monsters as well). Full of love and joy. Beautiful and heartwarming. Extremely colourful and all the art was gorgeous. As with any collection there were some stories I didn't like as much.
Favourites: Ergi, How to Summon a Demon.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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