‘Flamer’ is the Queer Graphic Novel We Need Right Now
By Rashauna Tunson
Flamer is a powerful coming of age YA graphic novel that is just as uplifting as it is heartbreaking. You may find yourself shedding bittersweet tears as you follow fourteen year old Aiden Navarro through awkward, sometimes painful situations he finds himself in while attending summer camp with his Boy Scout Troop. Caught in between middle school and high school, Aiden finds himself having to deal with change after change. He’s not used to being separated from his best friend Violet — who makes him feel safe and accepted. Aiden also worries that he just might be trading one set of bullies from his Catholic middle school for a new set of bullies at the new public high school he’ll be attending in the fall. Aiden feels like he doesn’t belong; at his old school, Aiden was bullied for not being athletic, for being too “overweight”, for being half-Filipino, for always saying something that seems too gay. Aiden is convinced that he can never truly be himself.
At camp, Aiden has a refuge away from all of his worries and he begins to feel as if he is more a part of things as he and his fellow campers take part in peer bonding activities. He finds things that he excels at such as learning how to tend to a fire, cook, and being the source of comic relief. Unfortunately, he soon finds that there are a few bullies at camp, too. On top of it all — he has started to notice his friend Elias in a new, confusing light and these new feelings make him feel weird and threaten to put a black cloud over his whole summer.
As both writer and illustrator of his debut graphic novel, Mike Curato shines brightly, including bits of his own personal experiences in the book. Flamer is packed with humor, pain and hope. I adore how Curato uses well placed splashes of color (orange, red and yellow — the most prominent colors in a flame), in the otherwise to gray palette to really underscore the intensity of Aiden’s emotions and how they come over him, sometimes like an all consuming flame. I deeply appreciate how he is able to balance such a heavy story with endless love and light.
Personally, I am well past my teenage years filled with hormone fueled woes, but the lonlieness that you sometimes feel as a Queer person developing in a heteronormative world — it isn’t something that just easily disappears overnight — bullies, unrequited crushes, the needling fear of being different and the creeping fear of saying the wrong thing, or the moments where you let your carefully crafted false personality slip and you seem too gay. Playing straight is exhausting. I understood every bit of the rationalization, denial and endless ways you can attempt to convince yourself that you can’t possibly be gay. I think Mike Curato does an excellent job at weaving this into the story, so that we can feel empathy for Aiden as he finds out who he is.
Flamer is a must read for anyone that is questioning, certain of their sexuality, or anyone that considers themselves to be an ally of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. This book is so affirming — I am so glad that this book exists. I urge everyone to pick up this book and burn through its pages!
About the Author
Rashauna Tunson (she/her) is a lifelong resident of Denver, Colorado and is a proud Black Queer. She is passionate about equality, Disco music, quoting ancient memes and petting cats. You can follow Rashauna on Twitter at @sk8tergrrrl666 or — if you’re lucky — you can catch her whipping around town on her roller skates!
