A great collection of various trans and non-binary stories! I loved the differing artwork and reading about everyone’s journeys. There were some fun, light stories, but also ones that were more dark and deep. Seeing everyone come to love and accept themselves was really heart warming. The stories felt similar yet uniquely different and it was interesting seeing everyone’s voice through their art. Definitely recommend if you’re looking to explore or read more from trans and non-binary voices!

"The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics" might... genuinely be one of my favorite queer graphic novels out there. This anthology made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me feel so incredibly seen and validated. It has even given me some new insights in my own gender.

"The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics" is a stunning celebration of transness that is so desperately needed in the wake of all the hate, vitriol, and anti-trans legislation that our community is currently experiencing.

Furthermore, this anthology has been contributed by many people of different genders, races and ethnicities, ages and cultural backgrounds. The amount of time, love, and effort put into this project shows. I cannot wait for the proper release of this book so that I can purchase it immediately.

This anthology is comprised of a multitude of autobiographical comics by trans and nonbinary artists.

I feel like it's difficult to rate and review something so personal to so many. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, and I feel like I've learned a lot. I know these comics will resonate with so many LGBTQ+ people out there.

I didn't keep a thorough list of trigger and content warnings, but obviously this includes transphobia and body dysphoria. But also acceptance and body euphoria.

I feel like this will be very good for all members of the LGBTQIA+ to read and people that love and support them. I think what everyone put into this book will help a lot of people well not alone on a journey they take that they need comfort in.

3.5 stars. This is a lovely collection, but it felt rather hampered by the lengths of the stories-- some were only 1 page, none (that I found, when I remembered to count) were over 6 pages. On the one hand, it was wonderful to see such a wide range of authors-- which was, I'm sure, the point. But very few of the individual comics felt complete, most felt hurried.

A very nice variety of artistic styles, something for everyone. Hopefully queer readers will find at least a story or two that resonates closely with their own. Recommended for library collections to increase representation. Hot-button content: no intercourse is depicted; there is one story with illustrations of female/pre-reduction breasts but many stories with flat post-surgery chests (with scars); maybe some mild swearing? I don't remember it standing out as awkward, for shock-value, or over-used-- any "bad words" fit the context.

eARC from NetGalley.

“Regardless of who the world said I was supposed to be, I was always going to be who I am.”

The Out Side is a beautiful anthology of trans and nonbinary comics created by a diverse group of artists. It includes 29 creators’ tales of growing up, accepting themselves, and learning to love themselves as they are. It’s a great collection of different stories portraying trans/nonbinary experiences.

Since this is an anthology of different stories, all the comics are short and to the point, and the illustration styles vary greatly. It was definitely enlightening to see how these people have faced the world and to note the different ways in which they have embraced themselves. In some cases I wished that the stories had been a bit longer, but overall this is a great insight into other people’s circumstances that made me think about gender in a whole new way. This one is absolutely worth a read for anyone who wants to understand more about trans/nonbinary experiences.

Rounding off with this lovely quote from one of the comics:

“I accept myself as we are. One body, two souls.”

Thanks Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for letting me read an early copy of this book. The Out Side comes out on September 26th.

It can be really hard to accurately rate an anthology, especially a comic anthology. But overall I really liked these very short vignettes/memoirs of the stories people wanted to tell about their gender journey, expression, and identity. I saw myself reflected in a lot of these, and I really loved the art style of many of the artists!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kai Studios for an Arc in exchange for an honest review of this comic collection.

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics was a really nice short comic collection by various trans and nonbinary creators. As a trans nonbinary person myself I always enjoy reading about other trans people’s experiences. The breath of different experiences was wonderful to read and I enjoyed seeing all of them. Reading about the life experiences of these creators both similar and different to my own journey was a joy. Similarly, I really loved seeing all the different art styles and really appreciated that you were given ways to find more of their art on other platforms. My only negative was that I wish the comics were a bit longer and more in depth. However, this is no huge problem as I am easily able to find more of their other work due to the links in each creators bio. I am really happy I read this and I hope to read a lot more comics about trans people’s journeys in the future

I honestly really adored this, and just how many queer voices were featured in one short comic. I always get worried when an anthology contains so many short stories, as it can sometimes feel a bit too shallow or short, but it really worked this time. I felt like each artist did a great job picking a story or thought/feeling to fit into the few pages they had, and it made some stories hit really hard (even with only a few pages to do so!) I also found a lot of fantastic new artists to follow online, as there were so many fantastic art styles and storytelling styles contained here. It's also a comic that gives such a strong sense of community, and highlights how different we all are yet how we're still all there for each other, and this community. While there were so many heartbreaking stories (that I and many others can relate to), it also just felt like a warm hug overall.

I absolutely love this collection of stories! As a queer person myself I feel so seen. I really loved the diversity within the stories, because not only did I get to feel seen but with so many different intersectionalities within the book, I feel like so many other people will feel seen too. The queer experience isn't one size fits all and I love that this book gives insight to the many different queer experiences out there. I hope that this books winds up in schools and libraries so that everyone has access to it.

3.5, rounded up

I overall really enjoyed this series of comics. The thing is that I didn’t like all of them equally, some I would have easily give 5 stars, others I didn’t like that much. I know this is a personal experience, cause it mostly has stuff to do with the art style. I loved that all stories where different, but in the end all of them give a message of hope.

Overall I would recommend the book if you are looking for an interesting and touching stories of trans and non-binary lives.

I am excited for when this book comes out I would like to get a copy. As an artist myself I enjoyed seeing everyone's work. I want to support other artists in the community, and I am very thankful for all them sharing pieces of their stories. Some of these experiences can be very uplifting/isolating and portions of the audience can relate to both or some of each. I am thankful to have read a beautiful book.
Thank NetGalley for the arc copy.

I only came across this comic series because of a book challenge I was doing that had an LGBT+ graphic novel prompt. The Out Side instantly grabbed my attention with its bright cover and interesting description. It didn't quite fulfil the prompt, but that felt fitting because as humans, we don't all fit into neat little boxes and that's exactly the story this comic series tells.

I loved how each author brought their identity story to life in their own creative way. It's amazing how much I learned about the person in so few pages. I instantly respected them for living their life on their terms, despite constant pushback, negative comments, and societal judgement. The story that really stayed with me was by a bi-gender author who as a female, was told they would never be loved. But they countered that by saying there is a man who loves them - himself. One body, two souls. I remember reading this and thinking about it for days afterwards. Something so simple, yet society continues to only see in black and white.

This is one of those books that everyone should read, regardless of their identity or sexuality. It's all about educating ourselves and stepping outside of what society deems as acceptable and embracing people for who they truly are.

I gave this five stars, I enjoyed this so much. I absolutely recommend the t to everyone. I liked the art and each artists experiences with finding out about their gender expression and identity.

Thank you sooooo uch for this book ! Brigging us so many differents stories, each one in the artist's style, that's so meaningfull.

Coming out is a thing, but how queer people know who they are ? How they do their coming in ?
Read this book to know some ways ;)

We all have different stories but we all needed help to guide us in our coming in. This book is helpfull to every people questionning. Thank you <3

Received a review copy NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

I mean this compilation was unexpected, the cover didn't tell me that when I approached it.
I also want to say that the rating was from my enjoyment and experience and never from the experiences of the authors.
In general, I liked all the stories, there were a couple that by preference did not enjoy the style of drawing, but I felt all the experiences close to my heart and I respect them very much.
I wanted to read this book to get closer to these people and get to know them and see them and understand them and it has helped me a lot in my path of understanding the subject.
Other than that, I found it difficult to adjust to the anthology format at first, this because I didn't know what I had gotten myself into, but having gotten used to it it was a nice time that taught me a lot and made me feel a bunch of emotions that I imagine were the purpose.
I will recommend it to my relatives because I find it of valuable importance in current issues.
I love you very much and I send you love.

This is such a lovely comic anthology on gender queerness. It features a number of personal stories from a great range of diverse artists. All the art is obviously beautiful and incredibly expressive — so many new artists for me to check out on instagram!!

It makes me so unbelievably happy that these stories are being told and shared. It's awesome to know this anthology will connect with and help others in their own journeys with gender. This read felt like a wonderful celebration of queer gender exploration and acceptance. I definitely highly recommend this for everyone.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great anthology of trans and nonbinary joy!

Although the majority of the guest artists are from the USA, there's a great variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Recommended to anyone who wants to be reminded that things do get better.

This graphic anthology is like a warm hug. It's filled with stories by trans people, mostly about their own experiences, about embracing who they are and living their lives. The stories are short and while they talk about similar things, each trabs story is unique and also each one is like a repetition: you're not alone, you can have a good life in this messed up world.

I loved how diverse the artists are - they cover so many identities from under the trans umbrella, live around the world and are of different races and ethnicities.

I definitely recommend it 💜

It's exciting to see a book coming out with so many trans and nonbinary artists sharing their stories. I appreciated so many different perspectives and experiences. There were some stories that I wished were longer, but the author biographies shared other works by the authors and social media handles. Topics included (not limited to) coming out, realizing gender identity, family relationships, self-image, and finding happiness.

This book is for everyone, not just trans and nonbinary people. I hope this book brings LGBTQIA+ people joy and opens the minds and hearts of everyone.