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A new "queer joy" graphic novel imagines the worst fate imaginable: repeating sixth grade forever
Oni Press’ The Haven turns growing up queer into a time-loop fantasy.
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Growing up is hard, especially for kids who don’t fall into what society believes is “normal.” But those are exactly the kids that The Haven was written for. Oni Press has announced that they are publishing The Haven, a fantastical story about finding your place in the world as a queer kid.
The Haven is about J, a child doomed to the worst fate imaginable – repeating the sixth grade over and over again. Every year, he has to navigate the same events and the same bullies, only for something terrible to happen at the end of the year and for everything to reset. The problem is that J can't remember what that Something Terrible is. Things finally change when Rory and P, two other kids who are suffering the same fate, join his school. Together, the unlikely trio finds their way to the Haven, a place where kids go when they need help “solving unsolvable problems.”
“You are holding a book about being a queer kid,” writer Jayel Seymour (Nadya Skylung and the Cloudship Rescue) said. “About knowing you’re beautifully different and not understanding why the world doesn’t get that. About struggling and seeking and learning who you are piece by piece, pulling all the parts of yourself together to understand that you belong.”
This is a book that is unapologetically, proudly queer. “As I translated J’s world from text to page, I aimed to imbue as much queer joy as I could into the world of The Haven and its complicated characters,” debut artist Lauren Mugford explained. “The story of J shows how queerness comes in many forms, loud or quiet, but nonetheless dignified and beautiful.”
You can see some of Mugford's artwork in the preview images below:
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Oni Press
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Oni Press
The Haven is due out in stores on January 27, 2027.
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