Gumballs

This is a very uneven short story collection. I really like the sequences about Nation's gender transition and youth as a triplet, but offsetting those were the constant interruption of rather mediocre customers-are-awful gags, tedious personal ads, and dull visual diary entries. Also, the creator and publisher experimented with an odd color coding system to let you know about the subjects of the stories scattered throughout the book instead of just gathering all the like material into their own sections.

I'd love to see Nation dump the chaff and attempt a longer work about being a triplet and/or becoming a man.

Read these in the single issues - GUMBALLS is an anthology series reminiscent of alternative comics from the 90s like Hate and Eightball. The main storyline (and the most interesting to me) is Nations' autobiographical comics - either memories of being a triplet before he transitioned and short comics about his transition. Completely honest, authentic and deeply human. This is a much-needed and welcomed addition to LGBT comics.

I have a trans child and we live in the Portland, Oregon area, so I was delighted to find this graphic novel memoir by Erin Nations. Nations' journey is expressed in the graphic novel. I appreciate his vulnerability and insight, for himself, but also for me, the mother of a trans child. I am grateful for this book.