
An essential introduction to trans history, from ancient times to the present day, in full-color graphic nonfiction format. Deeply researched, highly readable, and featuring a broad range of voices. What does “trans” mean, and what does it mean to be trans? Diversity in human sex and gender is not a modern phenomenon, as readers will discover through illustrated stories and records that introduce historical figures ranging from the controversial Roman emperor Elagabalus to the swashbuckling seventeenth-century conquistador Antonio de Erauso to veterans of the Stonewall uprising Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. In addition to these individual profiles, the book explores some of the societal roles played by trans people beginning in ancient times and shows how European ideas about gender were spread across the globe. It explains how the science of sexology and the growing acceptance of (and backlash to) gender nonconformity have helped to shape what it means to be trans today. Illustrated conversations with modern activists, scholars, and creatives highlight the breadth of current trans experiences and give readers a deeper sense of the diversity of trans people, a group numbering in the millions. Extensive source notes provide further resources. Moving, funny, heartbreaking, and empowering, this remarkable compendium from trans creators Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett is packed with research on every dynamic page.
Authors
I live in the San Francisco Bay area where I teach and make art. I earned a BA in art with a focus in printmaking and a BA in Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2011, and in 2019 I earned an MFA in Comics from California College of the Arts. Right now I’m working on my first full-length graphic novel about transgender history. I first started exhibiting my self-published comics and art at conventions in 2009. My first comics were fanzines and I love to connect with fan communities since a lot of my art is related to being a geeky queer human. I enjoy working with a variety of mediums and my visual influences include anime, fine art, lettering, illustration, portraiture, tattoo, and sign painting.