{"id":25954988,"date":"2026-06-16T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=25954988"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:42:51","slug":"celebrating-lgbtq-comic-artists-this-pride-month-why-niki-smith-makes-queer-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/celebrating-lgbtq-comic-artists-this-pride-month-why-niki-smith-makes-queer-comics\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating LGBTQ+ Comic Artists This Pride Month: Why Niki Smith Makes Queer Comics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Welcome to Pride month! <\/strong>LGBTQ+ creators are well represented in the arts and in creative careers, and while we celebrate countless LGBTQ+ artists all year long, we're always excited to turn a particular emphasis to queer, trans, and gender non-conforming artists every June for Pride month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Facebook-Cover_June_Happy-Impulse-x-Wacom-1080x402.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook-Cover_June_Happy-Impulse-x-Wacom\" class=\"wp-image-25954154\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Facebook-Cover_June_Happy-Impulse-x-Wacom-980x365.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Facebook-Cover_June_Happy-Impulse-x-Wacom-480x179.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This blog post is the third in a series we'll be running all month long highlighting amazing LGBTQ+ comic artists:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/joy-is-an-act-of-rebellion-wacom-celebrates-pride-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Series Intro: Roberta Hall aka Happy Impulse<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/pride-month-2026-why-blue-delliquanti-makes-queer-comics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Feature #1: Blue Delliquanti<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/lgbtq-comics-read-free-online-pride-month\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Resource: Six LGBTQ+ Comics You Can Read Online Right Now<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/celebrating-lgbtq-comic-artists-this-pride-month-the-la-guardia-queerterly-volume-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Feature #2: La Guardia Community College Students Kris, Cairo, Vee, and Nini<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/celebrating-lgbtq-comic-artists-this-pride-month-why-niki-smit-makes-queer-comics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Feature #3: Niki Smith (you are here!)<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Feature #4: Taylor Robin (coming soon!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We asked comic artists Blue, Niki, and Taylor the same question: <strong>Why do you make queer comics?<\/strong> And they responded in the best way they know how: in comic form!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today we're featuring <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Niki Smith<\/a><\/strong>, an artist, writer, and lover of comics. Her work is joyously queer, and she is the author of a variety of award-winning and -nominated graphic novels, including <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/midsummer-sisters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Midsummer Sisters<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/sea-legs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sea Legs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/thegoldenhour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Golden Hour<\/a>, and the Lambda Literary Award-nominated works <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/thedeepanddarkblue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Deep &amp; Dark Blue<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/crossplay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crossplay<\/a>. Why does Niki make queer comics? Here's why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-1-1x1-1.jpg\" alt=\"niki smith wacom comic final 1\" class=\"wp-image-25954991\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-1-1x1-1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-1-1x1-1-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-1-1x1-1-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-2-1x1-1.jpg\" alt=\"niki smith wacom comic final 2\" class=\"wp-image-25954992\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-2-1x1-1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-2-1x1-1-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-2-1x1-1-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-3-1x1-1.jpg\" alt=\"niki smith wacom comic final 3\" class=\"wp-image-25954993\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-3-1x1-1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-3-1x1-1-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-3-1x1-1-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-4-1x1-1.jpg\" alt=\"niki smith wacom comic final 4\" class=\"wp-image-25954994\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-4-1x1-1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-4-1x1-1-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Wacom-4-1x1-1-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What inspired you to work in comics? What is special to you about the art form?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d always loved drawing, but it wasn\u2019t until college that a few of my professors pointed out how my pieces always had a sequential feel to them \u2013 had I ever thought about comics? I never looked back. I love what comics can do, and I feel like I\u2019ll never stop learning. Imagery and text work together in amazing ways \u2013\u00a0sometimes mirroring each other, sometimes adding metaphor into a scene, and sometimes creating such a strange or jarring contrast that the reader realizes something else entirely is going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"797\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Crossplay-1080x797.jpg\" alt=\"Niki Smith Crossplay\" class=\"wp-image-25954996\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Crossplay-1080x797.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Crossplay-980x723.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Crossplay-480x354.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1080px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Example pages from Niki Smith's <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/crossplay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crossplay<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why do you make queer comics specifically? Why is making LGBTQ+ art important to you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because we\u2019re here. We exist, and have always existed. And we deserve to see ourselves \u2013\u00a0messy and complex and imperfect and beautiful \u2013\u00a0just like anyone else, as the main characters in stories!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"789\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Deep-Dark-Blue.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25954995\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Deep-Dark-Blue.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Deep-Dark-Blue-980x703.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Deep-Dark-Blue-480x344.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Example pages from <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/thedeepanddarkblue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Deep and Dark Blue<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What hardware and software do you currently use to make your work, and why do you choose to use Wacom products?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of my books have been drawn digitally in Clip Studio Paint on my Wacom Cintiq 21UX. I\u2019ve had it for fifteen years and it\u2019s still going as strong as ever! It feels like so much technology is built with planned obsolescence nowadays, and having a tablet that works as well as the day I bought it is enormous. This Cintiq has been in use 5-6 hours a day, through different operating systems, multiple laptops and desktops, and a move from the US to Europe. That reliability is worth its weight in gold to me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25954997\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Headshot.jpg 600w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/Niki-Smith-Headshot-480x599.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 600px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Niki Smith<\/strong><\/a> is an artist, writer, and lover of fine comics (and some pretty trashy ones too). Her work is joyously queer, and she is the author of a variety of award-winning and -nominated graphic novels. Her books include <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/midsummer-sisters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Midsummer Sisters<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/sea-legs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sea Legs<\/a> (a collaboration with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/itsjulesbakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jules Bakes<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/thegoldenhour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Golden Hour<\/a>, and the Lambda Literary Award-nominated works <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/thedeepanddarkblue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Deep &amp; Dark Blue<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/niki-smith.com\/crossplay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crossplay<\/a>, amongst others. When she\u2019s not making graphic novels, she\u2019s collecting embroidery hoops and zines. Niki now lives in Munich, Germany with her wife and two bilingual cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out her work on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nikismithcomics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nikismithcomics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tik Tok,<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/nikismithcomics.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the first in a series we&#8217;ll be running all month long highlighting amazing LGBTQ+ comic artists. Today&#8217;s feature: Niki Smith!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":25955014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2919,2481,2332,2358,6151],"tags":[6186,6187],"class_list":["post-25954988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manga","category-artist-feature","category-cintiq-and-cintiq-pro","category-events","category-interview","tag-niki-smith","tag-pride-month"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25954988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25954988"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25954988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25955015,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25954988\/revisions\/25955015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25955014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25954988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25954988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25954988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}