Hey, Mary! is a deeply profound graphic novel about one Catholic boys journey to self-acceptance. This was wholesome and sweet and all the while discusses very deep issues that our current youth face. This is a book that i would recommend to both young adults and adults for its messages, and I think this could really help tons of kids. Thank you to Oni Press for the ARC.

Hey, Mary! has been on my TBR since I first heard about it several months ago, so I was excited to see it was available on NetGalley. I didn't grow up Catholic—or very religious at all—but I did grow up queer in the Bible Belt, and Christian rhetoric about queerness was something I heard regularly. As an atheist, I was never actually worried about angering a higher power or burning in Hell for all of eternity, but I was hurt that so many people around me, including many of my own family members, felt that way about me and others like me.

This graphic novel follows Mark, a young Catholic boy who's coming to terms with his queerness and struggling to reconcile that with his faith. Throughout the story, he's shown engaging in imaginary conversations with several notable saints, many of whom may have been queer themselves. Through these conversations, as well as conversations with some of the openly queer people in Mark's life and his pastor, Father Teo, Mark is able to understand the teachings of the Bible in a new light. He comes to realize that much of the rhetoric surrounding queerness is not taken directly from the Bible's teachings but from bigoted interpretations of stories such as that of Sodom and Gomorrah. By the end of the story, Mark is able to share his identity with his parents and feel more comfortable accepting that his queerness and his Catholic faith can coexist.

Although I am, as previously mentioned, not religious myself, there was something very healing about reading the stories of the many potentially queer saints and being better able to understand how the teachings of the Bible have been twisted and misconstrued to further bigoted narratives. I think for anyone, young or old, struggling with accepting their queerness because of their faith or the faith of those around them, this book will offer a space to unpack and feel understood in those feelings. I really enjoyed reading this and would absolutely recommend it to other queer people as well as anyone who is not queer themselves but would like to better understand this facet of the queer experience.

And, because this is a graphic novel, I would be remiss not to mention how appealing the illustrations were. They worked very well with the story, adding to the message being presented without overshadowing it in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wholesome story about a teenage boy coming to terms with his identity. I loved the exploration of gay saints and historical religious figures. The idea that gay people are a new thing is perpetuated by the idea that the book pokes fun at of people of the same gender being verrry close friends. I liked that it showed the challenges that he faced and the opposition as well as acceptance. It wasn't an unrealistic book where everyone celebrates his queer identity at his church and personal life, but it also shows that he has allies and not everyone is against him. I think it will give hope and maybe some guidance to those who are religious and part of the LGBTQIA+ community and educate readers about historical figures who have been altered for a heteronormative culture.

Hey, Mary! features a teenage boy named Mark. He has been raised Christian and finds a lot of comfort in his faith. Until he gets confronted by what being Christian means to him (and others) when he realizes he is gay.

Mark on his faith: "It gives me a connection to my family, my community. It gives me a way to approach the world. It gives me direction. It's part of who I am."

Let me preface this review by saying I am not Christian, but have spend time with people from different faiths, including Christians. Being queer, the synopsis of this graphic novel spoke to me and I was curious to see how the author would handle this topic.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Wheeler shows us a fairly thorough examination of what it means to be queer and Christian. From queer people in the Bible to historically queer Christians. There is discussion on what is written in the Bible and how the text is interpreted, and how this subsequently affects the behaviour of certain people within the Christian faith. There's many different characters that guide Mark along the way. I especially liked Father Teo and of course Jojo as mentor figures.

"Let me say this--if there's ambiguity in the Bible and your interpretation tells you to judge people and threat them unkindly... ...I'd say you're doing it wrong."

The text is balanced very well with Hickman's art. The art style is unique and gorgeous with great use of colours and shadows. The graphic novel format also works very well for the telling of this kind of story and its target audience. It makes it all very digestible.

I would recommend Hey, Mary! to everyone within the Christian faith, or people curious about this faith. It's especially great for teens struggling to reconcile their Christian faith and queerness, and their loved ones.

"There have been devout Christian queers all through history, Mark. Their devotion to God could not change who they were or who they loved. And their queerness could not challenge their faith."

A moving and poignant coming of age story about a Catholic school student who questions whether he is gay and whether his queerness has a place in his life and in his religion. Our main character Mark is prompted to address his sexuality when he is reunited with his now out gay friend Luka. Mark envisions art and historical figures coming to life to teach him about queerness in religion as he interacts with church leaders and queer people in his community. There were a lot of examples of queer characters throughout history and how their queerness is told (or not told) in the Bible, so it felt a bit educational / non-fictionish at times.

As someone who grew up in church (Lutheran), there were many parts of this that I really related to. As a 34 year old now, I could see my younger self in Mark and in his questioning of himself, of God, and of religion. I'm not a religious person now, but I can appreciate that this book did not condemn religion but argued that someone can be equally gay and religious under the philosophy that all that God is is love.

I think to have an appreciation of this, though, you have to have knowledge of or experience with religion and it's anti-gay rhetoric (Christianity but maybe others). If my young adult self had read this, I would have felt so seen and heard. I'd recommend this to the queer community, the queer religious and ex-religious community, but also to the more open religious community to understand how gay/queer teens may be impacted by certain religious rhetoric.

I really enjoyed the characters, the compassionate look at queerness and religion, and the colorful art style.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This is amazing! I enjoyed the art style immensely, as well as the creative and fun way it portrays the different queer readings of bible stories. Told with warmth, compassion and clarity.

A cute, delightful, life affirming graphic novel that I shelve into the “I Wish I Had This When I Was Growing Up” category since I am, in fact, a fossil.

“Hey, Mary!” addresses the concerns of religious (primarily Catholic, but really followers of any Christian denomination) Queer people who don’t want to have to choose between their faith and who they are. As might be expected from a teen graphic novel, this rather heavy topic is handled with humor and couched in considerable artistic style. Mark, our devout Catholic but closeted protagonist in question, is visited by St. Sebastian, Michelangelo, and, of course, the Virgin Mary herself on his quest to reconcile his faith and his identity.

This was an entertaining and well thought out story. I appreciated the conceit of famous figures visiting the main character and thought the author was wise to not try to explain it too much. I also appreciated how the book wasn’t afraid to have more upsetting or realistic elements. A Westboro Baptist style protestor is upsetting enough in any context, but then pairing that with a Savonarola style bonfire of the vanities themed panic attack was a stroke of brilliance.

Mark’s parent’s reaction to his coming out was likewise realistic and upsetting, but valuable. Parents do react this way and we need stories that feature negative reactions. Pretending negative reactions don’t exist, not discussing them in our media, serves no one. I also appreciated how even though refutations of biblical homophobia were offered, the emphasis was more on focused on living the compassionate ethos preached in the new testament, rather than hinging everything on interpretations of specific scripture.

This is the kind of book anyone should read but would be especially powerful for Queer people raised in Christian households who ever struggled with internalized religious homophobia.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Just so you’re aware where our family is coming from: I grew up in a non-practicing Catholic home, yet when I became an adult, I chose to become a Catholic. My husband is a cradle Catholic, like really serious. The stained-glass windows in his hometown church were donated by his ancestors, so for him, his religion runs deep. Yet, we are progressive Catholics. I call myself a feminist Catholic, which is no easy feat! Which is why, when our youngest child told us they were non-binary several years ago, we didn’t bat an eye. We told them we still loved them, asked them what we could do for them, and have supported them 100%. The first thing we did was remove them from their Catholic school and put them in public school. Then, we legally got their name changed. And we have continued to embrace their true self along the way.

Which is why this book, Hey, Mary, hits home. Mark is a devout Catholic teen, who is also gay. He thinks he’s inherently bad and that he can “pray the gay away.” He resists his gay friend, whom he is also attracted to, because of his deep held Catholic belief system. However, as the reader journeys through the book, there are many historical examples of gays throughout the history of the church. He talks to several friends, and even one of his parish’s priests, who all tell him what he needs to hear. Being gay is no sin.

Of course, Mark still struggles with wanting to come out and what that all means. He is afraid to tell his parents because of how devout his mother is. (Spoiler alert: it all works out in the end)

The artwork helps tell the story in such a beautiful way that I think this novel being in graphic form will be helpful to those kids who are LGBTQIAP+ yet live in a religious household. I realize that not all household members may be as welcoming as ours, but there’s hope that society in general can become more accepting with books like this.

This captivating graphic novel follows a boy named Mark from a devout Catholic family. Mark attends a Catholic school and is struggling to align his faith and his sexuality.

The book dives into Catholic history as well as his conversations with his priest and even a local drag performer.

It’s a great story, with beautiful artwork. It’s a wonderful read for everyone, but especially people that want to address their faith and their sexuality.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Hey, Mary!

“If god is love, why do his believers make up excuses to hate me?” A beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a Catholic boy coming to terms with loving a church that might not love him back. Deeply moving and educational- I loved learning about the queer leaders of the Christian/Catholic church through Mark’s imagination and friends! 4.5 stars

Hey Mary! comic

4/5 Stars

This was an adorable little comic with how religion and sexuality and expression of one’s true self is faced in life and especially in the eyes of people brought up in heavy religious backgrounds!

I enjoyed the concept of Mark learning to come to terms with himself and being Gay but also being able to stand true and believe in his values!

I love that many characters in the comic help Mark understand that being himself isn’t wrong and I absolutely love the use of historical figures throughout.

This is a very brief review but I adored this little easy read and highly recommend picking it up!

A very engaging graphic novel about a teenager and his struggles coming to terms with his sexuality and trying to decide if being gay is compatible with being a Catholic.

The main character Mark goes on a journey of trying to accept himself, and along the way is 'visited' by various queer figures throughout history, which I thought was a brilliant way for him to explore his feelings.

This story was pretty emotional in parts and wrapped up very satisfactorily. Overall a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

This one is a shortie but a goodie!!! Lovely art, with a condensed overview of frequent Biblical talking points of bigots directed at queer folks and a poignant moment of super religious parents making a choice regarding how to handle their son coming out to them. The sort of story you want to stuff into the hands of teens in the closet who are struggling with their faith.

This comic was a delight, even for an atheist like me.

The art is gorgeous, and it features two of my favourite things together: a LGBTQ+ friendly plot and lots of history (or, to be precise, a lot of history characters that once existed and were queer).

It is a simple story: Mark, a catholic boy, begins to realize he´s developed romantic feelings towards his best friend (who´s an icon, I´m telling you: I loved how he put the LGBTQ+ pin on his school uniform in that first scene at the museum) all the while comes to terms with accepting he´s gay and also a believer.

People who knows me are aware I´m quite sceptical when it comes to religion (any religion, really), and even more so when it comes to church. But I think this comic does it job pretty well, providing hope and basically telling a message that it´s okay to have your beliefs (whatever they may be) while also being queer. During the entire plot, we see a procession of characters telling their experiences or simply trying to comfort the protagonist until he ultimately makes a decision.

In summary, it´s a good comic to gift to teens or kids who are struggling with their sexuality and are also believers.

My only complain is that we didn´t see much acceptance from Mark´s parents (though I think the door was left open). But other than that, I pretty much liked the story. I recommend.

Hey, Mary! is the graphic novel I wish I had growing up!

Hey, Mary! is about Mark, a catholic boy, who is coming to terms with who he might want to be in the world. When one of his friends comes out and moves schools, he has a lot of realizations to make. Andrew Wheeler wrote a story that is both beautiful and powerful. This story has biblical references but is actually interpreted in a historical context and it gave such power when reading.

This is a powerful graphic novel. I wish that I had it growing up. Religion is all too easily weaponized against queer youth and I appreciated the religious figureheads in this story being open and willing to talk about things rather than denouncing them as we all too often see. RUN to get your copy of this story! You will love it!

Hey, Mary! is a graphic novel about a catholic boy coming to terms with his sexuality. He has visions of various presumed queer historical and biblical figures to help him realize that queer people have always existed, even within the church, and that the two aren't inherently opposed. This was a great emotional and educational read. Thanks to OniPress and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Baby gay full of Catholic guilt comes to terms with himself AND IT’S SO GOOD!

Poignant and important with beautiful art and I can’t help but hope that every queer Christian who feels like these are somehow mutually exclusive is able to read this and take comfort in its Truth.

Thank you to Netgalley for digital arc of this!

Growing up Catholic can be hard. I should know, I did. But growing up Catholic and queer is even harder. In “Hey Mary!,” Andrew Wheeler is able to weave in references that capture the experience of growing up Catholic in the modern day. This is not to say that the story is exclusive to the Catholic/queer experience. Mark, the main character is very relatable, not just as a closeted queer person, but as a kid trying to figure things out at a rough time in his life. Now couple that with “keeping up appearances” for everyone else, and it is no surprise that Mark is having a rough go of it. One of the notes that hit me the hardest was the way that the adults in Mark’s life would all give the platitude of “You can tell me anything,” and I know many of us have been there. They may be truthful and will be non judgmental but in the anxiety adolescent brain, you don’t trust anyone.
The clever use of biblical and artistic imagery was a great way to manifest what Mark was going through in his mind. It made it more “real” to the reader.
This is the type of book that would have been a Godsend, no pun intended, to me when I was Mark’s age. As someone who still struggles at time with where my beliefs lie, and where I fit in, “Hey, Mary!” is a touching, illuminating and profound story of love, and “Love is all that God is.”