Before BeatOur comic crowdfunding review column Come out to play: Queer Sportsnow alive on Kickstarter April 3, 2025.
Come out to play is a complete comic anthology with over 200 pages covering LGBTQ+ people and their experience in sports and providing contributions from well-known queer comic creators such as Josh Trujillo,,,,, Sophie Labelleand Mans Fakeand famous sports figures such as NFL veterans RK Russell and the Hockey Hall of Fame Angela James.
Beat Meet the sports comic creator Megan Praz and Meghan Kemp-Geeco-edited Come out to play The Stacked Deck Press anthology discusses the inspiration behind the LGBTQ+ sports anthology via email and why it is so crucial to discuss queer in sports now.
Ollie Kaplan: What prompted you to create this LGBTQ sports anthology?
Megan Praz: For me, it’s about combining my greatest passion for life: sports, art and LGBTQ+ themes. Meghan has been working on comics with me for over a decade. We love sports comics. We wrote sports comedy graphic novel Another year. As we wrote that book, we began to realize that there were a lot of other sports stories to tell, but some of them weren’t what we were going to say. We realized there was a lot of potential to tell comic stories about sports and we wanted to provide a platform for other creators.
Meghan Kemp-Gee: Come out and play! Originally Megan’s creativity Tara Avery. They met at Wondercon last year and suddenly realized that no one had done an LGBTQ-themed sports anthology before. Tara likes: “No one has done this before?!” I immediately joined the ship. Like Megan, I have a passion for sports art and sports storytelling. My dissertation is about sports literature and sports poetry, and I firmly believe that there is this inherent connection between sports and art human expression. This anthology may sound like a “niche”, but it is not! People are very eager for stories like this: stories that celebrate the full joy and pain of sports, identity and experience.
Kaplan: I like the sample story of RK Russell, which explores the relationship between football and the game of war. What topic or information do you want to convey through this anthology?
Kemp-Gee: Yes, isn’t it good? In my essay study of sports poetry, I first encountered Russ’ poetry. I might be wrong, but I think he is probably the only professional athlete to publish a collection of poems! I read his collection Prison or passion, Then his memoir The yard between us. Russ is a great storyteller, especially his use of images and descriptions of movements really make himself suitable for the comics. This is his comic writing debut, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be what he did last time!
Leek: It is very important for us to find the right artist to perform Russian provocative imagery, and finding Wilfred Santiago is a godsend. He is the author of Roberto Clemente’s graphic novel and Michael Jordan’s graphic novel…but Wilfred respects more than just the movement. He is very critical and there is a darkness in his views. This is the perfect pairing.
Kemp-Gee: We are excited about the outcome of “football is not a war”. It is a provocative observation of sacrifices, violence and professional sports that only Russ and Wilfred can create.
Leek: We can then place this story side by side with a stupid story, like the history of science fiction, or a story about putting underwear on a goat in a gay rodeo. Or the life memoir of an independent cartoonist Richard Fairgray or Sonia Saturdaythey have a more complex or more reversible relationship with sports.
Kemp-Gee: I think this is one of the messages from this anthology: Great sports stories are real stories, and real stories come from all kinds of places.
Kaplan: This anthology includes stories from various contributors to Angela James, The first and only black woman on the Captain Canada National Women’s Hockey Team, former NFL star RK Russell, hairy comic creator Knave Murdoch, and Marvel/DC Powerhouse Josh Trujillo. How did you choose to choose contributors and their stories?
Leek: In many cases, they come to us! They saw the call to submit comments and were very excited about selling the story. You feel the enthusiasm and enthusiasm as our inbox starts to fill the court!
Kemp-Gee: I’m going to yell at Tara Avery. We also really want to get in touch with people like Angela James because we know she has a story to tell. Like RK Russell, she is obviously already a well-known sports figure, but it feels different to being a profile athlete and letting people see the story.
Kaplan: What role does the representative play in this anthology and why is it crucial in the context of sports?
Leek: Our trans siblings and teammates are currently under attack. Movement is often the focus of these attacks. But I think movement is a space of unity, not a space of division.
Kemp-Gee: I think that’s why transgender aggression is often focused on sports. Actually, I think this is why people use movements to promote racism, sexism, and homophobia. Because sports is the space where people can work together and learn about the closure of themselves and others. As Megan said, we have to make a stand for this particular space and we have to do it now.
Leek: I heard Elton John Saying sports and music are two things that generally bring people together. I will expand it to sports and art.
Kemp-Gee: I’m skeptical about “showing” because sometimes I feel people are as close to it as a list or aesthetic. One thing I love about this book is that it embodies the diversity and contrast of our community. From celebrations to extreme criticism, we all have stories and creators about all the different movements. We have stories of career and amateur sports from 20-year-old creators and are respected in our community from communities on five continents. There is real power in such a team.
Kaplan: Can you share any outstanding stories or articles from the selected collection that you think will resonate with your readers?
Leek: We think this anthology is the perfect puzzle. I don’t think you can bring any of these out and make the book still work like it!
Kemp-Gee: what to do ScoutA story about the “invisible” trans girl competing in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship?
Leek: Or what to do Andy gets marriedThe story “like a lonely soul catching fire”? It’s about falling in love with running and falling in love with teammates, with gorgeous color stories.
Kemp-Gee: We also have a story about ballet Jam code and Tristan Crane. I know some people will say, “Is dancing a sport?” and I won’t answer this question, but trust me, you need to read this story before you decide! ((Interviewer’s Note: As a former dancer, I have some strong opinions on this topic, but can also let the reader decide.)
Kaplan: Why is representation in LGBTQ+ sports literature important and how does it affect readers and athletes? What feedback or impact do you want from the LGBTQ+ community, athletes and allies?
Leek: Queer people always play sports and always play sports. As RK Russell said, “Queer and track and field are not contradictory, but are deeply intertwined.”
Kemp-Gee: However, many people are talking about about LGBTQ+ athlete.
Leek: This is our goal: to continue to build this community, build conversations and tell these stories.
Kaplan: Do you imagine this anthology being part of a bigger sport to bring more LGBTQ+ sound into the sports world on and off the court? How do you hope this anthology can contribute to the ongoing conversations about the inclusion of LGBTQ+ in sports?
Leek: I know this book means a lot to me when I was a kid. That’s the core of why I want to do this. To prove that I have a community for me, I can be myself on the court and on the court.
Kemp-Gee: People have been frustrated with our conversations, my whole life as an athlete and a female athlete. The athlete’s body is the focus of many harmful narratives, and I want to flip this! We can tell our own stories and what movement means to us.
Kaplan: Are there any challenges or surprises when planning the anthology?
Kemp-Gee: Honestly, the editing process is usually not only smooth, but it is constantly inspiring! As we see them take shape, the stories in this book keep surprise and delighting us…the contributor teams are doing great work. Even if you are already familiar with the creators in the book, they will be surprised and happy about what they are doing here!
Leek: The only challenge we have left is to complete the funding! Our Kickstarter is still alive until April 3, and it’s a huge opportunity for us to bring these stories into the world. Join us! This is an interesting team.
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