Hey, Mary! By the writer Andrew Wheeler ((Cats fight,,,,, Another castle) and visual storytellers Rye Hickman ((Haroningg, Dream dream) Released by ONI Press on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. It tells the story of a young Catholic boy, Mark, who learns to accept every aspect of himself.
Official description HeyMary! Read: “Mark is a good Catholic boy. He goes to church, he says his prayers, and he spends too much time worrying about hell. When Mark realizes his obsession with another boy in school, he tries to reconcile his feelings and faith because his faith is the centuries of shame and judgment, and his fears, and his fears, and the fears played in his fears. Key figures and legends in Catholic history include Arc, Michelangelo, St. Sebastian and Savonarola’s Joan.
Beat Talk to it Hey, Mary!Prior to the release of the graphic novel on April 15, 20225, his creative team, Andrew Wheeler and Rye Hickman. Continue reading to learn more about the nature of “strongly personal” Hey, Mary!how the book’s visual language developed, they released an experience of a story about “queer people in a family of faith” in this political environment, and Hickman’s fear of promoting travel to the work.
Ollie Kaplan: Inspired Hey, Mary!and its characters draw inspiration from your personal experiences? If yes, what role does Catholicism play in your life (if any)?
Andrew Wheeler: main character Hey, Mary! It was Mark, a teenager from a proud Catholic family whose feelings for his friend Luka were thrown into chaos. He sought guidance from the people throughout his life, but also received unexpected advice from saints and figures from history. You may see from that description this is not an autobiographical story! it yes Still, it’s a very personal story because it expresses the struggle between my own beliefs and queer people. I grew up in church, and Catholicism is the foundation of my values, beliefs and relationships with the universe! I went through this struggle, and in a sense, the book was an act of faith.
Kaplan: Rye, I can’t find information about your spiritual background, so feel free to answer this question if it matches your personal and/or family history.
Rye Hickman: I actually grew up in the evangelical church, which is why when Andrew approached me Hey, Mary! I was surprised at the similarities in the church with the teenage experiences of the protagonist Mark’s. Most of his struggles with faith and newly discovered queer seem fairly common, and I really look forward to this book attracting readers of various Christian denominations.
Kaplan: You tell GamesRadar That way, like Hey, Mary!The protagonist Mark, you grew up “strange in a family of faith.” How do you hope Mark’s story helps LGBTQ+ and cis readers understand what it feels like to be a queer in a faith family?
Wheeler: I want queer readers to see themselves at work, even if the experience is not entirely theirs, and I want everyone who reads it to see the humanity on both sides of the equation.
Kaplan: Are you intentionally trying to avoid or subvert any stereotypes or opponents, for example, does a story like Mark need to be told in different ways in mainstream media?
Wheeler: I don’t think I’m thinking from a stereotype perspective, either leaning towards them or staying away from them. I do want to approach Jojo’s character with special sensitivity, because Jojo is a gender performer, a cruel time for gender-diverse people and procrastinators. We have a scene where Jojo is reading to the kids in the library, who knows this will cause controversy?
Kaplan: How did you develop Hey MaryVisual language – especially visual cues that convey internal conflicts?
Hickman: I decided to ink Hey, Mary! Traditionally, I’ve always been a brush. Brush offers some extremely flexible and organic marker manufacturing opportunities that I often bring in to communicate internal conflicts. I extended Emanata’s idea to the background: long and sparse, dark, dark, vertical “speed line” when Mark felt desperate. I guess this is a bit experimental, but I’ve been doing some forms for a while. Traditionally when it was done, it worked well and I was really involved.
Kaplan: Is there any part Hey, Mary! Are you particularly proud of visual or narrative?
Hickman: The whole book is an amazing achievement – the comics take a lot of work, it’s a team effort! I am so grateful to our colorist Hank Jones for the thoughtful and gorgeous palette, as well as our letter Frank Cvetkovic for breathing life for the conversation. There is a sequence in this book where our non-binary resistance queen Jojo is retelling some biblical stories to Mark and his friend/Luka. I think teamwork does sing in that order. I’m very proud of it.
Wheeler: It was a happy collaboration and I am so grateful to Rye, Hank and Frank for bringing their hearts and souls to the page! The scene where Mark meets the Saints in the library is my favorite because of the saint’s personality and boldness of the sequence. Although the chapters that Mark and his parents sit at the end of the book really matter to the right attitude, Rye’s performance and storytelling do sell out this moment. We have a lot of fantastic moments in this book, but it’s a chapter where everything is absolutely rooted.
Kaplan: It’s a coming-of-age story, so I want to ask about your journey as a creative and a person. Like Mark, religious portraits play a role in understanding your sexual behavior and/or gender expression?
Hickman: I think religious portraits are an interesting shot that shows gender and gender expressions, but that’s where I’m very different from Mark, because Evangelical Symbolism was in the mid-2000s Vegetarian Storieswwjd bracelet and the emo sensitivity of choice, while emo kids pretend not to pay attention. Oh, and Stay behind I want video games. I’m kidding.
But Catholics are hyping here, at least I have experienced it in art history courses. I’m very fascinated by Sandro Bottlellithanks for one of them. Botticelli’s characters are elegant and idealistic, he is a rare painter, he seems to have to paint people first, the second time. I don’t know if this makes total sense, maybe I’m projecting, but there are certainly drawing manuals that insist that men and women should do differently from the first line you put down. I think you can see the difference, and most importantly, Botticelli depicts the fashion of gender expressions of his time in detail, but makes no sense to our modern architecture. All of this fascinates me and helps me see that the rigid binary binary of my world is invented and extended.
Wheeler: In terms of portraiture, Catholics absolutely eliminate it. The portrait of Saint Sebastian is a trigger for Mark’s awakening, and for good reason – a saint has set the bells in the minds of gay boys for centuries. San Sebastian and MichelangeloDavid is like the men’s lingerie aisle in a Catholic department store.
Of course, I have comics, Rick Leonardi‘ giant Just like awakening! The comics and the church are two places where boys can see their abs on the internet. There are some strange similarities between my relationship with Catholicism and my relationship with comics, because comics are another formial influence that feels homosexual and exclusive. Although we have seen progress, many of them are expressive. The comics industry is not making changes to past harms. The fact that I can tell this story in comics is like a victory.
Kaplan: I love the goat pictures on your social media account. Can you tell me more about your goat and how to get into the goat?
Wheeler: When I was a kid, I went on a farm outdoor trip where we all got a bag of animal feed and a goat stole my schoolbag and swallowed it. After that, I was scared of goats! But I like a wanderer, and I started to love goats precisely because they were unfairly disgusted by demons. The idea of the scapegoat, the innocence bearer of other people’s sins, is just one of the many insults that we can blame on Leviticus.
I was lucky enough to live near the city farm in Riverdale Farm (no Archie) so checking out “My Goat” has become a very pleasant excuse for an afternoon walk!
Kaplan: I heard you are attending Prism’s Q Con. Can you tell me what you are most looking forward to, why it is crucial to you to participate in the Small Queer Convention? (Note from the interviewer: Prism’s Q Con Podcast guests are confused!)
Hickman: I’m not sure where you heard it. I didn’t attend Prism’s Q Con this year. I do want to see if 2026 may be feasible. This sounds like a great experience! I’m glad it exists.
Kaplan: Do you want to add anything else?
Hickman: I’m very grateful to Oni for their support Hey, Mary! I’m glad that readers can experience it worldwide!
Wheeler: This is a terrible moment that will release the book into the world. I feel like I can’t even go to the United States to promote it safely, and this book may be difficult to attract those who need to read the most, because freedom in schools and libraries is a way to deprive them of their freedom. Oni is fearless for the support of this book, and I am grateful for it Comic rhythm To help us speak this news!
Hey, Mary! Launched on April 15, 2025 by Andrew Wheeler and Rye Hickman. It is published by Oni Press and published by Simon & Schuster. Get your copy hereWoolen cloth
