They eventually become friends, and decide to steal important documents from the Confederates. Grace, a trans woman, is captured by Flor, a queer Latina outlaw. Gillman, whose As the Crow Flies was named a Stonewall Honor Book, delves into queer history and spins a witty and extravagant yarn about a dashing duo. Melanie Gillman thought of a Western LGBTQIA+ friendly adventure graphic novel (with cowboy hats and all), and Stage Dreams was born. Euphemisms and ambiguity leave readers to connect the dots in this Wild West whirlwind, though Grace’s peach-fuzz facial hair implies trans identity.

In this rollicking queer western adventure, acclaimed cartoonist Melanie Gillman (Stonewall Award. Both are smitten, and nervy Flor now has an accomplice for a daring plot involving a sly tailor, ball gowns, and espionage. Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman available in Trade Paperback on, also read synopsis and reviews. (“Despite appearances, it ain’t my intent to hurt you,” she later says, while tying her captive to a tree.) When Flor removes her prisoner’s bonnet, however, she meets an angry, green-eyed, apparently transgender beauty named Grace, who is en route to “the theater in San Francisco” and on the run from “conscription” into the Confederacy. “Fine young ladies always make for the best ransoms- and company!” Flor quips with a lascivious wink. Flor, a charismatic Latina outlaw, kidnaps Grace, a charming, upper-class trans woman. On cue, Flor swoops in, demanding loot and kidnapping a Southern belle, who modestly hides her face under a green bonnet. In Spring of 2019, Lerner Publishing Group’s imprint Graphic Universe will release Stage Dreams, a young adult graphic novel set in New Mexico Territory Desert in 1861, on the eve of the Civil War.

In the New Mexico Territory circa 1861, stagecoach passengers pass the time making conversation about Civil War strategies and Southwestern desperados. The Ghost Hawk-otherwise known as Flor-is a queer Latinx bandit with a bird-of-prey helpmate who wields a six-shooter and wears a leather hat atop her voluminous black mane.

Stage dreams by melanie gillman