In his debut graphic novel for adults, Gaysians (Algonquin), Western Massachusetts–based YA cartoonist Mike Curato describes with warmth and humor a found family of four complex, relatable queer Asians living in Seattle in the early 2000s. We talked with Curato—whose book Flamer is one of the most banned books in the country—about developing his multiethnic characters, the freedom of writing without the burden of self-censorship, and more.
Your story takes place in the early aughts in Seattle. Why that specific place and time?
It's based on when I moved to Seattle myself in 2003. I was freshly out of the closet and didn't really have any experience. I made my first gay friends there, and a lot of them happened to be Asian. I really lucked out! For the first time in my life, I felt like I was seen in this three-dimensional way. My friends and I could converse in shorthand—I didn't need to explain certain things to them. The character AJ is the newbie character, and he’s basically me.
Did you base any of your other characters on people you know?
I identify with all the characters, and feel like they each sort of represent different times in my life. But all of the main characters—and some supporting characters—are amalgamations of people I know and people I've interviewed. I interviewed a lot of people, because to represent experiences that are not my own it was important to me to hear what other people have been through. The book is dedicated to three of my Asian friends from Seattle, and some of the characters were kind of loosely based on them in the beginning. Then they became their own people as the book progressed.
Did you have any specific challenges in switching from YA to create a story by and for adults?
It felt very liberating to write for adults, because I didn’t feel restricted in any way. I have experienced a lot of restrictive feedback from some people in the past regarding some of my work. But for this, I just said what I needed to say and let that be my guiding light. I've always had great support from my agent who's always told me not to self-censor, to write down everything that I want to say—and if editorial wants to change anything, that can be a conversation later. This is indeed an adult book. Even on my website, there's a content warning. I don't know if this book will be banned, but I’m sure someone will try.
I try not to get hung up on that because that’s what book banners want. They want to intimidate creators from creating. And I refuse to do that. I think people are good at making their own decisions when it comes to picking up a book. If anyone comes across something that they're not ready for, they'll put it down.
Do you have anything else you would like to say about the book?
Essentially what this story is about is people forming their own family. When the world tears them apart, it's up to them to come back together and build something stronger. It’s important to me that we’re all focused on building community right now, at a time when there’s so much division and so much fear within marginalized communities. The message is that we’re struggling, but we can struggle together and make something beautiful in the process.
