PRIDE MONTH 2025! With its emphasis on the convergence of sexuality and faith writer Andrew Wheeler and artist Rye Hickman’s Hey, Mary! from Oni Press tackles an important subject in queer lived experience; the disconnection that can occur between religious upbringing and personal identity. Our protagonist here is Mark, a schoolboy struggling to reconcile his closeted homosexuality with his religious upbringing. His emerging feelings for his friend Luka, who is out and unashamed of his gayness, set him on a journey of self-discovery as he seeks to come to an understanding of himself.
As a child Mark would have imaginary conversations with the Virgin Mary. Wheeler uses this as a device for his character to interact with queer figures from history who advise and mentor him as the story progresses. A visit to the library, for example, sees him encountering Joan of Arc, while other key individuals to appear to him this way include Michelangelo, Francis of Assisi and Saint Sebastian. Wheeler also uses this approach as a tool to introduce readers to some lesser known LGBTQIA figures who have contributed to religious thought across the centuries. But, as his repressed nature continues to supress his true self, Mark’s friendship with Luka starts to deteriorate and he questions how anyone can consider themselves both gay and Catholic.
Hey, Mary! is a book of balances – the Catholic church’s history of abuse is explored while a more enlightened supporting character, a younger priest, gives a more nuanced and liberal take on how Christianity’s stance should be to support and cherish people of all sexualities. A friendship with a local drag artiste also gives some contemporary input. It’s thoughtful and introspective without being indulgent or sentimental, and it’s realistic about the realities it portrays, particularly as we come to the end of Mark’s odyssey of self-acceptance.
Rye Hickman’s visuals are impressive in the way they inject the fantasy elements of the story into its everyday, slice-of-life setting without the one ever compromising the other. Hickman’s visual characterisation carries so many of the key emotional sequences of the story and the use of religious iconography at the beginning of each chapter heading adds an extra thematic emphasis. This is a mature, considered and compassionate look at the questions involved that would make insightful reading for a YA audience.
Andrew Wheeler (W), Rye Hickman (A) • Oni Press, $17.99
Review by Andy Oliver
