Military "Gay Ban" Comic, Coming Home #2, to Debut at Thought Buble

Article Summary

• Coming Home #2 debuts at Thought Bubble, sharing UK veteran stories during the military "Gay Ban".
• Features art by Ed Firth and Anna Readman, plus other top LGBTQ+ and allied artists.
• Comic explores veterans' mental health impacts from the ban, co-created with Re-Live and Fighting With Pride.
• Releases widely on January 8, 2025, marking 25th anniversary of "Gay Ban" lift in UK Armed Forces.

Coming Home, the comic that sees British LGBT+ military veterans share experiences of serving in the UK Armed Forces during its "Gay Ban", will release its second volume for Thought Bubble Comic Con next weekend in Harrogate, at the Re-Live stall D20 in Redshirt Hall. Coming Home will be more widely released on the 8th of January 2025 to mark the 25th anniversary of the lifting of the ban in 2000. The comic book shares a diverse range of experiences from trans fighter pilot Caroline to RAF Flight Lieutenant Steve, who was jailed for a consensual relationship with another man.

Coming Home features artwork from artists including Ed Firth, the creator behind the ongoing Horny & High anthology comic who is currently Artist in Residence at The Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles; cartoonist and illustrator Anna Readman who won the Observer/Faber Graphic Short Story Prize for Dancing Queen; Ria Grix whose work has appeared in The New Scientist and Star Trek Magazine and AJ O'Neill, an Irish LGBTQ+ freelance illustrator, graphic artist and choreographer.

The second issue focused on the impact of the ban on veterans' mental health and has been co-created by Arts in Health charity Re-Live, in partnership with Fighting With Pride, the LGBTQ+ military veterans charity. Under the ban, thousands of LGBTQ+ service personnel were subjected to surveillance and interrogation, and suffered Court Martials, dismissals for conduct unbecoming, and even imprisonment. Many were left with a mental health legacy from the shame and punishments inflicted. The 'Gay Ban' was ultimately lifted for LGBTQ+ members of the Armed Forces on 12th January 2000.

The stories told in Coming Home reflect the complex and diverse experiences of LGBTQ+ people who have served over the past decades. Flight Lieutenant Caroline Paige MBE became the first openly serving transgender officer in the British Armed Forces in 1999; Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Craig Jones MBE came out on the day that the Gay Ban was lifted in January 2000; Flight Lieutenant Steve Purves joined the RAF in 1972 as an electrical engineer and in 1985 was sentenced to six months in prison for a consensual relationship with another man and Corporal Ruth Birch and Private Julia Currey, who met while serving with the British Army in 1980s, began a secret relationship with its own coded messages. They were eventually discovered by the Army, forcing them to split up following interrogation by the Special Investigation Branch; Ruth & Ju were reunited 22 years later in Porthcawl, south Wales and were finally married in 2017.

Re-Live's Karin Diamond and Steve Sullivan worked alongside each veteran over eight months to hear their mental health stories and explore how they could best become scripts for comic stories. The scripted stories were then sent to leading British LGBTQ+ and allied comic artists, chosen for their work's compatibility with each story. These include leading LGBTQ+ artist

The artists shared their work at each stage of its creation, from first rough sketches, through to the finished inked and coloured pages, and allowed the veterans and Re-Live to have input at every stage, ensuring that the finished work is an honest and accurate reflection of the veterans' real-life experiences.

Karin Diamond, co-editor, Coming Home comic said: "It's been an honour to work with this group of LGBT+ veteran storytellers and support them to share such powerful mental health stories. When I first heard some of these stories it's hard not to think 'that's unbelievable' but the fact that these are true stories makes them all the more impactful. We hope that the comic reaches other veterans who might be holding their own mental health stories and helps them to see they're not alone and that it is OK to take the first step in getting some help and support. We also hope Coming Home enlightens and informs comic readers about some of the hidden struggles members of our Armed Forces go through."

Flight Lieutenant Steve Purves, who is telling his story for the first time, said: "I had a profound experience on our cosmic comic journey. I found this to be a hugely imaginative exploration and capture of memories of my life through dialogue and questions. There were tears, tantrums and tiaras and a lot of fun. The whole process was exhausting but cathartic. Not once did Steve or Karin give up on me and they really pushed me to delve deep resulting in the end product for which I am enormously grateful and proud. The fuel for the comic was my story which was a jumble of memories, recollections and emotions and much rambling. I know for certain that without the professional eyes and hands of both Steve and Karin I would have been unable to provide a cohesive story. I had a 13 year career in the Royal Air Force having joined at 16, which contained much trauma some of which manifested in our sessions. I am super proud to have been allowed to be a part of this project and it has made me feel as though I do have a story worth telling.I love the way that they have been both playful and serious about the portrayal of myself, warts and all. This is a boost to my confidence and clarity of mind and I can't thank them enough for the peace of mind I feel now. I am delighted with what we have produced for posterity by capturing how the Ban affected my life and Military Service. The process raised some surprising issues that I have been holding for some time, for which I am seeking the help of Op COURAGE, the Veterans mental health service at St. Pancras Hospital."

Flight Lieutenant Caroline Birch said: "I found the comic-making process a truly exciting way to explore my story. It was harder work than I had initially imagined, reaching back to some very difficult parts of my life and recalling them in enough detail to visually present the impacts, consequences and emotions. But the support and understanding I had in doing that was brilliant, and there was a welcome balance in capturing the positive and exciting times too. When I saw the artist's first draft images, I realised what a privilege it was to have my story told in this way. I'd had to trust my life story into the hands of someone I had never met previously, and that's a big worry and a big responsibility for them too, but seeing how it developed and the care that was taken, and the genuine commitment to get it absolutely right. I felt a sense of relief, and pride."

Private Julia Curry said: "I found it hard opening up such a traumatic experience, but because of Karin and Steve's kind and understanding personalities I felt at ease sharing the trauma. It was a shock at first seeing myself drawn as a younger woman and it put us straight back into the Army environment.  Our artist Anna Readman has picked up our personalities in her drawings perfectly.  We were there reliving it with her drawings. It was fantastic to have our input into her work because our story isn't made up, it isn't fiction.  And as perfect as her artwork was, having input into the process meant we could still change things that weren't quite right and make sure it was just as we remembered it. I am a comic fan and to think I am now in one is unbelievable.  Who would have thought when we were being interrogated in the early 1990's that thirty years later we'd be characters in a comic.  It's mind blowing! Making a comic has been such a great way to tell our story as people can see it, read and digest the pictures in a relatively short space of time. I love the fact that we will reach a new audience for comic readers."

Her wife Corporal Ruth Birch adds: "I couldn't wait to see the drawings of myself and Ju and as we went through each page. We were just amazed at how we looked and although we haven't met our artist Anna yet she totally captured our spirit and souls so completely.  To be able to make some of the changes to just keep improving on what was practically perfection was a rewarding part of the process.  To be involved in the comic journey right through to the printing is like being there at conception and birth I suppose! It's truly awesome to see myself in the comic. Ju and I are now immortalised in a comic book…forever!  I am a big fan of comic books, like my wife Ju, and to think that the next time I go into a comic store our comic will be there is an amazing feeling."

Lieutenant Commander Craig Jones, MBE said: "Seeing each panel is like taking a step back in time for me. It is incredible to be able to watch important moment in my life come alive on every page. Some of those times were moments of great challenge and some were moments of celebration, but in the fullness of time, I have cherished them all. Seeing them recorded in this way is truly amazing. The process of creating the comic strip was painstaking and at each stage I saw the images getting ever closer to my memories. This immensely talented team dedicated many months of work to the task and took great care to capture these moments from my real life and service. It's fantastic to see my past brought to life in this way and it's something I will read many times and cherish forever. The Coming Home project brings to life part of the history of our Armed Forces which was so nearly lost. In these stories we see both selfless service to our nation and the journey of discovery which is faced by all LGBT+ people. Comics are a medium of storytelling which engages with a wide range of readers including younger adults and older people, so it's the perfect way for new readers to learn these important histories."

Ed Firth said: "I felt a sense of duty of occupying the role of Queer Historian, to distil a visual narrative from memories, with accurate period detail. This was my first time working from someone else's script. I enjoyed the process and the challenge of bringing someone's recollections to life in a way that felt true to their experience, but also involve and intrigue the reader. It's important that generations following after the narrators from this anthology understand: nobody is going to give you your rights, but they are going to chip away at them constantly – you have to participate in democracy, communicate who you are and what you need, and where laws and statutes need to change, add your voice to those already addressing these problems and help resolve them together. Even if you don't do politics, politics will do you. A minority of straight people's bizarre obsession with queer sex lives and sexual identities will always endanger our freedoms, so we have to be vigilant always, and demand respect where it lapses, curate happiness, and protect safe spaces. Don't wait for someone to bring it to you on a silver platter."

Anna Readman said: "Bringing Ruth and Ju's story to life was an important task to get right, and it was a huge privilege to be given the opportunity to do so. They faced tremendous challenges in their lives to be themselves and to be together, but as they bring so much joy and life to the world, I could use a lot of humour to naturally balance the darker moments, conveying nuances that can be understood by all. As this is such a personal story, I wanted every aspect of the art to complement it, so I decided to hand-letter the captions and dialogue to make it as expressive and unique to character as possible. As I was also given a lot of research and reference images to work from, I knew that getting the details right was also as important as the characters, so I really tried to make everything as accurate and true to life as I could – even tracking down the correct vintage Garfield posters in Ruth's room! This was also the first time I have coloured my work in a professional capacity, so that was a nice opportunity and artistic process to be trusted with I knew being LGBTQ+ was looked down upon, but I didn't realise the extent and nastiness of the harassment and destruction that the Armed Forces caused to their hardworking and loyal LGBTQ+ members, and it is heartbreaking. Reading Ruth and Ju's story was a real eye-opener, and I'm hoping that by illustrating it their story can be read and shared by many more."

Coming Home #2 will be on sale through comic shops from Wednesday, the 8th of January, 2025. Customers wishing to buy Coming Home issue 2 can pre-order it from their local comic shop with the Diamond order code DEC241815, next month. The comic will also be available to order online directly from Re-Live's shop at www.re-live.org.uk from January 8th 2025.