CUTES
Collected Queer and Trans Comics

Language and Drawing as Equal Actors

Cutes is a collective book of contemporary queer and trans comics that explores the multiple facets of LGBTQIA+ identity through the medium of graphic storytelling. The anthology was co-created by Nour Hifaoui and Joseph Kai of Lebanese comics collective Samandal and artist Nino Bulling in the frame of documenta fifteen. Featuring contributions from Lebanon, Germany, Singapore and beyond, Cutes offers a fresh and deeply personal look at our bodies, emotions and desires.

The book includes short stories by twelve artists covering a wide array of styles and genres: from hot romance to trans superheroines and meditations on gender and identity. Cutes is a bilingual publication in English and Arabic, addressing the very use of language in comics and the politics of translation. 

Participating artists
Aki Hassan, Bär Kittelmann, Barrack Rima, Bilge Emir, Joseph Kai, Michel Esselbrügge, Mloukhiyyé Al-Fil, Natyada Tawonsri, Nino Bulling, Nour Hifaoui, Nygel Panasco, Romy Matar

About the editorial team
Samandal is a collective of artists dedicated to comics, based in Beirut and Paris. Samandal collects and publishes comics from the Arab region and beyond with the aim to provide a platform for alternative expressions of graphic storytelling in cultural and social issues. Nino Bulling works as a freelance cartoonist and author in Berlin. Shorter and longer works by Nino have been published in book form, online or in anthologies since 2012.