GEEKED Magazine: Comics, culture, gender

Let me take a moment to introduce you to a friend of mine. We’ve been close for a couple of years now, after meeting at a party in Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London. They are geeky and feminist with a love of comics and we quickly bonded over discussions on popular culture and gender, plus a mutual love of illustration. My friend is called GEEKED and they are a biannual magazine (well, it’d be a kinda strange name for a person). They describe themselves as folk from the LGBTQ and allied communities, with a mission “to fashion a creative, intersectional platform and to foster a progressive, can-do community focused on human dignity and diversity” and, as you might imagine, I was instantly hooked.

Not long after the launch party, I was busy co-writing a piece for their second issue, entitled My Alternative Valentine (which is still available via back issues) and it was so lovely to see my name in print next to the work of other geeky feminists. The issues are jam packed with fascinating articles, insightful comic strips and lovely illustration. Not only are these magazines the perfect size to read on the commute, but there’s so much content that you’ll have to take care you don’t miss your stop! After issue 5, they decided to go digital only and so my second contribution – an article on underwear for The Sexy Issue – is only available online. This was great as even more people got to read my article, but I was delighted to hear recently that they were raising money to return to producing print issues. Apparently it wasn’t just me who loved holding a copy in my hands.

When we hit Con season last Spring/Summer, we were delighted to meet new people and hear what you loved most about GEEKED. What we were surprised to find is that now, more than ever, people wanted printed zines. Our readers were glad that they could access some content online, for free, but it meant a lot to them to have zines and comic books that spoke to their interests and that widened representation.

If you would like to hold the next copy of GEEKED Magazine in your hands, please pledge whatever you can to their Kickstarter campaign now. The money won’t be taken from your account until after the campaign ends, so there’s no need to delay. You’ll be helping to fund a gorgeous geeky chunk of intersectional feminism, a diverse creative community, and a truly special magazine. I really hope they meet their goal.