Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Listen. "I turned my childhood friend (♂) into a girl" sounds like it might be bad right? Wrong. This is an incredibly sweet BL but CRUCIALLY it really beautifully handles being GNC, gender exploration, navigating queer identity, coming-of-age into queer identities, and even aro/ace identity!

September 23, 2025 at 7:53 AM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

I need to gush about this super underrated manga! Hanamonogatari is about a mature women finding new love, bonding over makeup and food and everday joys. The protagonist is a widow who is finding ways to grow and change and be happy in her retirement and how to handle pressures from her family.

Manga gover of Hanamonogatari. A mature woman with parted hair and a red shirt sits in front of a table covered in makeup supplies. Behind her, to the left, is another woman with blonde hair wearing green jewellery who is doing the first woman's makeup. The japanese title is written down theright.

September 23, 2025 at 7:38 AM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

I was going to save this for my comic haul but I have to gush about it now. "Bandita" is part of the Dominican Superheroes comics and its so fun and sincere with really powerful serious monents as she saves exploited girls. Obsessed with her.

An illustration of a brown girl in a pink and blue cowboy outfit with a big hoop earring, holding a silver gun. Behind her is a blue cloudy sky. At the top in pink, western-movie style font is the title Bandita

August 2, 2025 at 6:31 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Twinstar Cyclone Runaway" is a really cool, fantastical scifi about piloting shapeshifting spaceships and unearthing big world secrets. I love it SO much.

Illustration of two girls upside-down, arms around each other, both wearing scifi outfits. One has silver short hair and a maid headband. The other has long pinkish hair.
The background is blue and there is bold yellow japanese text going down either side and in the centre of the illustration.

July 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

I don't know where to begin on "Scoob and Shag". Imagine a goofy edgy gag comic strip turning into the coolest high-stakes epic cartoon crossover you've ever read

Simplified and stylised line drawing of Scooby Doo and Shaggy standing back to back at an angle

July 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Yes literally everyone is reading Green Yuri already, but if you're NOT... "The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All" is a visually gorgeous manga with so much personality and a banger taste in music 🤘

Manga cover with a neon green baclground and black and white illustration. The title on the left hand corner reads "THE GUY SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WASN'T A GUY AT ALL 1" and the authors name in the middle reads "SUMIKO ARAI".
Two characters are sat back-to-back on an unplugged amp in the middle. One is wearing dark clothes with their hood pulled up and a mask covering the lower half of their face, giving a masculine appearance. The other is a girl with long wavy hair, a longsleeve jacket and a short skirt.

July 13, 2025 at 9:52 AM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Also happy pride! Some banger looks from your fav queer writer, failed influencer and lazy youtuber

Selfie of a person with short black hair wearing a beret, multicoloured pastel shirt tucked into pink culottes, kneesocks, blue boots and holding a pony shaped handbag.

Selfie of a person with short dark hair wearing a pink blazer over a grey waistcoat, and a blue tie that matches their wide-leg trousers.

June 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Also have some of my cosplay pics from MCM Expo ✨️ if you took a pic of me as Sylveon or Merlin (no one recognised "Hikaru" lmao) please lmk!! 💖

Gijinka Sylveon cosplayer in a giant Tamagotchi frame with a Tamagotchi background

Merlon cosplayer from BBC Merlin posing in front of a stack of giant books

Hikaru cosplayer pointing comically at a poster for The Summer Hikaru Died

June 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Oska coded characters

I really really resonate with out-of-place characters who are trying so hard to be liked

Tomoko Kuroki from Watamote.
Messy dark-haired anime schoolgirl with eyebags pointing at the viewer.

Gwenpool comic cover.
She wears a white and pink superhero outfit with shinpads. She steps put of a comic panel and is holding up Captain America's shield and has other superhero belongings in her hands and inside a bag. The bag is shaped like Jeff the Land Shark.

Tamaki Souh from Ouran High School Host Club.
He is a blonde anime highschool boy in a blue blazer. The room around him is ornate and pretty with a vase of red roses.

"Hikaru" from The Summer Hikaru Died.
Manga panel of a fluffy haired schook boy. Half if his face is melting in eerie, abstract, black shapes. A black speechbubble from him says "My imitation was supposed to be perfect..."

February 7, 2025 at 6:28 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Hero-San and Former General-San" aka "Superwomen In Love!"
I cannot get over this manga. The villain falls in love with the hero at first sight and immediately converts to the good side. A cute, goofy love story with larger-than-life characters AND big action scenes including MECHA BATTLES!!

Two half-portraits of a superhero and supervillain on opposing sides.
On the left the hero's helmet is white with blue glowing eyes, a blue sideplate, and a pink piece at the front. She has a metal antannae piece at the top next to a small yellow light. Her under-armour is black.
On the left the villain has a black flaired helmet with bright pink highlighted edges and a bright pink curved antennae coming out the top. Three vibrant green lines lie over where her eyes are. Her grey face beneath is held by pink metal that matches her pink lips and goes down the side of her neck. She has bright blue hair and green fur on her shoulder.

January 31, 2025 at 10:15 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Goblins"
This was on my to-read for YEARS before I actually got to it, and when I did I became obsessed. Funny, a real crowd-pleaser for d&d lovers, funky character designs, really compelling character dynamics and growth, and some really big epic plotlines. One of THE webcomics tbh

A lineup of the Goblins cast Left to Right.
Back row:
A green-haired woman with an earthy green snake tail that curls into the foreground. She has a blue metal collar on her neck and wears a purple tunic.
A dwarf man with a brown bear wearing bulky white and blue plate armor.
A shirtless human man who has a scar running through one eye. He has a purple cape hanging off his shoulder and pale blue armor on one arm.
A big green lizard-like monstrous character wearing only one piece of shoulder armor. His tail curves into the foreground opposing the snake woman's tail.
A floating grey ball wih a simple smiling mouth and a pair of arms.
Front row:
A yellow goblin with chunky ears and glowing eyes. He is wearing black paladin armour and holding a black axe. The armor and axe also have glowing marks on them.
A green goblin in torn brown clothes and a fuzzy fake moustache. His eyes are facing opposite directions and he has the word MONSTER cut across his forehead.
A shirtless orange goblin with scales going down his chest holding a glowing purple sword.
A darker orange shirtless goblin with only one ear holding a silver sword. He is wearing light armour on his lower body and has a scar over one eye.
A green goblin with an eyepatch holding spear. He has a metal headpiece on, shoulderpads and torn lothes.
An earthy green goblin who looks afraid of the lizard monster behind him. He has one vibrantly green arm and is wearing light plate armour.
A pale orange goblin woman with shaggy orange hair wearing a grey ctop-top and fitted leggings that reveal her navel and hip.
A shirtless white goblin with fluffy grey hair and black square markings over his chest.

January 31, 2025 at 10:01 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Mage & Demon Queen" is absolutely one of my top recommended yuri webtoons. A big epic RPG-style fantasy adventure about an adventurer who is in love with the big bad villain, the Demon Queen.
Full of hilarious moments, gorgeous art and a great cast of fun characters.

January 30, 2025 at 4:55 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"The Way of the House Husband"
I genuinely think this manga appeals to everyone. Very funny, great artwork, high drama with low stakes, dynamic action scenes and an endless cast of loveable characters all in this unique slice-of-life about an ex-yakuza turned house-husband.

Manga cover of The Way of the House Husband volume 1 by Kousuke Oono.
At the centre mean-looking man with brushed-back hair and yellow sunglasses wearing a black tshirt and a cute doggy apron carries a grocery bag with leaks and milk sticking out. He has tattoos visible under the collar of his shirt and a scar down his face. Behind him is a grocery shop with green striped awning and lots of yellow discount posters.
The manga title is written in brown brush calligraphy and appears to be smoking.

January 30, 2025 at 4:51 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Yuri / GL / shoujo ai / WLW comic rec thread

Starting with my fav "Beauty and the Beast Girl". A blind girl and a monster girl fall in love and a tragic past is brought to light.
The digital release extends further than the re-drawn paper published edition.

A coloured manga illustration of two women smiling at each other, floating over a white background with pink flowers.
One of them is a monster girl with purple hair, purple cat ears, a horn, a yellow spined lizard tail and scaley arms. She is wearing a black wraparound top, a pink scarf, brown gloves, purple baggy suspended trousers and black boota.
The other woman has a blonde bob and is wearing a green dress and grey flat shoes.

January 26, 2025 at 6:44 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou"
Cozy and gentle post-apocalypse setting. An android looking after her absent master's cafe and the varied people remaining on the empty planet.
Probably my fav scifi ever. I cannot recommend this enough!

A full colour manga illustration of a greenhaired woman wearing a white shirt and brown trousers. She is leaning against the back of a yellow motorbike. Behind her is a view of long trass and a path leading down to a lake and a big sky woth fluffy clouds. The japanese title overlays the illustration on the left side.

January 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"The Summer Hikaru Died"
Yoshiki's best friend and secret crush is dead, and a monster now inhabits his skin. Together they have to unravel the secrets and myths of the surrounding mountains, all while "Hikaru" tries to understand what it is to be human. This is *the* queer horror manga!

Fully coloured manga illustration of two schoolboys walking through the countryside, with an eerie red reflection beneath their feet. One of the schoolboys has dark hair partially covering his eyes, the other has white fluffy hair and is pointing at a yellow and black striped spider on a web that is in the foreground.
Behind them is lush green fields that meet a traditional japanese building, and behind it a bushy tree-lined mountain. A telephone pole and wires run along a small path.
Beneath them in the red reflection, only the legs of the dark-haired boy is shown. The white haired boy's feet aren't reflected.
A small caption in the lower right corner reads The Summer Hikaru Dued, Mokumokuren 2022, Kadokawa Corporation.

January 25, 2025 at 11:02 AM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Saga"
A family on the run in the midst of intergalactic war, harbouring their illegal child. Incredible scenery and character design, cool tech, everyone is a mess and the death toll keeps going up. Sex, blood and rock and roll.

Saga comic cover showing an illustration of two figures in front of a blue circle with a white background. The title is at the top in orange, with the names of the creators who are Brian K. Vauhan and Fiona Staples. Beneath the title it says Chapter One.
The two figures are a brown-skinned woman with small green wings. She has dark hair with green highlights, a black skirt, and her beige shirt is open so she can breastfeed a baby in her arm, which is swaddled in a blanket. In her other hand she carries a thin gun.
Beside her is a man with paler skin and rams horns on his head. He wears a brown coat over a green jacket and an orange tshirt, and black jeans. He has a knife in a black sheath held in one hand, and his other hand is around the woman.
The blue circle behind them has white specks like stars.

January 23, 2025 at 5:35 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Ava's Demon"
Stunningly beautiful space-fantasy webcomic. Single-panel pages with the occasional animation. Adventure, a rag-tag team, awesome powers, high stakes drama and rebellion against an inter-galactic fascist dictatorships. Slow to update but always worth the wait!

Ava's Demon book cover with e central illustration in a red border with the title at the top. It is book one: Reborn.
The central illustration shows Ava, a young girl with long hair holding a book. She has horns and orage eyes and sharp teeth. She wears a dress that wraps around her like bandages, and has a square panel on her checks with a key-hole in it. She is coloured in pink and orange. Above her stands a bright orange and yellow demon woman who also has horns that point downwards and spiked teeth. She wears a toga-style dress and a circlet.
To Ava's right is a girl with brown skin and green curly hair tied in a ponytail. She is holding a green flower and wears a green tshirt. There are butterflies and plant vines around her. Above her stands a robot woman with pale blue skin and wite armor. Her hair is short and blue and her eyes are entirely blue. She has white robot cat ears with blue insides. She is weilding a white sword.
To Ava's left is a boy with dusky skin holding a small book. He has short dark hair and wears a torn purple tshirt. His eyes are dark and his pupils are bright red. There are purple dragonflies around him. Above him is a boy with blue skin and short white hair. He wears a black tunic and there are bubbles floating around him. Behind him are bright pink coral formations.
The border is a red filligree pattern with golden celestial patterns over the top.
At the bottom is the creator's name, Michelle Fus.

January 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

"Wayne Family Adventures"
This really charming WebToonoffers a very domestic slice-of-life side to the Batman comics. The characters are a lot more mellow than usual but it's all about the loving vibes and getting to see the kids be their age and the BatFam be a family!

January 20, 2025 at 9:45 PM

Oska

@oskawrites.bsky.social

Ongoing comic reads thread:

"No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular" aka Watamote.
If i could call anything a guilty pleasure it's this manga. It's as awful as it is wholesome. A 4chan incel highschool girl learns to befriend normie girls who are secretly also weirdos.