Bingo Love (2018)

Synopsis

When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-’60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage. From TEE FRANKLIN (NAILBITER’s “THE OUTFIT,” Love is Love) and JENN ST-ONGE (Jem & The Misfits), BINGO LOVE is a touching story of love, family, and resiliency that spans over 60 years.

From: Image Comics

Notes on This Title

None.

Awards

30th GLAAD Media Awards Nominee for Outstanding Comic Book

Reviews

“The story of Hazel and Mari acknowledges the way homophobia can disrupt lives and yet suggests it cannot stop the hands of fate or prevent true love from finding fruition. What sets Bingo Love apart is how different the main characters are compared to the usual stars of comic books and graphic novels. It’s not just that much of the story revolves around two black women over 50, but also that the art is remarkably true to lives of real women. That authenticity is in dark skin, black hair, full figures, visible stretch marks, and more. “Why would I create a book with older women as leads and not have stretch marks or saggy boobs on them?” Franklin asked The Advocate earlier this year.” (Source: The Advocate)

“Bingo Love is the perfect storm of representation for queerness, Black women (who are desperately absent from mainstream comics, and not for lack of desire or effort on their part), larger bodies, and age — as we follow Elle and Mari from age 13 all the way into their eighties, as time becomes as much an antagonist as the presumption that good girls marry good boys and make babies. … There’s so much to be said about the virtues this art team brings to the story, from the deliberate shades of brown skin colors by San, to the power that letterer Cardinal Rae gives to certain key moments. It matters when an internal sigh is tucked tiny into a panel corner as much as the way word balloons trail when the speaker is losing steam or confidence. It’s rare to see a creative team so in sync with the delivery of a vision, but when you are developing a graphic novel that will likely have as much shelf-life and importance as Bingo Love, it’s critical.” (Source: Comicosity)

“This is a romance with a happy ending that both younger and older readers will appreciate. Jenn St-Onge and Joy San’s art, as well as Genevieve FT’s cover, epitomize the upbeat, buoyant feeling of being in love. The artwork masterfully captures the nuances of emotion and family relations, at the same time retaining the wonderful playfulness of comics as a genre.” (Source: Lambda Literary)

“Mari and Hazel’s period-appropriate outfits and hairstyles are lovingly rendered by St-Onge, and their tender moments are accompanied by flights of doves and showers of rose petals. With the buzz around this release (Franklin was awarded the Prism Queer Press Grant in 2017) and the hunger for inclusive, positive love stories, this should find a large, welcoming audience.” (Source: Publishers Weekly)

“Reader, the wait was worth it. This adorable, just-in-time-for-Valentine’s-Day volume follows the romance of two women who meet as teens in the early 1960s, see their love thwarted, and reunite over a game of bingo in old age. Its unconventionality is much needed — how many romance comics about aging queer women of color are out there? — but the story and the visual iconography are comfortably accessible.” (Source: Vulture)

Interviews

Comicosity: “Queer Visibility Interview: Tee Franklin Kickstarts Bingo Love”

Paste Magazine: “Tee Franklin & Gail Simone Talk Bingo Love, Ignoring the Haters & Paying it Forward”

Pride: “Writer Tee Franklin Dishes on Her New Comic Bingo Love”