Movie: No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

Top 6 Billed Cast

Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel

Self

Rupert Kinnard
Rupert Kinnard

Self

Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse

Self

Mary Wings
Mary Wings

Self

Jennifer Camper
Jennifer Camper

Self

Hillary Chute
Hillary Chute

Self

  • HomePage

    No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

  • Overview

    A feature-length documentary film-in-progress chronicling the birth and development of LGBTQ comics through the eyes of several of its pioneers. The film was inspired by the Lambda award-winning book of the same name, and dives deeper into the personal stories at the heart of this unique underground artistic scene. Featuring Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), the recently departed Howard Cruse (Stuck Rubber Baby, Gay Comix), and others, this film aims to show how DIY queer cartoonists have represented, poked fun at, and celebrated LGBTQ lives and experiences in challenging, humorous, and profound ways.

  • Release Date

    2021-06-12

  • Average

    5.1

  • Rating:

    2.5 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Welcome to Chechnya
68%

Welcome to Chechnya(en)

2020-01-26

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

Dear Mr. Watterson
64%

Dear Mr. Watterson(en)

2013-11-15

20 years after Calvin and Hobbes stopped appearing in daily newspapers, filmmaker Joel Allen Schroeder has set out to explore the reasons behind the comic strip's loyal and devoted following.

The Last Repair Shop
75%

The Last Repair Shop(en)

2024-02-16

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

Disclosure
78%

Disclosure(en)

2020-06-19

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

Tab Hunter Confidential
73%

Tab Hunter Confidential(en)

2015-03-15

Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Tab Hunter himself shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image.

Crumb
75%

Crumb(en)

1995-04-28

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

I Am Divine
73%

I Am Divine(en)

2014-03-26

Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.

Batman & Bill
72%

Batman & Bill(en)

2017-05-06

Everyone thinks that Bob Kane created Batman, but that’s not the whole truth. One author makes it his crusade to make it known that Bill Finger, a struggling writer, actually helped invent the iconic superhero, from concept to costume to the very character we all know and love. Bruce Wayne may be Batman’s secret identity, but his creator was always a true mystery.

Howard
68%

Howard(en)

2018-04-22

Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.

The Celluloid Closet
72%

The Celluloid Closet(en)

1996-03-15

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

The Old Guard
71%

The Old Guard(en)

2020-07-09

Four undying warriors who've secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal.

The Old Guard 2
59%

The Old Guard 2(en)

2025-07-01

Andy and her team of immortal warriors fight with renewed purpose as they face a powerful new foe threatening their mission to protect humanity.

Stan Lee
71%

Stan Lee(en)

2023-06-10

Celebrate the legacy of Stan Lee as the co-creator of such legendary characters as Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Avengers, and hundreds more.

Tongues Untied
66%

Tongues Untied(en)

1990-03-16

Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.

LA Originals
70%

LA Originals(en)

2020-04-10

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

Gaga: Five Foot Two
74%

Gaga: Five Foot Two(en)

2017-09-21

Follow pop provocateur Lady Gaga as she releases a new album, preps for her Super Bowl halftime show, and confronts physical and emotional struggles.

Marvel: 75 Years, from Pulp to Pop!
69%

Marvel: 75 Years, from Pulp to Pop!(en)

2014-11-04

In celebration of the publisher's 75th anniversary, the hour-long special will take a detailed look at the company's journey from fledgling comics publisher to multi-media juggernaut. Hosted by Emily VanCamp (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter), the documentary-style feature will include interviews with comic book icons, pop culture authorities, and Hollywood stars. The special also promises an "extraordinary peek into Marvel's future!" Might Marvel release the first official footage from next year's Avengers: Age of Ultron or Ant-Man? If they do, you'll know about it here.

Circus of Books
68%

Circus of Books(en)

2019-04-26

For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.

Tig
72%

Tig(en)

2015-04-23

An intimate documentary that follows Tig Notaro, a Los Angeles based comedian, who just days after being diagnosed with invasive stage II breast cancer changed the course of her career with a poignant stand-up set that became legendary overnight. It explores Tig's extraordinary journey as her career ignites and as her life unfolds in grand and unexpected ways, all the while continuing to battle a life-threatening illness and falling in love.

Strange World
62%

Strange World(en)

2022-11-23

A journey deep into an uncharted and treacherous land, where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades—a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest, and by far most crucial, mission.

Similar Movies

heroes
100%

heroes(en)

2020-11-11

Displaying the faces and voices of transgender youth, the documentary short shows the authenticity of queer and trans people living in Toronto, while simultaneously discussing the struggles for self-acceptance that people who do not conform to cisgender and heteronormative ideals of gender face. Andy Nguyen, trans director and film student, captures his trans friends in their natural state on 16mm film shot on a Bolex h16 camera. Accompanied by narration written and recited by Salem Rao, this film represents that trans people exist and this is what we look like. Regardless of the obvious everyday transphobia, trans people find community and uniqueness within each other and themselves.

Fabulous
65%

Fabulous(fr)

2019-06-07

Ninja is famous around the world for her fierce ballroom performances, but she is not as well-known in her native country of French Guyana. But a trip home to teach a workshop might change that.

Tgirls Make Music
0%

Tgirls Make Music(en)

2026-02-26

A documentary about trans woman rapper and producer htmljones (Ishaani Ponniah), framed through the visual language of early-2000s television, 2010s internet aesthetics, and contemporary British culture.

Are You Proud?
21%

Are You Proud?(en)

2019-07-26

Are You Proud? is a vivid and engaged docu-celebration of the LGBT rights movement from the partial victory of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act to Stonewall, the Gay Liberation Front , the AIDS crisis, Legal Marriage and finally the 2016 Pulse night club shooting. The film gives an extensive history of the course of LGBT rights campaigning, but it also shows how much more work there is to be done.

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines
57%

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines(en)

2001-06-13

Chronicles the life of William Haines, Hollywood's first openly gay movie star, who sacrificed his career to live openly with his lover.

Two Spirits
43%

Two Spirits(en)

2009-06-21

Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits.

Dressed in Blue
60%

Dressed in Blue(es)

1983-09-06

A documentary about the lives of six transgender women in post-Franco Spain.

I Am My Own Woman
46%

I Am My Own Woman(de)

1992-10-30

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

Battle of Soho
27%

Battle of Soho(en)

2017-05-01

In November 2014 the Iconic club Madame Jojos closed its doors. This event being interpreted by many as the death knell of Soho.The gentrification of Soho affects the LGBT community and its Drag Queen sub-culture, but the cabaret atmosphere of the entire neighborhood in enormous ways. This active pursuit to destroy a bubbling and vibrant part of the city's heart is viewed by many as an atrocity akin to turning the lights off on Broadway. Over 3rd of London's music venues have been closed in recent years and no one noticed. An active movement to bring a halt to this disaster has begun to unfold with one organization after another emerging to fight for Soho. Organizations made up of citizens and celebrities have sprung up to combat this onslaught. Will they win this battle and save Soho?

In Search of Avery Willard
34%

In Search of Avery Willard(en)

2012-06-19

In Search of Avery Willard iIlluminates the life and work of the groundbreaking, and mostly forgotten, artist Avery Willard — photographer, filmmaker, writer, publisher, leatherman, pornographer.

Siamo qui
0%

Siamo qui(it)

2024-05-26

Activists of the LGBTQ+ association Rain Arcigay Caserta come back living in a property given to them in concession, confiscated from the Camorra in Castel Volturno. The goal is to reconnect with the local inhabitants and propose a new idea of ​​sharing and regenerating the park.

A Tight, Warm Hug
0%

A Tight, Warm Hug(en)

2024-12-13

Lucy Rose, a transgender woman, shares her journey of self-love and empowerment since starting hormone replacement therapy three years ago. The film is part animation, part documentary and part VHS archive footage.

Legends of the Knight
74%

Legends of the Knight(en)

2013-12-31

Legends of the Knight weaves together the stirring true stories of individuals who have overcome devastating obstacles, unselfishly given to the community, and embraced their inner superhero because of their love of Batman. Through the deeply personal tales of Batman fans, writers, and filmmakers, this feature-length documentary explores the power of heroic stories and encourages viewers to find their own unique path to heroism. Funded by over 1,100 people from around the world, Legends of the Knight is a return to our childhood dreams of being a hero. Put on your cape, and be inspired!

Lost Heroes
80%

Lost Heroes(en)

2014-02-28

Lost Heroes is the story of Canada's forgotten comic book superheroes and their legendary creators. A ninety-minute journey to recover a forgotten part of Canada's pop culture and a national treasure few have ever heard about. This is the tale of a small country striving to create its own heroes, but finding itself constantly out muscled by better-funded and better-marketed superheroes from the media empire next door.

Revealing Anne Lister
10%

Revealing Anne Lister(en)

2010-05-31

Early 19th-century England is usually seen through the eyes of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. Sue Perkins explores a dramatically different version, as lived and recorded by Anne Lister. A Yorkshire landowner, she kept a detailed, partly coded diary, revealing graphic details of her love affairs with women. Regency England was surprisingly tolerant of Anne's chosen lifestyle, and it was only when Anne sought to sink a coal mine on her land that criticism of her private life became public.

The Circle
65%

The Circle(de)

2014-09-18

A young teacher in Zurich in the 1950s falls in love with a transvestite star but is torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. He joins a gay organization that is eventually seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation in Europe.

Trade Center
36%

Trade Center(en)

2021-03-16

The voices of five gay men who cruised for sex at the World Trade Center in the 1980s and 1990s haunt the sanitized, commerce-driven landscape that is the newly rebuilt Freedom Tower campus.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
67%

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets(en)

2020-02-16

A portrait of the lives of a disparate group of patrons and employees at an American watering hole today.

Moscow Does Not Believe in Queers
40%

Moscow Does Not Believe in Queers(en)

1986-01-01

Documentary about the ten days the director spent in Moscow, during the 1986 Moscow Youth Festival, as kind of a gay delegate.

Kate Bornstein Is a Queer & Pleasant Danger
35%

Kate Bornstein Is a Queer & Pleasant Danger(en)

2014-06-17

For decades, performance artist and writer Kate Bornstein has been exploding binaries and deconstructing gender. And, her own identity. Trans-dyke. Reluctant polyamorist. Sadomasochist. Recovering Scientologist. Pioneering Gender Outlaw. Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger, joins her on her latest tour capturing rollicking public performances and painful personal revelations as it bears witness to Kate as a trailblazing artist theorist activist who inhabits a space between male and female with wit, style, and astonishing candor. By turns meditative and playful, the film invites us on a thought provoking journey through Kate's world to seek answers to some of life's biggest questions.