Starward Lovers was a webcomic by Miki Brewster that appeared online from 2016-2018 and can still be read on Tumblr. In 2025 Miki ran a successful kickstarter and late pledges are still open right now, so you have a chance to get a copy of the book while supplies last and that window is open.

The story is a simple one. Jen is a young, closeted lesbian who has a crush on a very cool handsome woman who frequents the coffee shop at which Jen works. One day, Jen follows the woman when she leaves the shop and finds herself entangled in an extraterrestrial battle. Without anything specific to return to, Jen joins a team of lesbian secret agents, hoping to become closer to the mysterious woman, Red. Life is not tht simple and Jen ends up fighting for her own life, the life of those she loves and all of existence!

Both art and story are fast-paced, lots of action and movement. Overall I found it entertaining, with one caveat. The plot relies heavily on Jen’s low self-esteem. While this certainly can resonate with many readers, I’d really like to have a new plot other than “girl hates herself” and “they stole everything for her and now, she’s out for revenge”. I’m just saying, could we have a story where girl gets opportunity and goes for it and, despite fear and challenges, kills it? It is doable, I promise you! My dear friend and publisher Gideon Marcus has a fantastic YA science fiction story series, the Kitra Saga, (the first of which I reviewed here on Okazu) which do this very thing, with a queer cast and only the very littlest bit of cringe.

Here, Jen is closeted and self-loathing for not having ever had community. She finds her first community ever among the Intergalactic Society’s agents, who all turn out to be gay, even the alien. ^_^ I very much enjoyed the diversity of body type and ethnicity ( and I think there is an interesting discussion to be had about one of the very few white characters being an alien. ^_^)

From there the story is a bit tenuous, as it relies on womens’ low-self-esteem to work and every character has a sad story.  The climax is a bit predictable for all that, but the conclusion is heart-warming anyway. 

Extra pages include character sketches and devlopments, storyboards and cover art and notes by Brewster for some fun behind the scenes action.

My backer level was pretty low this time, but the bookmark I received had my two favorite character, and a promo car for Brewster’s upcoming work  for next year. Starward Lovers was a solid PG-rated action story and I’ll look forward to Brewster’s story-telling and art maturing as she continues in her career. A good book or webcomic recommendation for the mature tween or early teen baby lesbian in your life. ^_^

 Ratings: 

Art – Style in progress, but fun and jangly
Story – Simple, but it works
Characters – Not quite simplistic, but not full developed either.
LGTBQ – 9
Service – 0

Overall – Solid, enjoyable 7