I couldn’t ask for a better creative team.

“My words would be absolutely boring if it wasn’t for Jenn’s art, Joy San’s colors, and Cardinal Rae’s lettering. Her charming renditions of Hazel and Mari are a huge draw, and Franklin enthuses about her and the entire team. In addition to Franklin’s story, I’m very much looking forward to checking out more of Jenn St-Onge’s art. People want these types of stories and I plan on giving it to them.” There are no comics which feature older Black Queer women and why is that? No one would be interested? This Kickstarter tells a different story.

Bingo Love was funded in 5 days and is almost double its initial goal. As you know, according to some people ‘diversity doesn’t sell.’ We all know that’s a lie. “There’s nothing but straight white men in the comic industry,” she begins. She then elaborated on why it was so important to her to tell the story of older women. This is Hazel’s story, so we must visit the past in order to understand the future.” I could’ve just stayed in 2017, but why? I don’t know about you, but my grandparents had the best stories. We go through various decades – the story begins in 2030 and Hazel tells the story of how she first met the love of her life, in 1963. Not being able to love who you want to love because it wasn’t allowed in a certain time period, was the catalyst for this love story. With every love story there’s some heartbreak and tragedy involved. I didn’t just want to focus on the happy times they had together.

“I chose to tell the story of Mari McCray and Hazel Johnson in 1963, to give them a backstory. It turns out, that inspiration came from an unlikely source. Specifically, if there was a real-life inspiration for Hazel and Mari. I had the chance to speak with Franklin about this unique project, which she will be self-publishing under her own company banner, Inclusive Press. They seem destined to live apart, permanently cut off from one another, but fate - and bingo - have another plan for them. Not only do the young women have to endure the pain of separation, but they’re also both married off to men they don’t love. Two girls in love are bound to be star-crossed in 1963, and their families forbid them from seeing each other again.

As their relationship grows, they discover their deep love for one another, but the timing couldn’t be worse. The story revolves around Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray, two thirteen year old girls who, in no time, become the best of friends. Franklin leads a predominantly-female creative team -artist Jenn St-Onge ( Jem and The Misfits), colorist Joy San ( Rumble for Toronto Comix), letterer Cardinal Rae (DC, Image, Papercutz), and editor Erica Schultz -to tell the story of two black girls who meet and fall in love in 1963.

Bingo love by tee franklin