Celebrated LGBTQ+ graphic novel Parallel gets first English translation

Two older men talking — (Image credit: ONI Press)

Matthias Lehmann's acclaimed graphic novel Parallel is getting an English translation from ONI Press.

The book, written and drawn by Lehmann and translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger, was a 2018 finalist for the Berthold Leibinger Foundation comic book prize. Set in Germany, it tells the story of Karl Kling as he looks back on his life and experiences as a gay man in the years between the end of World War 2 and the 1980s. Although fiction, the book is somewhat based on the real-life experiences of one of Lehmann's relatives.

On the left, two men kiss. On the right, one of those men walks with his wife and daughter. — (Image credit: ONI Press)

ONI Press's blurb says the book, "paints a picture of a life torn between conformity and rebellion, and the cruel realities of twentieth-century German society, where homosexuality was proscribed and punishable until 1994. Matthias Lehmann poignantly depicts the story of a decades-long yearning to live an open and free life, and the price Karl and those he loves paid for it. It is also a story of finding the courage to finally tell the truth no matter the obstacles ... or the cost."

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Parallel is published in softcover format by ONI Press on June 13, just in time for Pride Month.

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Will Salmon is the former Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.