Created by Renie Jensais, Kate Blast is a webcomic about a 36 year old transgender magical girl and ex military pilot. An ancient alien relic (the Burning Heart) chooses Kate Blast to be one of its Guardians. An alien army, seeking the magical powers of the artifact, is targeting Earth. Now Kate and her friends must battle monsters while discovering the mystery behind their newfound powers.
One of the best things about this comic is the way it features adult magical girl characters in addition to an LGBTQ cast. Most magical girl stories like Sailor Moon and Steven Universe feature kids and teens; the only other magical girl media I know with adult magical girl characters are Briana Lawrence’s comic book novels Magnifque Noir and KaiJu’s comic book Mahou Josei Chimaka.
Not only do Kate Blast’s characters represent a variety of queerness, such as Kate being both bi and trans or Sonya being a lesbian half-demon girl, but they also portray it in an authentic way. It is especially notable that Kate doesn’t rely on her magical abilities to transition and that a flashback in chapter two shows when she was closeted. Being trans and nonbinary is sometimes depicted as something alien or inhuman, as with characters like Marvel’s shapeshifting alien Xavin or trickster god Loki. Even though Kate Blast has magical powers, she still has everyday experiences as a trans girl that real trans women experience.
At the same time, characters like Sonya demonstrate that it is possible for LGBTQ characters to have fun with supernatural abilities. Sonya is not only strong, but also awkward around Kate due to being romantically attracted to her. Another character, Cameron, is a trans guy and a werewolf who works at a comic book store; he uses his werewolf transformations to promote the store as its mascot on certain days. All in all, the cast of characters illustrates there doesn’t have to be a choice between showing humanity with queer characters and letting queer characters be magical.
There are other interesting takes on magical girl tropes to be found in Kate Blast besides its adult cast. One is that Kate’s weapon is an electric bat, which is an awesome alternative to the sparkly wand of Sailor Moon. Another is that the other characters were already fighting threats as part of the supernatural organization B.A.S.H. before they gained their magical abilities. This organization provides a safe haven for supernatural beings like themselves and combat threats to their livelihood.
Complimenting the cast of characters and their misadventures is stunning artwork, colors, and lettering. Everything is packed with dynamic rainbow colors that demonstrate the influence of mahou shoujo anime, especially transformation phrases, attacks and sound effects like “Krakoom!” and “By the grace of the Cosmos, Starbreaker give me light!” These features enhance transformations and fight scenes by heightening the strength of the characters and their powers.
All in all, Kate Blast is an epic magical girl adventure with mature and fun characters, an entertaining premise and visually striking artwork. I recommend it for anyone who wishes that the magical girl genre was just a little bit more queer.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
