I think the proximity of certain characters, or use of certain color schemes or motifs, can let your readers know what's up without them mistaking this for a boy-meets-boy yarn. If all else fails, be stylistically fabulous. Good design is gay.
What @JRHoch seems to be talking about is suggestive imagery in the thumbnail or the banner, dude. Show like two dudes about to kiss or staring at each other longingly or whatever.. to get the audience that wants to read that sweet LGBTQ+ goodness. But you say so yourself, their sexuality isn't the main focus! Why would you have to represent it as such by changing the imagery you already have settled on? Doing that would be just be pandering, in my opinion, especially since.. again, that's not the main focus, at least not right now anyways.
Now, for what you originally wanted to know about, giving a genre that represents it all together. Noir.. isn't a genre on Tapas, sadly, so that's out. You got sci-fi, drama, and action.. maybe a sub-plot of romance. I'd say to sort of examine your own work so far and/or what's in store, and see what is the most prevalent out of all three of them.
Your summary starts off with "Coping with trauma and mental illness is never easy, especially in an unforgiving world." That sounds like a drama right off the bat. It had to have been that important for you to make that line the first thing people read in your summary. That's where my vote's going lol but you know, make your own choice~
So.. yeah. All in all, I hope your comic gets attention and stuff! It's got a rad artstyle and vibrant 80's neon style choice of colors.. the story bits sound interesting from the summary.. I'm down to read it and see how it goes, man!
Thanks for the feedback, but as a queer person, I'm a bit disturbed. There's a lot more to it than "staring longingly at someone of the same sex." And again. that implies romance. If that's your only notion of queer content, then I ask you to step back.
I'm also concerned that the queer aspect was your focus. I also said it's noir, yet my thumbnail is hot pink.
I know the thumbnail it's isn't descriptive of the comic so much. I'm working on it. And no matter what, I won't be queerbaiting with it. No people about to kiss, because none of my main characters are romantically involved with each other.
Technically you did bait it since you added the LGBTQ description to get people's attention. It's not like other comics brag about African Americans being in their comic, or gender fluid characters in other comics. Unless the LGBTQ aspect plays a big enough role, that info isn't necessary. But even if it does it would still be "queer baiting".
But then any kind of promotion is baiting! The readers have to be able to find the content they want to find. If an author wants to add LGBTQ content because it's important to them, it may be important to their readers too. I would love to have had stories with LGBTQ related content THAT IS NOT ROMANCE when I was a youth/young adult. It would have help a lot. But to find it, it has to be somehow advertised..
I know that you're getting a lot of advice on things you really didn't ask for so I'll address the bit you actually seem stuck on here: genre.
Classic noir set is sci-fi/slightly futuristic settings is generally considered cyberpunk (like Blade Runner) or if it's slightly less heavy and depressing, neo-noir. Or, if you want to go a little more "mainstream" do what lots of movies do a go "dark gritty action thriller in a futuristic world that isn't as perfect as it seems" sorta thing.
If you've got LGBTQ and want to attract that audience, there's no harm putting those letters in your thumbnail to let people know that there's that stuff there, but put it in action or sci-fi, to let people know that that is it's genre and it's not romance. Or just don't mention it. Generally, if you mention it, people want to see it demonstrated and assume it's a big thing, that's why people bring it up, if you don't it's a pleasant surprise when it happens. It's like ingredients, if I tell you there's chocolate in something and you order it because you like chocolate and can't taste it, you're disappointed. But if you order it because you like the sound of it and hey surprise there's chocolate in it that's a nice bonus.
Re: Queerbaiting. Perhaps this wasn't exactly the right phrase. In this, it should be queer ROMANCE baiting. In media, ___baiting isn't using something in your story to lure in readers. It's making promises that aren't there. Which is to say: false advertising. Shows are notorious for this, teasing that two male characters have sexual tension, without delivering anything from it, or even acknowledging it. The suggestions here (ie putting romantic situations in the thumbnail) would be roughly in that same area--promising something that isn't there.
And I want to make something clear. I know yaoi/BL comics are popular around here. But there is a VAST difference between BL and LGBT content. There is overlap, yes. But they are not the same thing. They are intended for different audiences. Most BL is targeted at young women. LGBT content has a target audience of LGBT people and isn't necessarily romance.
I'm guessing a lot of people weighing in on this don't have much experience in trying to find/market stories like this. Things that have something like a trans flag on the cover or a rainbow motif. Those are overwhelmingly stories about being that thing. IE the story about a character's transition and coping with everything that comes with it. So coding this story in a similar fashion would again be making false promises. It's not a story about being queer, it's a story with queer characters. Look up "LGBT books" on google images and just look at the covers. Spot the "queer experience" tales vs stories where queer people exist.
@kelheor In the moment, it might seem out of place. But in just a few pages, he makes a comment that makes it relevant. And the scene after that, it becomes super important. It's just the reverse of why it was included for Crawford, which was to explain a comment he'd just made. But page 13 also assumes you saw page 8. It's establishing a theme.
@HGohwell Yeah, that's the problem I'm falling into. It's definitely not cyber punk, as that's usually a MUCH more futuristic world. And neo-noir might fit, but that's not a genre most places have as a category you can select. Then there's the fact that it's special abilities like super powers, but it's not super heroes or supernatural. So it's not an easy thing to summarize.
And on your last point: It shouldn't just be a pleasant surprise while you're reading. It should be easy to find stories with LGBT characters doing things outside of romance. And that's something I will NOT budge on. It's the reason I'm making this story.
I'm just going to say my piece about this LGBT content debate - not all LGBT content is BL or GL.
An author should only include "BL" or "GL" in their thumbnail if there's romance involved in the main plot. If the characters just happen to be LGBT, you don't need to slap a "BL" label on there. BL means "boys in love" and unless that's the focus you should be using it as advertising.
I've got one comic where the main cast is motivated by love, so I have "BL + GL" in the thumbnail. I have another with an LGBT cast that isn't at all about romance, so I don't have it on that one.
This weird idea that all LGBT content has to be romance is not normal or tolerant, if I'm honest. You don't need to slap a "warning this is gay" label on everything just bc there are gay characters! Gay people exist for more than just romance and aesthetics. We don't have to put a "gay badge" on all our LGBT related content! LGBT content is for everybody. There are plenty of people who like my stuff that aren't LGBT, and plenty who are... despite the fact 80% of my characters are LGBT.
OP is perfectly justified in not putting any labels on the thumbnail.
Implying someone doesn't have a brain just because they don't want to put a "gay badge" on all their content is not kind. That kind of behaviour isn't fair. Neither is saying things like "fabulous" when discussing LGBT content. It's childish and kind of insensitive.
The reason why OP is offended is because labelling all LGBT content and individuals with a "gay badge" has roots in genocide and hate movements. It's not really something we like being asked to do.
Thank you, @Prince_Wumbl. I'll be honest, the moment I saw "I'm just going to say my piece..." I braced for impact. But this was precisely what I've been trying to say. But maybe not quite so well, because I'm so close to this whole thing.
This is all why I was a bit startled by the sudden focus on "put it in your thumbnail." I went and did a bit of investigation and saw all the people who put the little "BL" thing on theirs. But that's a very specific thing, and not at all what I have.
And thank you for also addressing the "someone with a brain" comment. It just didn't have the words at all. And I was legit confused by that "fabulous" comment myself. Does that person really thing every gay person is some magical unicorn that turns anything sparkly and fantastic just by touching it? (If so I missed the day they were handing out that particular power).
I hope this at least stops the bizarre focus put on this one aspect of my comic.
I think my messages were COMPLETELY misunderstood, but I feel so much that no effort was made at all to try to understand them that I'm not sure how much time I want to spend to try to explain myself better.
I never, ever implied any ' warnings' or even promotion should be made. I was merely wondering how a LGBT person creating non-romance LGBT content can tasefully advertise to other LGBT persons because I felt the need to read such content myself. That's all. And I never, ever would post under the BL or GL categories, that have way too negative implications for LGBT people to be salvagable as genres in my opinion.
You are by far not the only person in this thread. And you also grossly misunderstood my statements, and tried to claim that any kind of promotion fell into the category of "baiting." When I was addressing something very specific and very predatory that happens in a lot of media. Especially when targeting the LGBT community.
No. A bait and switch is different. I am talking about queerbaiting. An actual thing people do. There is no switching. Just a promise never fulfilled.
Because it's not supernatural and I wasn't seeking advice on what to do with my thumbnail in the first place.