Barbalien: Red Planet

In the midst of a pandemic, a shapeshifting Martian hero on Earth, Barbalien, confronts the isolation of his double life as a gay man and a police officer in 1980s Toronto. Written by Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal with art by Gabriel Hernández Walta, this five-issue Dark Horse series from 2020–2021 combines superhero action with a deeply personal story of identity, prejudice, and belonging. It matters for its tender, humanist approach to a classic character, using science-fiction allegory to explore real-world struggles.