Oni Press is bringing German comics creator Claus Daniel Herrmann stateside for the first time with Pink Monsters, a quietly devastating coming-of-age story about queerness, family loyalty, and the particular cruelty of adults who weaponize both against a kid still figuring himself out. It’s out now, and available to order here.

Released on May 26, 2026, just ahead of Pride Month, Pink Monsters centers on Frank, a shy fourteen-year-old whose talent for drawing monsters has made him unexpectedly popular — every cool kid at school wants one on their wall. But Frank is also slowly, surely realizing he’s gay, and his home life is fracturing: his father’s depression has grown severe enough that Frank’s mother turns to Thea, a charismatic esoteric healer who offers the family something conventional medicine hasn’t — hope.

Frank finds himself drawn into Thea’s world too, her “secret knowledge” filling an emotional void he didn’t know how to name. Then she turns on him, first blaming his art for his father’s illness, then using his emerging sexuality as a source of guilt and shame. What follows is a story about what it costs a teenager to choose himself over the people he loves most, and whether that choice was ever really a choice at all.

“Access to one’s own feelings and the ability to think critically are key to self-determination—especially in a world where fellow human beings advocate for unverifiable beliefs and use them to recklessly tear down personal boundaries. I hope my readers, whether they are young adults themselves or already responsible for younger ones, will find an impressive example of this in my story,” said Claus Daniel Herrmann.

The multiple Eisner- and Harvey Award–winning publisher has been putting boundary-pushing comics on shelves since 1997, and Pink Monsters is exactly the kind of debut that earns that reputation.

“Claus Daniel Herrmann has crafted a touching and timely story about how people in positions of false authority who think they know better can use their influence to manipulate others and make them feel less than,” said Oni Managing Editor Christopher Cerasi. “Pink Monsters navigates these heavy emotional themes through the lens of a young man who ultimately decides to stand up for himself and his identity and finds acceptance and friendship on the other side.”

Prism Comics is excited to share an exclusive excerpt from Pink Monsters; check out our exclusive excerpt below: