Family Tensions Tighten in Exclusive Excerpt from Claus Daniel Herrmann’s PINK MONSTERS

A powerful graphic novel about coming of age and coming out LGBTQIA+, Claus Daniel Herrmann's Pink Monsters will make its US publishing debut on May 26th via Oni Press (with translations and lettering by Thomas Mauer), and ahead of its anticipated release, we've been provided with an exclusive preview to share with Daily Dead readers!

Family tensions tighten to a palpable level as a mother realizes that something is increasingly troubling her son (and her husband) in our exclusive preview from Pink Monsters, which you can read below along with the official press release!

Offering further insights into Pink Monsters, Claus Daniel Herrmann shares his thoughts on the graphic novel's fraught family dynamics and his personal connection to the emotional story:

"Young Frank retreats into his video games, while his father, Georg, retreats into his new world of self-care. The mother, Sandra, senses that the path they’ve taken isn’t the solution yet, but she can’t quite put her finger on the problem. I remember well that kind of emotional fog and the longing for a beacon to guide the way out of it."

To stay up to date on Pink Monsters and other exciting releases from Oni Press, be sure to visit:

• https://www.onipress.com/

From the Press Release: Oni Press, the multiple Eisner- and Harvey Award–winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce the US debut of German comics creator Claus Daniel Herrmann in Pink Monsters—a moving story of casting aside negativity and coming out LGBTQIA+.

Releasing May 26, 2026 ahead of Pride Month, Pink Monsters follows Frank, a fourteen-year-old in the midst of puberty who is slowly but surely realizing that he is gay. Despite his shyness, he is popular at school because of his talent for drawing: All the cool boys want an original drawing of his monsters to hang in their rooms. Meanwhile, Frank's father is suffering from depression. His illness is so serious that Frank's mother gives up on traditional medicine and contacts an esoteric healer named Thea. The charismatic woman not only gives his parents new hope, but the emotionally insecure Frank also finds security in Thea’s “secret knowledge.” But when she blames Frank's drawings for his father's illness and later makes him feel guilty about his sexual orientation, Frank must jeopardize his relationship with his parents in order to truly become himself.

“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 creator Claus Daniel Herrmann.

“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 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.”

Pink Monsters was a finalist for the Berthold Leibinger Comic Book Prize and is a powerful graphic medicine tale in the vein of Fun Home and Lighter Than My Shadow. Discover Pink Monsters on shelves May 26, 2026 from Oni Press.

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