Thursday, March 3, 2022

Comic Book Novel: "Check Please, Book 2: Sticks and Scones" by Ngozi Ukazu

Comic Book Novel: Check Please, Book 2: Sticks and Scones by Ngozi Ukazu, 2020, 9781250179500.

Web comic in a second bound volume. The artwork changed a bit at about the 3/4 mark. I won't go back to make comparisons but the style was different. Ukazu is listed as sole author so, I don't know, maybe she started using a different digital artwork software.

Anyhoo.

Volume One had figure (dance?) skater Eric Biddle leave GA and join a college hockey team in the NorthEast. I don't know if the college is modeled after any place in particular but Samwell College plays Ivy League schools. That book went through two years of college.

Volume Two has Biddle as a Junior and a Senior and dating a recent graduate who plays in the NHL. This is a humorous comic with some drama and tension thrown in about keeping gayness a secret, revealing being gay, athletic pressures, academic pressures, playoff pressure. 

Comments: 
1. Biddle is a neat character. (Having a dance skater with minimal hockey experience get recruited to join a Division I hockey team seems pretty bogus though.) He's earnest, considerate, smart and a generally good dude to be around. 
2. There is some college humor about boozing it up, early adult angst, etc. that I don't give a damn about any more.
3. There is a large section of "Extra Comics" that include lame pranks by team members and a bunch of Tweets. Tweets? By imaginary people? Another thing I don't care about.
4. Looks like Ukazu wrapped up the series. Biddle graduates, gets engaged to Hockey Wiz, starts a cooking vlog as a job
5. There have been recent challenges across the country against books discussing race, homosexuality, and trans issues. I wonder what complaints there would be about this novel. The gay characters are happy? Images of dudes locking lips? Beer blow-outs?

No comments: