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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey
by Ngozi Ukazu
content warnings: anxiety attacks, mentions of homophobia and racism, violence, referenced suicide attempt
representation: gay main character, mlm main character with anxiety/depression, main m/m romance, black main character, vietnamese main character, chinese-american main character, biracial main character
Yes, after this being out since 2018, I've finally read the physical copy of Check, Please! volume one. This is probably my third or fourth read of this because I've reread the webcomic so much, but I was still desperate to have the experience of physically holding it in my hands and reading it. And, god, I forgot how much I adore this series.
Check, Please! follows Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a freshman at Samwell University who has joined the hockey team, and all the shenanigans that ensue. The first few chapters of this are very vignette-y, something which works really well here because those first chapters exist exclusively to introduce you to all the main characters.
The characters are where I really think Ukazu shines. Bitty is so goddamn sweet and I would die for him, as I would for all the main characters. Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Ransom, Holster, Chowder, Nursey and Dex are all such lovable, well-rounded characters who all get their time in the sun. A lot of lesser writers would struggle to include eight compelling major side characters, but Ukazu makes it look effortless. A large part of this is due to the way she staggers their introductions; at first you only meet Jack, Shitty, Ransom and Holster, and then as the comic goes on she slowly introduces you to the other main characters, as well as so many interesting minor characters.
Not to spoil anything, but the romance in this comic truly means the world to me. Ever since I first read this back in 2016, the main couple of this series has remained one of my all-time favourites and this reread only served to remind me of that.
The art style is also absolutely incredible. It's really fun reading the first two years of this all in one go because you get to see the way that Ukazu's style developed, and in this physical copy you also get to see the way that the first few chapters were coloured.
The second book comes out extremely soon, and hopefully I won't be as late reading that in physical form as I was this. On this reread I found a lot of the stuff with the team reminding me of the movie Everybody Wants Some!! so I guess if you liked that you might like this. But even if you didn't like or have never heard of that, you should still read this because it's fantastic and somehow still underrated.
representation: gay main character, mlm main character with anxiety/depression, main m/m romance, black main character, vietnamese main character, chinese-american main character, biracial main character
“But the prince would concoct a plan. He would venture back to the land of the queen. There, he would reclaim greatness... And thereby gain entrance to the kingdom. And all was going well. Until, of course... This little shit came along.”
Yes, after this being out since 2018, I've finally read the physical copy of Check, Please! volume one. This is probably my third or fourth read of this because I've reread the webcomic so much, but I was still desperate to have the experience of physically holding it in my hands and reading it. And, god, I forgot how much I adore this series.
Check, Please! follows Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a freshman at Samwell University who has joined the hockey team, and all the shenanigans that ensue. The first few chapters of this are very vignette-y, something which works really well here because those first chapters exist exclusively to introduce you to all the main characters.
The characters are where I really think Ukazu shines. Bitty is so goddamn sweet and I would die for him, as I would for all the main characters. Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Ransom, Holster, Chowder, Nursey and Dex are all such lovable, well-rounded characters who all get their time in the sun. A lot of lesser writers would struggle to include eight compelling major side characters, but Ukazu makes it look effortless. A large part of this is due to the way she staggers their introductions; at first you only meet Jack, Shitty, Ransom and Holster, and then as the comic goes on she slowly introduces you to the other main characters, as well as so many interesting minor characters.
Not to spoil anything, but the romance in this comic truly means the world to me. Ever since I first read this back in 2016, the main couple of this series has remained one of my all-time favourites and this reread only served to remind me of that.
The art style is also absolutely incredible. It's really fun reading the first two years of this all in one go because you get to see the way that Ukazu's style developed, and in this physical copy you also get to see the way that the first few chapters were coloured.
The second book comes out extremely soon, and hopefully I won't be as late reading that in physical form as I was this. On this reread I found a lot of the stuff with the team reminding me of the movie Everybody Wants Some!! so I guess if you liked that you might like this. But even if you didn't like or have never heard of that, you should still read this because it's fantastic and somehow still underrated.