Reviews

Shout Out by Andrew Wheeler

thefantasticalworldofsara's review

4.0

This anthology was everything I needed right now: great art, easy, adorable stories to dip in and out of and queer characters just living their best lives.

Here are my favourites:
-How To Summon a Demon
-Ergi
-Sunlight
-Show me your Teeth
-Shine so Bright
-Manicita and the Songkeeper (I want this one to be a full length graphic novel SO BAD)

Very excited to have a new list of authors and artists to check out!! And please, I want more anthologies like this!

Ps. The views expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the views of Indigo Books & Music Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. #IndigoEmployee

mushroomlibraries's review

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

cormoth's review

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

faeryndipity's review

4.0

I am not going to lie, I originally picked up this book because the cover was colorful and visually appealing. I am very glad that I did pick up this collection of short stories though because it was full of so many beautiful stories of queer representation. There were tear jerkers, fantastic adventures, invigorating battles, and so much more.

caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review

5.0

I definitely recommend! Check out my review on Quill & Quire here: https://quillandquire.com/review/shout-out/

scribewarden's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

akmargie's review

5.0

This comic anthology is all of my jam. The comics are short, romantic and penned by some great writers and inked by just as great illustrators. They're like perfectly-sized bits of fluff. Highly recommend.

jmanchester0's review

5.0

What a fantastic series of shorts by some great writers and great artists! So much positivity!

jakegray's review

5.0

Utterly delightful. Brought a huge smile to my face. Wish something like this had been around when I was a kid. Will have to look up other works by these creators. A great read to kick off Pride Month.

howlinglibraries's review

5.0

What a fantastic collection of short stories! I adore positive queer rep in books, especially happy queer rep written by queer authors, so I jumped at the chance to read this anthology and I adored every moment of it. There are so many talented creators involved in the making of Shout Out, and so many lovable stories within it. I won't go into detail of every single story, but I would like to name off my favorites:

→ Amaranthine —
In the introductory story, a garden spirit receives an unexpected visitor who decides to stay around a while. The art was so lovely in this, and I thought it was the perfect introduction to the collection.

→ How to Summon a Demon —
In contrast, this one was hilarious and cute; a boy summons a demon to ask for practice kissing, so he can learn whether or not he really is attracted to other boys. I loved this.

→ Ergi —
A sickly Viking wants to die in battle so that he can join his recently deceased lover in Valhalla, despite the priest's insistence that homosexuals cannot enter Valhalla. There's a bit of a twist ending that I didn't see coming, and I adored it.

→ Fifteen Minutes or Less —
This was so fun, and would make a really cute animated short. It follows two best friends/coworkers as they go on a "pizza-noodle" food delivery run, but get caught up fighting off one of the friends' ex-girlfriends through a sci-fi kickboxing match!

→ Shine So Bright —
While most of the stories were just happy and cute, this one actually choked me up and really made me think. It's set in the 1920s (I think) and follows a "couple" who are both secretly queer and only pretending to be together. They visit a private LGBTQ+ nightclub, and there's just something really simultaneously sad and heartwarming about it.

→ Manicita & the Songkeeper —
As far as the art goes by itself, this may have been my favorite of the anthology. It's so gorgeous! It tells of a young island girl who meets the 'Songkeeper', who explains to her that many women have existed in their culture who loved other women. It's just positively stunning and feels so rich and sweet.

While these were my top favorites, there wasn't a single bad piece in the whole collection. If you enjoy queer stories by queer creators, with loads of happy endings and heartwarming, mushy moments (especially some rep that we don't see much in media, like queerplatonic relationships, aro-ace people, loads of trans rep, and more), you absolutely can't afford to miss out on Shout Out!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!