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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
3.0
I liked Check, Please! well enough but I've definitely grown past this level of queer representation. It is not bad by any means, but it's painfully obvious why it was popular on Tumblr. I'm not opposed to white gay (male) romances as those stories are valid and deserve to be told too. However, white gay preeminence means the proliferation of certain tropes or elements that I now find passé. Bitty and Jack so specifically fall into the narrow paradigm, as determined by Tumblr, (ie a slew of well intentioned, ultimately grievously ignorant teenagers) of how gay men should act I found it difficult to like them as individual characters let alone as a couple.
2013 Tumblr couldn't fathom two men who did not in some way mirror heterosexual clichés being together and it definitely shows in the dynamic presented. Couples like this, men like this, dynamics like this definitely exist - I'm pointing out the prevalence of the erroneous idea that this is the 'proper' way to be queer or for queer relationships between men to play out. It also has historically been ridiculously white. On Tumblr, and really the Internet as a whole, male ships involving men of color might as well be crack ships.
Bottom line, Jack and Bitty were two archetypes cobbled together rather than fully developed people. This extends to the entire supporting cast who seem to exist purely as checkpoints off a list of found family characteristics. I was briefly amused by all of them though never deeply invested one way or the other.
Aside from that, Jack and Bitty's coupledom is written as if it was a last minute decision. Bitty is seen falling for Jack who he believes is straight. Jack gives no indication whatsoever that he could return the feelings and there's only a hint of a potential romantic interlude with a former friend of his to imply his queerness. The book ends with a kiss out of nowhere.
When the two interact in the lead up to this there was no spark that said to me these two were meant to be a couple; it was merely a friendship where one person happened to have a crush on the other. Bitty didn't allow it to get in the way of him hanging out with Jack nor did it impact his actions. Similarly, in spite of Jack apparently having feelings he also showed no discernible changes. If I didn't already know these two end up together I would have never thought they would based on what I was given.
Bitty could have had feelings for Shitty and it would have been the exact same as Jack considering the amount of time Bitty spent one on one with each of them. Shitty's his closest friend outside of Jack and the two are pretty much parallel in terms of conversation and page time. The book was stronger as just a slightly angsty celebration of sports camaraderie. The addition of romance is not something I'm inherently against, however, its inclusion fell flat for me due to the lack of foundation. It was clearly meant to be a huge revelatory moment and I'm sure it was for the community at the time. It doesn't hit the same being able to read it all in one go. The unevenness is more noticeable.
That being said, Check, Please! is a good comic overall. It’s got a lot of heart, the authors’ passion for their work shines through at every turn, and it's generally pretty fun. The fandom fixation on hockey is something I will never understand, but it’s interesting to have this particular quirk immortalized in a mainstream sense. It’s underdeveloped at times and I wish the vlog had been less of a crutch for moving the story along - still I wouldn’t say not to read it.
I expect to enjoy the second volume more as the romance will be established and I will get to actually see what Jack and Bitty are like when together.
2013 Tumblr couldn't fathom two men who did not in some way mirror heterosexual clichés being together and it definitely shows in the dynamic presented. Couples like this, men like this, dynamics like this definitely exist - I'm pointing out the prevalence of the erroneous idea that this is the 'proper' way to be queer or for queer relationships between men to play out. It also has historically been ridiculously white. On Tumblr, and really the Internet as a whole, male ships involving men of color might as well be crack ships.
Bottom line, Jack and Bitty were two archetypes cobbled together rather than fully developed people. This extends to the entire supporting cast who seem to exist purely as checkpoints off a list of found family characteristics. I was briefly amused by all of them though never deeply invested one way or the other.
Aside from that, Jack and Bitty's coupledom is written as if it was a last minute decision. Bitty is seen falling for Jack who he believes is straight. Jack gives no indication whatsoever that he could return the feelings and there's only a hint of a potential romantic interlude with a former friend of his to imply his queerness. The book ends with a kiss out of nowhere.
When the two interact in the lead up to this there was no spark that said to me these two were meant to be a couple; it was merely a friendship where one person happened to have a crush on the other. Bitty didn't allow it to get in the way of him hanging out with Jack nor did it impact his actions. Similarly, in spite of Jack apparently having feelings he also showed no discernible changes. If I didn't already know these two end up together I would have never thought they would based on what I was given.
Bitty could have had feelings for Shitty and it would have been the exact same as Jack considering the amount of time Bitty spent one on one with each of them. Shitty's his closest friend outside of Jack and the two are pretty much parallel in terms of conversation and page time. The book was stronger as just a slightly angsty celebration of sports camaraderie. The addition of romance is not something I'm inherently against, however, its inclusion fell flat for me due to the lack of foundation. It was clearly meant to be a huge revelatory moment and I'm sure it was for the community at the time. It doesn't hit the same being able to read it all in one go. The unevenness is more noticeable.
That being said, Check, Please! is a good comic overall. It’s got a lot of heart, the authors’ passion for their work shines through at every turn, and it's generally pretty fun. The fandom fixation on hockey is something I will never understand, but it’s interesting to have this particular quirk immortalized in a mainstream sense. It’s underdeveloped at times and I wish the vlog had been less of a crutch for moving the story along - still I wouldn’t say not to read it.
I expect to enjoy the second volume more as the romance will be established and I will get to actually see what Jack and Bitty are like when together.