Boom! Box 2016
Created & Written by James Tynion IV
Created & Illustrated by Rian Sygh
Coloured by Walter Baiamonte
Lettered by Jim Campbell
There are only five days until the show opens and things are changing around the Backstagers. Things are definitely ramping up and the final touches need to be done and all the run throughs need to go smoothly so it’s buckle down time. No more time to explore guys this is it the final countdown. That doesn’t mean mishaps and mistakes aren’t going to happen though this is a high school production after all.
I like the opening here as we see Beckett in his own space in his own little world where he’s most comfortable. Kind of shy and introverted and a boys boy he like his technology and running the lights and all of that from his perch in the sky. This is a great bit of characterisation from James and that’s makes what he has to do even tougher when he’s told he needs to train Sasha on how to do what he does. After all Jamie and Tim are graduating this year and Becket along with Hunter are being tapped to be the stage managers next year.
We also get to see a bit more of what Beckett’s about this issue. He’s got a crush on a girl, she’s the lead actress in the show from all girls school. They used to go to school together when they were younger and it’s so cute to see the crush portrayed this way. I mean whether or not they’ve both got one on the other is up in the air, I think they might, and it’s clear Beckett has some self esteem issues but hey it’s all good.
Gotta hand it to Rian and Walter this issue for the pages where we see the run through. It’s creative, imaginative and all kinds of really cute work. We see the play coming to life nicely and even if it seems a tad silly at times it’s still extremely well blocked out. The use of page layouts, angles, perspective and backgrounds here really do wonders to spotlight this production. And the blueprint style that we see when it comes to what the stagehands do was definitely a well thought out and perfect thing to do.
Poor Sasha the lil guy means well and really wants to do the best job he possibly can but let’s just say he’s over eager and accident prone. Sometimes seniority means you get to try out at a job that you aren’t quite that well suited for but you never really know until you try. That Beckett doesn’t wanna give him a fair shake at it doesn’t help either. Still what we see is almost a comedy of errors with a slightly more serious edge to it.
Then of course in an attempt to set things right Sasha is off to do something silly, by himself, that he shouldn’t be doing which could ultimately jeopardise the show!
This is a delightful all-ages all boy book that has a message for everyone about getting along, learning to work together and accepting people for who they are. It’s well written with a diverse cast of characters and it’s brought to life extremely well. We all make mistakes in life it’s how we man up and handle them that speaks to our true character and we’ll see how Beckett handles that next issue!