[Comic Book Review] The Backstagers Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause by James Tynion IV, Rian Sygh, & Walter Baiamonte

All the world's a stage . . . but what happens behind the curtain is pure magic literally!

When Jory transfers to an all-boys private high school, he's taken in by the only ones who don't treat him like a new kid, the lowly stage crew known as the Backstagers. Not only does he gain great, lifetime friends, Jory is also introduced to an entire magical world that lives beyond the curtain. With the unpredictable twists and turns of the underground world, the Backstagers venture into the unknown, determined to put together the best play their high school has ever seen.

James Tynion IV (Detective Comics, The Woods) teams up with artist Rian Sygh (Munchkin, Stolen Forest) for an incredibly earnest story that explores what it means to find a place to fit in when you're kinda an outcast.

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This was so cute! My local library has recently gotten an incredible amount of new comics, graphic novels, and mangas so expect a lot more of these kinds of reviews in the future. I think it's fun to read these in between novels and although my reviews are typically pretty short and sweet I still have a lot of fun writing them. 

The Backstagers is about a group of friends who make up the majority of the backstage crew for their school's theater. I assumed that much going into the comic and although I was never apart of the theater scene in high school I still wanted to give it a try because honestly the art is super cute. I am a sucker for some cute colorful bubbly comic/graphic novel art. We get to know our cast of characters pretty briefly in the first issue (which are called Acts, I love it) and it was pretty easy to put the names to the handful of characters once our main character, Jory, interacted with them a bit. I can't say I have any specific attachment to any of the characters right now. Hunter is probably the one I like the most but everyone is still pretty new even four issues later. 

The one thing I didn't expect going into this review is the magical tunnel and supernatural element to the story. Behind the scenes where the gang hangs out there are tunnels that lead to these magical and sometimes a bit scary worlds. I think this is the part that has me most excited about continuing this comic series because I am interested in what else is behind those doors. Especially with what we see at the end of the fourth Act. 

As a whole, I thought this was really cute. I would have liked to see our gang interact more together because something happens where they are worried about their friend in one of the Acts and although a couple of them were genuinely panicked and emotional it didn't hit me the way it should have. I think that is because not only do we not know the characters too much but we also don't see their relationships with each other. I didn't know who was close with who or what they meant to each other other than being basically work friends. 

I also think I may have been a bit detached because like I said earlier, I haven't really ever been a theater kid. I enjoy a lot of musical theater plays now as an adult but never when I was a teen. I always preferred to watch versus participate. That being said, I think people who are/were big fans of musical theater, maybe participated in the plays or backstage like our characters would probably be able to relate more to the content itself.

Overall, I am interested in continuing this series but it isn't on the top of my list at the moment. I will probably request the second volume from my library once I get through some of the other comics and mangas I have my eyes on. 

Thanks for reading!