Think back for a moment to your first day of high school (that is if you are not already in high school). Do you remember how nervous you were and thought about fitting in? Did you try out for the football team or maybe starred in a school play? What if there was a secret buried in your school that only a handful of people knew about it? And what if that secret threatened not just the school but everyone in your town or perhaps the world? This is the premise of Boom! Press’s new comic entitled Backstagers but is this a school you would want to attend or should you just cut class?
The story opens up at St. Genesius Preparatory High School which is not only a Catholic high school but an all boys school as well. We see the main character Jory hiding in the bushes as he is sketching away and complaining to his mom. As he and his mother had just moved to this town Jory has to find something to do after school as his mom will be working late. We then see him outside the St Genesius Auditorium as he is staring at a poster proclaiming that Drama Club starts today.
Nervously he makes his way inside as he asks timidly if he can join the Drama Club as two brothers Kevin and Blake McQueen arrived on stage. They ask Jory to fetch a tiara from the backstagers (people who work behind the scenes rigging lights and such) and he agrees to do so. As he makes his way towards the back room he meets up with the backstagers and they are hunter, aziz and sasha. Without giving too much away all I can say is that the story gets really weird really quickly. This reminds me of the Breakfast Club, Goonies and Gremlins all rolled into one!
Backstagers was created by the team of James Tynion IV who lends his writing to this interesting comic. He has written some of the most iconic tales for Batman in the DC universe namely Batman Eternal which explores more of the characters that inhabit the city of Gotham. He also lent his writing talents to the Woods (also done by Boom Studios and is a great read!) The book is beautifully illustrated by the talented Rian Sygh who has worked on other projects for Boom Studios (Munchkin, Card Wars and Fionna and Cake). I love the way his art leaps off the page and gets you engrossed in the story.
Backstagers #1 should be in your local comic shops as I write this and I have to say that I fully endorse it. It takes a premise that we were all familiar with and turns it on its side and makes for a wonderful story that you need to experience. So until next time get ready to go back to school and go backstage with the backstagers!
