Book Review: The Backstagers issue #2

Book: The Backstagers #2 by James Tynion IV with illustrations by Rian Sygh, color by Walter Baiamonte and letters by Jim Campbell

Cover Art by Veronica Fish

Edition: Single Print Issue

Description:

The rest of the stage crew kids might be used to all the magical weirdness that goes on, but Jory is thrilled to discover more about the worlds backstage.


Rating: 5 stars

Review:

This second issue continues with all the fun and adventure along with a little bit of fright.

As the McQueen twins were complaining to Hunter and Beckett about the wrong paint choices for the stage set The Backstagers created. Jory returns for another day of drama club (more like the magical adventures of being a Backstager) but this time he had a list of questions. He really wanted to know more about what goes on backstage besides just finding out that The Backstagers actually have stage managers.

The guys were now left with trying to find a solution to their paint problem and Hunter may have come up with the answer thanks to Beckett. There is a special paint room somewhere farther into the backstage, problem is, it's out of the safe zone. And anyone who ventures pass there may become lost to never be found again. But Hunter believes he can find it and invites Jory to go along.

Exploring backstage was very eye opening for Jory as Hunter showed him around and explained a little bit about how the magic of the backstage works. The tunnels and corridors are constantly changing making it nearly impossible to keep track of. And it didn't take long before these two were lost but stumbling upon a clue surrounding the legend of the 1987 mysterious disappearance of a group of backstagers may have freaked them out.

Yet that was nothing compared to the terror of seeing a large Echo Spider but being scared out of their minds may have helped them find the special paint they were looking for. If only they can escape the very large spider and find their way back.

The focus for this issue was mainly on Jory and Hunter but there appears to be a mystery about a missing crew of backstagers from the 80s. And after Jory spoke with the Stage Managers Jaime and Timothy, he was even more curious about the mystery. They seemed to down play the mystery as nothing more than a story they pass down but it makes you wonder if they're hiding something.

Now back to Hunter and Jory, you could really see that Hunter has a crush on Jory. And even more so once you find out Hunter's reason for taking on such a risky journey into the farthest parts of the tunnels. But something that I didn't notice before was that Jory most assuredly is crushing on Hunter as well although it more subtle. Time (and issues) will tell if anything more grows between these two as well as unraveling the mystery of the missing 1987 stage crew.

I like the writing, it has a way of drawing the reader in coupled with illustrations that work well with your imagination. I really must congratulate James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh for creating this amazing little miniseries. I'm really hoping The Backstagers will be turned into an ongoing series because two issues in and it's already one of my favorite reads.