Reviews

The Backstagers Vol. 2, Volume 2 by James Tynion IV

misssusan's review

4.0

oh man, this was a great ending but i'm also so sad its ENDING, only two volumes? two? ;_;

4 stars

readingthestars's review

5.0

As a theatre kid who's done tech/crew the whole time, this series really spoke to me. I understood not feeling appreciated all the time, not getting thanks for running a board or working backstage. And it was absolutely amazing to see my side of something that is usually only shown from the actors' point of view. I connected with the magic of the stage, with the story being told. I loved it.

bstewart28's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious

3.0

ingridscozycorner's review against another edition

dark emotional

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

snazel's review

3.0

Definitely fun and adorable, but at least for me it felt like it was setting up an epic arc, and then it had to tie up an ending in two issues. I was surprised to see that the series continued, cause I thought on reading it that it had been cancelled. For a "having to wrap up fast" ending, it was good. For a close to an arc, slightly less so.

fave things: toolmice on strike, and the mcqueen brothers breaking through reality with the power of their performance.

s_books's review

3.5

The ending of this book sort of threw me for a loop because I went into this series knowing there were three volumes so I expected the story to end in Volume 3 -- nope, ends here in Volume 2 (Volume 3 seems to be like bonus holiday episodes, etc.). That doesn't make this book's ending bad, just rather unexpected. Polaroid's conclusion was slightly disappointing; not sure how else the story could have ended, given the revelation about "Monkey" but I still wanted a little bit more there, it felt like almost too easy of a conclusion. Also, once again the cover art, while fantastic, is not actually A) showing a scene from the book or B) matching the artwork style in the book. It almost hints at an alternate universe where the elements from the Backstage get within inches of being revealed on the stage, which doesn't happen in the book -- they're always deep backstage when this stuff is going on. 

tahmida's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

thebookandfilmcorner's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

carlyisclary's review

5.0

the first one was so cute but thiS?! FANTASTIC! The story is so gripping and unique, there's no way to really tell what will happen next. And the art is SO FUN!!!!! Felt transported back to high school stage crew days, and amazed that Tynion was able to paint such a strangely accurate picture of what it's like in the wings. While I'm excited for a 3rd vol, I kind of feel like it should've ended here, just because it wrapped up so nicely! We shall see...we shall see

rosewelsh's review

4.0

I was a big fan of the first volume of this series, and this is more of the same. The standout thing here is the art, which is gorgeous and evocative. The art adds something special to the story while making the mystery element far more compelling. I didn't feel like our characters had a lot of development during this volume, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Learning more about the missing students from 1987 was interesting, though I wish the author had drawn that out a little longer. I adore the LGBT representation in this series and how it integrates with the story without making it a huge deal. It's just who some of these kids are, it's accepted, and we move on. I hope we get to see more female characters the longer this series goes, especially the gangs new friends from the all-girls school. The volume ends on a high note, perfect to bring new mysteries in for the next volume. 

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