I brought four books with me to college: two short story collections, tucked into a random pocket of my checked bags, and the two signed copies of a comic series that spent the last two years hidden in the back of my closet wrapped in three layers of bubble wrap.
“Check, Please!” is a comic about Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a closeted figure skater turned hockey player who attends the fictional Samwell University in Samwell, MA. It follows Bitty through his four years at Samwell University, with a great mix of sports action, comedy and heart-wrenchingly real moments that cause you to reassess what trajectory your life took for you to be weeping over a fictional gay southern hockey player. It will have you grinning ear-to-ear from a sweet romantic moment and then gut punch you with the most poignant and deep introspection on what being queer and falling in love truly means.
I started reading “Check, Please!” during sixth grade. At the time, it was just a fun comic that I would read in my spare time. But as I grew older, I suddenly found myself being able to understand both Bitty and the supporting cast’s struggles on a deeper level.
Bitty is a hilarious and wonderfully-written main character. He’s snarky, sassy and everything sixth-grade me wanted to be. Bitty starts the series scared of body checking, or simply “checking” in hockey terms (hence the comic’s name). As he slowly grows into himself, he doesn’t simply get over his fear of being checked — he simply learns how to deal with the pain.
We see Bitty go from curling up in a ball on the ice (a valid reaction, but not quite legal in a hockey game), to taking a check but immediately regressing back to curling up, to actually starting to check people himself. Bitty comes to terms with the fact that he’ll always be in danger of being checked, but he can either choose to curl up and take it or to fight back.
Bitty’s fear of being checked stems from a traumatic event in his childhood. Bitty and I both came from pretty conservative areas, where being queer wasn’t even an option. Author Ngozi Ukazu does a great job at representing the disconnect between Bitty’s identity at school and his identity at home. Some of the most heartfelt and memorable moments are derived from the clash between these identities, something I feel many queer students who are suddenly able to be out of the closet at college can relate to.
While I definitely connected most with Bitty, let’s not forget about his wonderful love interest. Jack is the son of “Bad” Bob Zimmermann, a hockey legend, and we slowly learn throughout the comic how that legacy has affected Jack. The progression of Jack’s story arc deeply resonated with me. The pressures he feels from the world to be normal, and the stress he felt from being closeted in his past, mirrored my own life. Eventually, we see him open up and come to terms with his identity with the support of Bitty and the other hockey team members.
Speaking of the supporting cast — they’re all wonderful! Almost every supporting character we meet is on the Samwell men’s hockey team, and if you’re worried about dude-bro jerks, then let me ease your concerns.
The Samwell men’s hockey team is positive masculinity at its finest. They’re so charismatic, caring and supportive that it’ll make you wish you could join your own hockey team! (Maybe no-contact hockey for me, though).
While trying to narrow down a list of colleges to apply to, all I could think about was how much I wanted to attend Samwell University myself.
While the greater world of the “Check, Please!” goes largely unexplored, and the art takes a few chapters to get polished, I must sheepishly admit it was part of the reason I originally applied to Boston University.
So if you’re struggling with your newfound freedom to be yourself at college, wondering just what the heck hockey is or just looking for a fun love story to read, “Check, Please!” is the comic for you.
And I mean, who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get my own hockey-playing girlfriend.
Sinqueerly Yours,
Kal
Read “Check, Please!” online for free here
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