Check, Please! My Current Obsession.
I bought the first Check, Please! book at a local Barnes and Nobles and went into it with normal expectations. I expected a comic that would make me smile and laugh, maybe shed a tear or two. What I did not expect was me liking it so much that I immediately regretted not buying the second one, so much so that I finished the rest online.
Check, Please! is a comic that sweeps you off your feet. It takes you by surprise and holds you in it’s clutches until the very last panel. I came for the cute relationship depicted on the cover, got that and even more.
But what is it that makes Check, Please! so special? Why do I constantly go back through the books to flip through my favorite panels and rehash my favorite scenes?
The answer I have come up with is this: Eric and Jacks relationship.
Now obviously that’s to be expected. They are the main focus of the comic even though the comic has so much to offer that isn’t just them. But what’s so special to me about Eric and Jack is that their relationship completely took me by surprise.
It was the first time I had read a gay relationship that was depicted so lovingly; with so much communication. There are of course scenes in the series where both characters have struggles, but they always talk it out with each other and are always open with how they feel. And it’s sad to admit but I had never seen this type of communication before.
And it’s opened this hole inside of me, because it makes me want more representation like that. I’m tired of reading about relationships where there’s nothing but angst and miscommunication. Now, I’m not saying you can’t enjoy those series or that I myself don’t have favorite books where those are big aspects. I am saying that I want more representation that gives me hope. That shows me that this is something I myself achieve.
I think representation like this is really important and severely lacking. I was discussing this series with a friend who hasn’t read it, and they expressed how they would also like to see relationships of all sorts with this kind of communication. And I know that we are not alone in that want.
So really, another reason why I love Check, Please! is because I feel like it also opens doors for more series like it to come. It shows that these kind of things can be really successful (I mean holy moly, have you seen the fandom?) without really adding all the extra angst to “spice it up” or “make it more realistic.” That two men (or any relationship really,) can communicate well and show love for each other freely.
I also think it inspires other queer youth. It shows them that a relationship like this can be attainable and I think that’s super important. I know a lot of people (myself included,) kind of forget how certain media can actually affect your perception of things, even subconsciously, because it’s “just a story.”
But I know these stories are so much more to us than “just a story.” They hold people we all admire, look up to, want to be, etc. And Check, Please! has a lot of those characters.
So thank you Ngozi, for showing me this beautiful series and what I’ve been missing for so long.
