Rockstar and Softboy is a breezy anthem to queer male friendship from writer/artist Sina Grace and features everything from power bottoms and party animals to chainsmoking cats and magical girl transformations. The story centers around two besties, the titular Rockstar and Softboy, who are a musician and a video game developer living together in Los Angeles. They are both gay, but their relationship is strictly platonic. The comic’s story centers around them throwing a big-ass house party to help Softboy get laid and break his creative block, but it goes very wrong. However, Rockstar and Softboy is mostly good vibes and even better outfits.
One thing I love about Grace’s work as an artist in both his autobio comics and even the slightly more surreal slice of life series Lil Depressed Boy is his ability to use clothing to flesh out a character’s personality. And that’s on full display in this book from the different “cliques” that attend the house party to Rockstar and Softboy’s own wardrobes. Sina Grace uses a full page spread to show their chest-baring party get-up’s as they’re ready to have a good time, mix and mingle, and meet some new friends and lovers. However, when they end up getting in a fight, Rockstar goes full sweatpants and comfiness, and Grace uses a darker color palette. But when they reunite, the colors go full Saturday morning sentai because Rockstar and Softboy combines slice of life and magical realism with plenty of nods to both occult chic and Japanese pop culture.
Along with his eye for fashion, use of white space to make the story breathe, and memorable poses for his characters (I’m still laughing at Rockstar’s demonstration of what “dicked down” looks like to Softboy.), Sina Grace writes fun, conversational dialogue in Rockstar and Softboy with captions that add context to their relationship and punch up the comedy of certain scenes like when they met at an ABBA tribute show. He digs into the differences between the two lead characters that lead to the big tension in the comic, but also make for some fun moments when Softboy’s FOMO leads to him okaying the party even though he just wants to relax and/or attempt to work on his video game.
Creativity and queerness are the beating heart of Rockstar and Softboy behind the jokes, one-liners, silly faces, and urinating coyotes. From the first few pages, Grace sets up Rockstar and Softboy’s creative synergy with Softboy adding emotion and lyrics to Rockstar’s tunes while Rockstar acts as a sounding board for game ideas. The party initially happens because Rockstar wants to get Softboy’s creative juices flowing so he can finish the KickStarter for his video game, but it ends up inspiring something totally different. Rockstar and Softboy is breezy and free-flowing, but it also acknowledges the the difficulty of the creative act as well as the eccentricity of artists with Softboy going full Charlie Day conspiracy board as he plans out the levels in his game. The queerness comes out in how the boys and their party guests flaunt gender norms through fashion. (The party’s wild car is a nonbinary wizard who lives in their mom’s basement aka a bit relatable.) There’s even an homage to the Orville Peck gays midway through the story as Sina Grace continues to be the master of needle dropping in comics even though the medium is just visual.
Rockstar and Softboy is a rare and wonderful queer friendship story from Sina Grace that isn’t afraid to embrace its chaotic side once the house party gets going. The comic is also filled with frank and honest conversations from the main characters as they discuss their relationships, flaws, and why they end up clicking in the end. It’s definitely worth adding to your Sina Grace slice of life/memoir library, and he even uses some tricks from working in superhero comics for the big gay super sentai battle royale at the end in a fusion of indie and mainstream styles.
Story/Art: Sina Grace Letters: Rus Wooton
Story: 8.9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.7 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW – Bookshop
Source: Graphic Policy
