The Backstagers Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV

It’s Valentine’s Day at St. Genesius Prep and the Backstagers are back in (stage) blacks for some ROMANTIC adventures in the mysterious world behind the scenes! Featuring bonus tales from a variety of special guests, including Brittney Williams, Caitlin Rose Boyle, and Katy Farina! It’s the “seasons of love” for your favorite backstage boys! (No, you can’t wear pink backstage. Or red. Or glitter. Or cherub wings, Sasha.)

This just got so precious and adorable, I loved it.

2.5 stars rounded up.

It worked out for me slightly better than the first one did. The humor calmed down and the plot was somewhat interesting. (Though it wound up heading is a vastly different direction than I thought it would.)

The real issue I had was that everything is pretty much on fast forward. We have little to no time to actually get to know these characters and so much is left open to interpretation. (I'm not going to get into it, but lets just say that if I hadn't read reviews I would have a) been shocked when one boy suddenly started calling another boy his boyfriend when all we got to see was some very light flirting and b) probably totally missed the fact that one boy was vaguely hinted around as being trans.)

For me there was no real character building moments besides of the ‘we're so funny and quirky' moments and, ultimately, despite liking what I have seen of them for the most part, I feel like I really have little idea about these characters or their lives.