Mini Reviews (Little Miss P: The Second Day, Steeple, Check, Please! Book Two: Sticks & Scones)

I was having a hard time choosing what to review this weekend, so I decided it was time for another round of mini reviews! Hooray for indecision!

Little Miss P: The Second Day

Little Miss P is back for another visit in this sequel to the taboo-busting manga by Ken Koyama. Just like in the first Little Miss P book, Little Miss P: The Second Day is an anthology of short stories focusing on women’s experiences with their periods and menstrual health. The stories vary in tone, some are emotional and others are humorous, but most of them contain an educational element and encourage discussing menstruation in a frank and open manner.

I enjoyed all of the stories in this volume, but my favourite chapter involved a man struggling to figure out how to create a cloth pad in a post-zombie-apocalypse world. Watching the characters blow away zombies while they try to find packages of pads in ransacked drug stores was a blast and there were some surprisingly touching moments in the story, as well.

While is doesn’t stray much from the formula established in the first book, The Second Day is a great follow-up that should please fans who are hungry for more Little Miss P content.

Final Score: 7.5 out of 10

For More information on this series, visit Yen Press’ website.

Steeple

Written and illustrated by John Allison, Steeple is a quirky, modern fantasy about a young curate who’s assigned to a parish in a small coastal town with some big secrets. Belinda is eager to get involved in the community and start doing some good, but things don’t wind up going quite the way she planned, as the first friend she makes in town turns out to be a member of the Church of Satan. On top of that, the Reverend of her parish is too busy fighting the monsters that try to crawl out of the sea and invade the town every night to worry about community activism.

Steeple is an irreverent and exciting comic full of snappy dialogue and fun characters. Belinda and her Satanist friend, Maggie, have a great dynamic and act as good foils for each other. I liked how they influenced each other and that they were both shown to be good people, in their own ways. However, the plot moved along very quickly and I felt that their development as characters was kind of rushed as the comic neared it’s conclusion. I did like the ending, I just wish that the story had taken a bit more time getting there so that we could really explore both Belinda and Maggie’s respective crises of faith.

Final Score 7 out of 10

For more information on this comic, visit Dark Horse’s website.

Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones

Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones is the final book in Ngozi Ukazu’s phenomenal Check, Please! series. Picking up where the first volume left off, Eric and Jack are now dating and, while things are going well between them, the stress of keeping their relationship a secret is weighing on them. After some hesitation and deliberation, Eric and Jack come out to their friends and respective teammates and, eventually, the world, determined to face the challenges that come with that decision together.

This was an emotional volume that had me in tears in a number of places, especially during the scenes with Eric’s mom and dad. While most of the people in their lives are supportive of their relationship, things don’t go entirely smoothly with Eric’s dad. He doesn’t reject Eric, but he clearly doesn’t know how to handle the situation at first and this eventually leads to a heated confrontation. On top of the family drama, the fact that Jack is now a famous NHL player also puts additional pressure on both Jack and Eric, as they essentially become LGBTQ+ role models over night. Eric and Jack persevere through all of it, leading to a conclusion that was both touching and hugely satisfying. I’d highly recommend this series to fans of LGBTQ+ comics and to anyone looking for a moving coming-of-age story.

Final Score: 8.5 out of 10

For more information on this comic, visit Macmillan Publishers’ website.

What did you think of these books? Let me know in the comments! Also be sure to check out some of my related reviews:

• Little Miss P Review
• By Night Series Review
• Check, Please! Book One: #Hockey Review