By Anna Bailey — You know when you reach a certain age and your personality is pretty much set in stone? You’re like, I know I like Diet Coke, that one scene in As Above, So Below and eating Cosmic Brownies on road trips — I don’t need any more personality traits, babes. But then! Oh, but then something comes along and tugs at the very inseam of your heart and reminds you what it’s like to fall in love again. 

That’s how I felt about Rockstar and Softboy by Sina Grace. 

There’s something soothing about the way this reads almost like a sitcom, but a good one. It feels like I’m reading a conversation between me and my friends, but it still feels wildly unique and special between the two characters.

And what’s better than seeing two friends bicker back and forth like an old married couple?  Following along as two friends plan the ~perfect party~.

If you need an explainer on how to plan a party, you just need to follow Rockstar’s advice: have polaroids, invite a sorcerer and make sure the vibes are off the charts.

But, ultimately this book isn’t about how to throw a party–it’s about how to be a friend, as cliche and trite as it sounds. Learning how to apologize is one of the most useful but grueling things to learn as an adult but Softboy makes it seem so easy, “[...] I wish I could put into words how special it is to love another man this much without romance or sex on the table [...] Sure, I need to stand up for myself more often and say ‘no’ to you, but that’s my journey–not yours.” 

I love this book and these characters because they feel so real, despite the heroism; we’ve all had fights like this with our best friends, we all say things we don’t mean out of anger or sadness or passion but friendships because friendships weren’t built in a day, they aren’t destroyed in a day either.

And it truly is a blessing to love another person without sex or romance, to just choose day in and day out to keep loving this person because you want to. 

Sina Grace does a phenomenal job at showing us the realness of friendship (because it’s based on his real-life friendship with Josh Trujillo!) and it comes across so well on the page because he wrote and did all the artwork with Rus Wooton on lettering. 

(By the way, the best ABBA song to listen to while reading, and my favorite ABBA song in general, is Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!)

Overall: Friendships are what make the world feel safe, and Sina Grace gives us an up-close and personal look at his own intimate friendship. It feels safe within these pages. 9.5/10

REVIEW: Rockstar and Softboy (one-shot)

Rockstar and Softboy (One-Shot)
Writer/Artist: Sina Grace
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Rockstar plans the greatest house party ever as a means of lifting roommate Softboy’s spirits, but things take a gnarly turn when the dreaded PARTY ANIMAL shows up to make a mess of things…and dredge up long-held secrets between two BFFs who were supposed to share everything!
Price: $8.99
Buy It Here: Rockstar and Softboy (One-Shot)

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Anna Bailey is an email marketer that exclusively watches horror films. You can follow her on Twitter at @annuh_bailey to see all her favorites.