Backstagers

Boom’s Backstagers is one of my favorite comics to premiere in the last year. Ryan Sigh’s lineart and Walter Baiamonte's colors bring the weird, gorgeous magical backstage world to life, but it’s also worth highlighting James Tynion IV’s writing, particularly his focus on overt, in-canon queer representation. Before Backstagers #7 comes out on February 22, I want to take note of the loveliness that is Backstagers #6, published in January. Spoilers for #6, and for the series as a whole, below.

Check out the final award of the year; best new series' of 2016. The list including our critics’ picks in alphabetical order, and the titles you voted the runner up and winner in this category! This is the very best of 2016!

Check out the best new characters in comics in 2016, including our critics' picks and the characters you voted the runner up and winner in this category!

While 2016 was a tough year in many regards, it produced some amazing comics, including a lot of great comics aimed at teen readers. Our writers and editors have made their picks of the best comics of the past year, and you, the readers of ComicsAlliance, have voted for your favorites. Now check out the best comics for teens in 2016, including our critics' picks, listed in alphabetical order, and the comics you voted the runner up and winner in this category! This is the very best of 2016!

It’s that blessed time of the year where we all try to take stock of what we’ve done with our lives and what other people have created that we enjoyed. That’s right, it’s time to start putting together our “Best of 2016″ lists, and today we’re going to take a look at the Best Boom Studios Covers of 2016.

To mark Trans Week of Visibility, ComicsAlliance has put together a list of great comics for younger readers featuring transgender or nonbinary characters. These are comics that are suitable for a wide range of ages, and come from a wide array of genres, from fantasy to electro-pop to superheroes to slice-of-life --- so there should be something for everyone. If you're a young trans or nonbinary comics reader, or if you know someone who is, or if you just want to read some amazing comics, these are our recommendations!

LGBTQ representation in comic books is important, and it’s something we’ve talked about --- and will continue to talk about --- at ComicsAlliance at length. But what doesn’t get said enough is that LGBTQ representation is especially important in all-ages and young adult comic books. Representation at such a young age can be legitimately life-changing for children, and while certain publishers are making tremendous strides in the right direction, others are missing the boat completely.

Earlier this week, Boom Studios announced The Backstagers, a brand new young adult series by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh that delves into the mystical and magical world that lives behind the theater curtain, and stars the stage crew of a private boys school. As the play comes together around them, no-one else knows how weird and wacky things can get backstage, and not even the crew themselves know what they'll stumble onto next. ComicsAlliance caught up with Tynion and Sygh to talk about the world of The Backstagers, creating all-ages fiction for people that need it, and teen romance. Also, we've got a ton of early development sketches by Sygh, and three covers to The Backstagers #1 by Veronica Fish, Bridget Underwood and Rob Guillory!

Boom Box, Boom Studios' young adult imprint, has been one of the go-to places for top quality comics that not only provide representation for people who often don't see themselves reflected in the stands at their local store, but also provide excellent stories in and of themselves. The likes of Goldie Vance, Jonesy and Giant Days are some of the most consistently fun and exciting comics being published right now, and today we learned of a brand new series joining the fold. Announced as part of a piece at The New York Times celebrating the imprint, Backstagers by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh follows a group of theater crew kids from an all-boys private school who get whisked away to an alien world. The new series is described by the Times as a mirror image of the acclaimed hit seriies Lumberjanes, and promises to be just as diverse, welcoming, and exciting.