Boys Weekend
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4.1 • 7 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A WASHINGTON POST AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the award-winning cartoonist and editor at The Nib, a hilarious trans-"final girl" horror graphic novel about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong.
"A witty, tender romp through the cosmic horror of being alive.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties
Newly-out trans artist’s assistant Sammie is invited to an old friend’s bachelor weekend in El Campo, a hedonistic wonderland of a city floating in the Atlantic Ocean's international waters—think Las Vegas with even fewer rules. Though they have not identified as a man for over a year, Sammie’s college buddies haven't quite gotten the message—as evidenced by their formerly closest friend Adam asking them to be his “best man.”
Arriving at the swanky hotel, Sammie immediately questions their decision to come. Bad enough that they have to suffer through a torrent of passive-aggressive comments from the groom's pals—all met with zero pushback from supposed "nice guy" Adam. But also, they seem to be the only one who's noticed the mysterious cult that's also staying at the hotel, and is ritually dismembering guests and demanding fealty to their bloodthirsty god.
Part satire, part horror, Boys Weekend explores what it’s like to exist as a transfemme person in a man’s world, the difficulty of maintaining friendships through transition, and the more cult-like effects of masculinity, “hustle” culture, and capitalism—all through the vibrant lens of a surreal, scary, and immensely imaginative romp.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Trans femme Sammie begrudgingly joins a debauched and treacherous bachelor party in this ingenious horror-satire from Ignatz Award winner Lubchansky (The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook). In college, Sammie had a tight-knit group of guy friends—including Adam, with whom they were closest—but post-transition, the bond has faded. Now, Adam is getting married, and wants Sammie to be his "best man," despite Sammie no longer identifying as a man ("Maybe I should draw a diagram for my cis friends," they joke). Sammie accepts, however, along with an invitation to a bachelor weekend on an isolated landmass in the middle of the Atlantic, a floating city whose location in international waters makes it a deregulated, hedonistic utopia. Sammie's hetero dude friends—most of whom have become crypto bros since college—treat their transition acrimoniously. In addition to the micro- and macro-aggressions Sammie must withstand, they seem to stumble on a nefarious, island-wide conspiracy surrounding a Davos-esque tech gathering, as more and more arrivals to the islands don the conference's blue fleece vests. Lubchansky's script and art both achieve a deadpan style reminiscent of Daria and 1990s Nickelodeon, which amplifies the surreal delirium. Every dead-eyed stare and utterance of the word sir becomes skin-crawling. This is both a hilarious and terrifying send-up of capitalist-driven masculinity and a poignant story about the perception-altering blessings (and burdens) of queerness.
