College hockey webcomic Check, Please! built a cult following on Tumblr, raising almost $400,000 on Kickstarter for its second printed volume. Someone in the publishing industry finally noticed, because Check, Please! just landed a two-volume deal with First Second Books. Book three is currently in the works.
Written and drawn by Ngozi Ukazu, Check, Please! is a slice-of-life serial about a college hockey team. The main character is Eric Bittle, a baking fanatic and avid vlogger who finds a new family with his teammates and falls in love with the team captain. It’s a slow-burn romance with plenty of relatable subplots about college life and friendship, as Eric bonds with his frat-bro teammates and moves into the team house.
The whole comic is available for free on Tumblr, but its fanbase is enthusiastic enough to warrant two crowdfunded print editions so far, plus merchandise and a ton of fanfiction and art.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the first volume will be republished by First Second Books in fall 2018, with volume two following in fall 2019. The reprints will introduce Check, Please! to a wider audience, but will also include new material for longtime fans.
Ngozi Ukazu is the latest success story from the world of Tumblr fandom, following in the footsteps of Noelle Stevenson, who won an Eisner Award for her webcomic Nimona in 2016.