I was super excited when I got approved for this title. I mean, I love webcomics and I especially love queer webcomics, so what could go wrong, right? Sadly I just didn't enjoy this very much. Don't get me wrong, this comic isn't *bad*, I just couldn't really connect with the characters and it wasn't as funny as I was expecting. Overall I still enjoyed most of it but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

firstly want to say this book was such a fun and cool little graphic novel but sadly I was a little let down as I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. this graphic novel was good but for me I dint really click with the story and kept getting distracted and wasn't really peaking my interest much. Don't get me wrong I love the story behind it and of course loved the representation of so many sexualities such as trans, non binary, bisexual and many more. but for me as a whole this was just a cute little graphic novel for me sadly.
the illustration style was different aswell to the graphic novels i'm used to reading but actually that was a nice change.

sadly overall this was a 2.5/5 stars a okay graphic novel but loved the representation shown throughout.

thank you for netgally and BOOM! studios publishing for the E arc

TBH, Grease Bats is somewhat fun and humorous but in my opinion, I think this book isn’t for me. I’m so sorry. I wish I had enjoyed it more than I did.

I get the aesthetic this collection is going for (early Dykes To Watch Out For crossed with early Hark! A Vagrant) but I don't actually like it. The art is just... extremely bad? Like, the quality and effort look approximately equal to something a not-very-talented middle schooler doodled on the back of their math homework. So that's something to be aware of. The actual plot (a bunch of queer friends in I'm guessing their mid-twenties make a lot of realistically terrible decisions about money, alcohol, and relationships) is fine and entertaining, and does very much evoke the Dykes To Watch Out For vibe it's going for. I'm very unimpressed with the effort the publisher/editor clearly did not put in, since they're just letting all the spelling and grammatical errors go straight on through to the final product (how much effort! would it take!! to white-out and fix a basic spelling error!!!), but if you're okay with the lo-fi zine quality of everything else I'm guessing it's not going to bother you. I get that there aren't a lot of stories like this out there so this collection will definitely find its audience regardless, and the cast is authentic and charming (Andy the slutty genderqueer dirtbag, Scout the useless grunge lesbian, Gwen the outgoing and newly out bisexual, Taylor of inexperienced lesbian grad student, and Ari the trans ace anti-capitalist), but it does really annoy me that the publisher apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort to edit the thing before printing it. Long story short: thumbs up for concept, thumbs down for execution.

If I had to reduce what I have to say about this comic, I will say: I didn't know how much I needed to read it.
It was like being able to read some of my fears and thoughts there, and find answers, along with beautiful drawings and great humor.
Each and every one of the topics that the characters in this comic speak are SUPER important (pronouns, sex, gender, idetification, and more) and everything is so well represented and it is impossible not to feel identified with any of all those fantastic chapters.
Another thing that I liked about the comic, is that although it is long, the separation of the chapters by themes and moments makes it super light to read.
The truth when I started it I had no idea what I was getting into but I am so glad that I could read it, as I said at the beginning it was just what I needed and did not know.
Super recommended. Queer people this is a comic that you don't have to miss.

Grease Bats came to me as a surprise. Archie Bongiovanni portrays the lives of two best friends, Andy and Scout, as they navigate through life, hookups, lost loves, binge drinking and understanding what their place in the world is.

The characters were so refreshing and accurate in their representation. Andy is trans, genderqueer and unapologetic, portraying loving and having sex unashamedly. Scout is loyal, kind and honestly still getting over her ex, but she'll get there.

The themes are ever so relevant. With Bongiovanni's witty humor, the truth that Grease Bats holds is sure to resonate with readers, who will find themselves laughing out loud and sympathizing with characters at their happiest and lowest points. No character is too little, all of the side characters have full purposes and they feel so unique on the page, filling the story with different perspectives and opportunities to reflect on modern issues.

Highly recommended!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All-inclusive, all-queer, all-funny… all-everything! Grease Bats is a series of hilarious, thought-provoking comic strips by Archie Bongiovanni, about a group of friends navigating their 20s, past, present and future loves, emotional processing — or the refusal thereof when DRUNK and HIGH — friendship, boundaries and the vast spectrum of queerness, gender and sexuality.

Grease Bats follows the day-to-day lives of: Andy, a genderqueer individual, wearer of the best tank tops — Eat Ass 24/7 is my personal number one — Scout, their best friend, a blunderer for all things related to love and relationships; Ari is their flatmate and an introvert, pessimist and atheist — as stated by my favourite strips, titled “Identity”, is the squad member with whom I resonate the most — Gwen, a bisexual, easy-going extrovert; and Taylor, a grad school student and overthinking bottom.

Archie has an unique style and if you want to check out their other amazing works, you can on their site: www.archiebongiovanni.com. They made a very useful and fun guide to gender-neutral pronouns accessible to everyone willing to learn how to use them and the importance they have, called A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns.

Highly recommended! It is a read you can't miss!

This would be a great book for the right audience but I wasn't it. Didn't care for the art work and I was looking for something with teen appeal and this is definitely for adults.

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to BOOM! Studios for the opportunity.

When I first found out that I was approved for this e-ARC, I was really happy and excited to work my way through it. And as I started reading the strips, I told myself that this is a good one.

It tells a story of two friends -- Andy and Scout. Andy is genderqueer, and representation is really a big thing for me. It's a fun and quirky read and I can't wait for this to come out (pun intended) and share this with my friends.

Archie Bongiovanni made sure to give us good laughs while sharing a side of a queer world that people needed to see.

Grease Bats is a collection of comics from Archie Bongiovanni. Due out 3rd Sept 2019 from Boom! studios, it's 304 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook (comiXology) formats.

Grease Bats is a slice of life comic in multi-page panel story format. The drawing style is simple and appealing, with clearly well developed characters who go about their daily lives and interact with the sometimes inexplicable world in which we all live.

I liked so many things about these stories. Little things like the character's t-shirt changes and the angst when a favorite hang-out closes or turns into something you don't recognize (or becomes a freakin' FERN BAR - Lookin' at you Lof's). There were a lot of big things I liked too, like characters who are PoC, that the characters felt genuine to me and not like they had to be paragons of virtue because they weren't straight,. The author/artist manages to impart some grammatical and etiquette advice without resorting to being strident or preachy - preferred personal pronoun use for one thing, acceptable mobile phone use in company for another (huge pet peeve of mine). There were also recurring themes of consent, interpersonal interaction, flirting, dating, real friendship, fighting the establishment, etc. The stereotypical characterizations of the straight characters was a bit over the top, but didn't degenerate into cruelty, so that's cool. I understand that the majority of the target readership doesn't identify as straight, but there are a lot of good points here which could make for valuable reading for CISgender people. There were also a number of typos in the early eARC I received for review purposes. I imagine they'll be edited out before release (they usually are).

There are over 50 self contained short stories in this collection. Like all collections, some of the stories resonated more than others, but they were all readable and some were quite thought provoking. This would make a really good afternoon binge read, or a sampling of a story at a time over a longer period of time. It might also make a good gift for a friend or family member who's coming out or potentially for straight family members who just don't understand the whole 'they/them' pronoun 'thing'. It's not a handbook, it's a collection of light humor whose primary characters are not straight and CIS.

Four stars.

It took me a little while to get into this one but once I did it was really funny and relatable. I think that ideally if I wasn't reading it as an ARC I would have just had it laying around and read a few strips every day - every page is basically a 4-6 panel self contained webcomic, although several of them continue off each other chronologically - because I always find reading a ton of really short things all in a row to be weird, but it was overall really fun and definitely got better as they added more recurring characters besides just the main two. I personally really liked that they added an extremely introverted aro/ace character because I could use that character as a proxy to me being oftentimes baffled by the main two characters' actions lol. Being aro/ace and watching people try to be in relationships is just such a trip honestly. Anyway, definitely a cute book, would recommend!

Grease Bats is a slice of life Peanuts-esque comic that packs a bunch. It follows a variety of characters that all fit outside of societal norms in some way exploring their sexuality, gender, and identity in short strip comics. It's an interesting introduction to a much broader conversation.
Because the story doesn't follow the typical narrative style, and really is just a collection of short digestible life moments, I think it's easily approachable and great to pick-up whenever. It keeps things real and can be a little hard to get through sometimes because let's face it, we all know a Karen, and it wouldn't kill us to keep an open mind and continue to educate ourselves. Also, can we talk about the super healthy discussions that happen in here? Major points.
Great #BroMoments, great friendships, quirky, funny, and cute.

Fans of Dykes to Watch Out For and Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl will love this slice-of-love comic strip following a group of queer friends dealing with the woes of the 21st century, from fascist politics to capitalism, online dating, identity crises, and communication issues. These comics will make you laugh and relate even if this particular subset of the queer experience (full of parties, drugs, and hookups) doesn't reflect your life!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a collection of short vignettes that take place over a period of a few years. It was candid, funny, smart, and thoughtful. Definitely recommend.

*I received this book as an eARC from BOOM! Studios via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This graphic novel is a beautifully queer collection of comic strip stories. There's so many different topics covered. The stories showcase the challenges and struggles of queer people. But, there are also some pretty hilarious parts. I give this collection a 4/5.

I don't have the words to describe how amazing this collection is. I loved every single comic in here. It's so true to life. I want it to be printed already so I can give copies to all my friends and be like "it's us! but with more drinking!". I'd read things by Archie before but this is by far my favorite thing they've written. Reading this was like reading affirmation and validation.

Queer besties Andy and Scout navigate life, love, friendship, the tumultuous political environment and their 20s in this hilarious comics collection.

I was not expecting to love this nearly as much as I did. I’m not sure why? But I’m thinking it’s because I saw the cover, with the kinda not the best illustrations (they reminded me vaguely of Beavis and Butthead or King of the Hill), so was leery?

But set aside your reservations—this is timely poignant and holy fucking shirtballs hilarious.

Andy is a trans genderqueer person of color whose life is kiiiiiiiiiinda a dumpster fire but also they just like to life by the moment (outwardly the toughest, inwardly the most sensitive).

Scout is Andy’s BFF, an over-thinking feeler who wants to date again but can’t move on from her ex-girlfriend…of two years ago. She’s super heckin’ awkward around those she finds attractive, and takes three hours to send texts to girls who end up being straight. She also likes burritos (and turning herself into a burrito).

Ari is Andy and Scout’s new roommate, an aro ace trans introvert who will bluntly tell the others how it is (and that she will not be joining them for meaningless holidays or participating in worthless capitalistic rites of passage). She also has silent Saturdays and solo Sundays, which are hilarious and also I 100% agree with.

Gwen has newly broken up with her boyfriend of five years and is ready to embrace her bisexual self—except she’s never done anything with the opposite sex and does that means she’s not queer?? Anywho, she explores her sexuality, has an awakening, and realizes that you can have it all—although sometimes you also have to unpack of a lot of societal expectations, particularly when it comes to family who don’t accept you or have awful, bigoted views of the world.

Taylor is…a grad student.

In the forward, A.E. Osworth talks about how they and their friends tried to match themselves to a Grease Bat, and then realized that they were all shades of each character.

I absolutely agree. I found myself in each character—from Gwen and Taylor’s struggle to believe they belong in queer spaces (either from realizing their sexuality late or experimenting with it late or being queer and never having had sex before), to Ari’s lack of fucks and extreme introvertism, to Scout’s agonizing over every romantic thing, to Andy’s floppies, to Taylor’s social awkwardness.

There’s a little something for everyone. And a little Grease Bat in everyone.

Additionally, there’s intersectionality, the exploration of gender norms and queerness, seriously funny t-shirts and hats, mental health discussions, interesting jort choices, and social and political commentary—and also much talk of microaggressions, such as addressing a group of people “hello ladies” or taunting non-feminine conforming individuals who aren’t wearing their three articles of gender-conforming apparel (it’s like a more aggressive form of 17 pieces of flair). And much drinking and a little casual cocaine.

Anywho, if you’re exhausted by the constant attack on queer spaces and queer rights, and need something that’s #ownvoices and inclusive and all-around adorable, check this out.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a very cute, funny, and sometimes emotional graphic novel! There were parts that didn't run as smooth as the rest, but overall I really liked it! It was kind of like hanging out with a bunch of friends. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but I liked it nonetheless.

This is the cutest book in the world of LGBTQ+ literature, and I'm going to buy it for every single one of my queer friends. It's the book that the LGBTQ+ community deserves, and I've never seen anything like it before!

Here's the gist: This book is a compilation of comics written by Archie Bongiovanni, a genderqueer artist, for Autostraddle. The comic strips were compiled into this book. So it's not exactly a graphic novel because it doesn't have a completely connected plot, but there's still continuity and you can tell that time is passing. I was initially disappointed that it wasn't a graphic novel (which just shows that I need to read the blurb more carefully), but that disappointment didn't last past the first comic strip, because it's just so endearing!

The two main characters are Scout, a lesbian who still isn't over her ex-girlfriend Emily, and is absolutely hopeless at asking girls out. Andy is a polyamorous, genderqueer, extremely flirtatious and smooth person. Basically the polar opposite of Scout. But the two are best friends and support each other through all their romantic endeavors and misadventures.

What I love about this comic is that it's so clearly written by a queer person, for queer people. Andy's gender feels have a lot of credibility since they come from a genderqueer creator, and I learned a lot about what a genderqueer person's day-to-day life can be like. I was frustrated right along with Andy when they got misgendered - like when somebody at a restaurant would be like, "Hey ladies, here are your drinks!" Then Scout would be there to comfort Andy and try to distract them with something. Which would often be glitter, because Andy is a flamboyant person. :)

It talks a lot about the importance of having safe spaces for queer people and how much it hurts to have those spaces taken away - like a queer bar being bought by a straight cis man to just be a sports bar. Scout and Andy get rightfully upset about that.

The characters aren't perfect - they make mistakes and hurt each other accidentally. But they always have a conversation about what went wrong and then do their best to act better. This is such a realistic and wholesome thing to see, and it's great to have this behavior modeled in these characters. It can be really helpful for readers to know a healthier way to behave.

And the supporting cast of characters is so diverse across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, too! Ari is a trans girl who seems to me to be asexual and possibly aromantic. She never comes right out and says it, which is completely fine and realistic, too! Taylor is a gay girl who has never actually dated another girl and feels like an imposter because of it (which leads to some really excellent discussions of what it means to be "queer enough." Spoiler: if you identify as queer, then you're queer enough!) And Gwen is a bisexual girl who is a self-proclaimed slut and proud of it. The sheer amount of diversity illustrated in these characters is beyond fantastic, and I literally couldn't ask for a better roundup!

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there are some typos throughout the comics. Can it be called a "typo" if it's hand-written? I completely understand having typos in the webcomic, because that's a more informal format. But when it comes time to turn said webcomic into book form, I think the spelling errors can be fixed. This included such mistakes as spelling weird "wierd." That said, I read an ARC, so this may be fixed in the final version.

In conclusion, this is one of the best books I've read this year, and the perfect gift for an LGBTQ+ person or anybody in their 20s trying to figure out who the heck they are.

***Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

I got an ARC of this book.

Ok, so like I am super queer. I am trans, ace, aro, in a QPR with a married lesbian house wife, and in a poly relationship with a married gay man who is questioning his gender. Can you get any more queer? The answer is yes. Reading this book made me feel so much more queer and it was WONDERFUL. 

This book is literally perfect. The characters range from super queer and confident to baby queers and insecure (sometimes in the same character on the same page!). I loved all of the characters. ALL OF THEM. Scout and Andy were fantastic. They were goofy, in your face queer (ANDY'S SHIRTS OMG), and just so real. All of their drama felt over the top, but also like a typical gathering of queer friends. (How many times can I say queer in this review? I don't know, but I feel like a thousand is appropriate for this book, because I just love the word and the way this book made me feel about myself and the world.)

This book references everything from Ellen DeGeneres to Tom of Finland. I just can't even with my fan boying over here. There was shouting about capitalist society. There was protests. There was call out of the patriarchy and the way that marriage is just a social construct for enforcing gender norms and heteronormity. I AM IN LOVE.  This is the book that explains my brain and my life in college (minus the drinking. I had like no drinking in college, because I was crushing on one of my professors and I needed to impress her by being the best feminist ever). 

Just yes. This book is a yes. Also, I am upset by how many times I was embarassed by how accurate these comics were to my life. Please, Bongiovanni, leave me and my Grey's Anatomy, burrito love, and my embroidery hobbies alone. Thank you. (Also, please just continue to write amazing books that I fall in love with.)