Check out our BUST review below!
Boys Weekend is a graphic novel centered on Sammie, a newly out trans femme. When their best friend from college, Adam, announces his upcoming nuptials and invites them to a bachelor party on a lawless, futuristic, Vegas-like island, Sammie feels obligated to attend. Despite being out to Adam and his tech bro friends, they still find Sammie’s gender identity confusing, often making them the butt of jokes or asking idiotic questions. Meanwhile, Sammie suspects something nefarious is afoot once they notice that their trip coincides with a conference for a suspiciously cultish organization.
While a horror story about gender identity might not seem like an obvious fit, it actually is symbolic of the price one must pay for societal conformity. The tech bros at the center of the story seem, representative of those cishet men who hold tightly to archaic gender norms—even when they lead to their own suffering. Author Mattie Lubchansky cleverly spins horror tropes to send up toxic masculinity and tech bro culture. They also cast a critical eye at the systems that continue to enforce a strict gender binary. Boys Weekend is compelling and hilarious with plenty of food for thought.
Boys Weekend is written by Mattie Lubchansky and published by Panteon.
