I interviewed hockey players and the beat reporter for the Yale hockey team, watched movies and documentaries, and read ethnographies about hockey culture–and went to a TON many hockey games. I’ve always enjoyed sports and the intersections of sports and culture, and this very strange Canadian game has decades of history and tradition. By the time I was done with research I was so immersed that I was hooked. But the conservative, conforming, white, hyper-masculine environment of ice hockey was a fertile arena to tell a critical and quirky story about gender and sexuality.

These aren’t necessarily identities you would associate with ice hockey, admittedly. I’m a first-generation Nigerian woman–a black woman–and a Texan. I was inspired to write about ice hockey after a Yale hockey player in my freshman German class made an off-hand, generalized, and very interesting comment about his team’s sexuality. My interest in the sport began during my senior year at Yale, after I completed a screenplay about ice hockey which required an extensive amount of research. What drew you to it, and what did you do to research the subject? Your intro says you didn’t grow up with hockey either. It’s like hockey is the fluffy crust of the Check, Please! pie, and the positive themes and fresh cartoony art style are the sweet filling.Ģ) I have to admit, I know nothing about hockey (despite being Canadian) and was pleasantly surprised by all the charm and humour. I even have my own hockey name now - Hearty! - thanks to this book, so you see I’ve come away a changed reader.Īnyway, that’s all preamble - you’re here for the interview! Without further ado, let’s turn this over to Ngozi, who is every bit as delightful as her book.ġ) How would you sum up Check Please! for readers who haven’t heard of it yet - and especially readers who might be a little iffy about hockey?Ĭheck, Please! is about hockey–but it’s also a slice-of-life, lgbtq, coming-of-age romance with found families, college friendships and baking.

Here, that’s definitely true the wit, charm, and humanity grabbed me right away, and never let go. There’s a principle I try to live by: the best art in a genre I’m unfamiliar with is by definition better than the mediocre crap I’m willing to put up with from my comfort-zone genres. If you’re not usually into “sports fiction” either, I would encourage you to set that preconception aside and give this a try. I’m not a hockey person, I admit it’s my chief failing as a Canadian. Check Please! Book 1: #HOCKEY is a charming, hilarious tale of hockey, pastry, and self-acceptance. It is my distinct pleasure to have interviewed Ngozi Ukazu, author and illustrator of the first graphic novel to be nominated for the Morris Award.

Check please book 1 hockey