• Home
  • Releases
  • Blog
  • Design
  • Posters
  • Submission Guidelines
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Loser City

Multimedia Collective

  • Home
  • Releases
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Art
  • Submissions
  • February 16, 2019
You are here: Home / Features / Fantasy Sports Combines Everything I Love… and Basketball

Fantasy Sports Combines Everything I Love… and Basketball

March 2, 2015 By David Fairbanks Leave a Comment

Fantasy Sports Sam Bosma NobrowNow that I’m pushing thirty years old, I think I have finally overcome many of the negative stereotypes our society associates with someone who would self-identify as a nerd.

I know how to dress myself pretty well, have the ability to discern when someone I’m talking with is nowhere near as enthusiastic about something as I am, have abandoned petty loyalties to brands/characters/media in favor of those who produce quality media, and generally find myself capable of empathizing with most human beings.

But sports still haven’t won me over.

After working for three years at a comic shop owned by a huge soccer fan and following the careers of the fictional Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers and AFC Wimbly Womblys, I have a certain appreciation for the sport—particularly the league structure that causes quite a few Americans to be confused as to how a tie can be an interesting result—but I don’t even go out of my way for soccer. Basketball generally interests me less.

And yet here I am, reading an advance copy of Sam Bosma’s Fantasy Sports #1 from Nobrow Press and finding myself drawn into every aspect of the story… even the sports. What I find particularly intriguing is that if someone told me five years ago that I’d like a comic about basketball drawn in a manga-inspired style that reminds me of Osamu Tezuka and with a wizard school premise that feels very comfortable in its place in a post-Harry Potter world, I would think they were crazy.

But all of those things are true about Fantasy Sports #1, and I love it:

  • Wiz-Kid, our young protagonist, is easy to identify with and breaks American stereotypes of both fantasy/adventure stories and sports stories (and whom I initially misgendered because of said stereotypes).
  • Mug, the master to Wiz-Kid’s apprentice, plays the role of the lovably violent oaf near perfectly, and as we see Wiz-Kid grow into a better mage, I expect we’ll see Mug grow into a better human being.
  • He of the Giant Steps, the three-eyed mummy guarding the tomb Mug and Wiz-Kid are raiding, looks as though he comes straight out of a horror tale yet also manages to fit in just right on a basketball court once he suits up.
  • Bosma doesn’t just gloss over the killing of minions, and it feels like he’s got a long-game plan in place for how Wiz-Kid may eventually have to deal with something fantasy and adventure stories don’t often address: killing the nameless characters standing in the protagonist’s way.
  • Despite not really enjoying watching basketball, the sport portions are still really exciting. Bosma’s use of color throughout the fight scene/basketball game help illustrate just how important the oft-overlooked art of coloring is to setting the tone for a comic.
  • Bosma’s style feels manga-influenced in the best of ways. He gives every page the feeling that it can transcend genres and cultures in the same way some of those early English manga translations did, the same way many cultures are able to bond over sports despite their differences.

Fantasy Sports Sam Bosma NobrowBosma’s art benefits greatly from the oversized nature of the book, and I would hesitate to recommend anyone read this digitally unless it’s on a computer with a large screen, their e-reader of choice has guided view that blows up the panel size, or they have a 12”x9” tablet.

Fantasy Sports has the makings of a timeless classic that could introduce sports fans into fantasy stories and comics, introduce comics fans into sports, and help break stereotypes that teen magic stories/teen sports stories/comics in general are about teen boys.

That said, I do feel a little reluctant recommending Fantasy Sports #1 to readers unfamiliar with the impressive stable of books and the slightly higher price tag that often comes with Nobrow comics. Having read it, I think the comic is worth $19.95, especially with the beautiful oversized hardcover treatment, but the price feels like a hurdle worth mentioning.

Do me a favor and help Fantasy Sports catch on as the brilliant young coming of age tale it seems ready to be, Bosma deserves at least a handful of volumes to tell some more stories about Mug and Wiz-Kid, especially considering that a thick collected edition of the first few issues in paperback could certainly alleviate any worries over pricing.

Fantasy Sports #1 should be on sale this spring, and you can see a comprehensive preview at Robot6.

Read my review of Nobrow’s Moonhead and the Music Machine here, check out more works from Nobrow Press here and see what Sam Bosma’s up to here.


DAVID FAIRBANKS is Loser City’s resident poet and Creative Writing Editor. He doesn’t get many things right the first time but insists that this is why editors exist and why the English language features the prefix “re-.” You can find David twittering with alarming frequency at @bairfanx.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Features, Reviews

About David Fairbanks

I write criticism, poetry, and marketing stuffs. I sometimes make art. Like my work? I'm at www.patreon.com/bairfanx

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SOCIAL

FacebookInstagramTumblrTwitter

Buy Loser City Apparel

loser city T-shirt

Be a Loser

Sign up for Loser City's mailing list to receive weekly updates about the latest articles, shows, and releases.

TRENDZ

Ales Kot Anatomy of a Page Austin CBS comedy comics Dark Horse DC DC Comics documentary Fantagraphics Film Fossil Records Games HBO hip-hop horror humor IDW Image Comics Indie indie comics jake muncy manga Marvel Marvel Comics Melissa Benoist Music penny dreadful Pete Toms punk Questionable Comics Review Ryan K Lindsay sci-fi Seattle Showtime Supergirl SXSW Television the CW TV video games Video of the Week ymmv

Top Posts & Pages

  • Miss Stevens is a Film About Loneliness That Forgets it's About Loneliness
  • Trophies of Over Indulgence: A Look Inside the World of Gainers
  • Below Her Mouth is Yet Another Disappointing Film About Lesbian Experiences
  • The 100 Best Comics of the First Half of the 2010s: Part 1, 100-81
  • The 100 Best Comics of the First Half of the 2010s: Part Five, 20-1
  • Fluid Exchange: I Roved Out by Rupert Everton
  • Ballin' on Ballers: From the Window...
  • Bingo Love has Laudable Aims but Its Storytelling Falters
  • Fluid Exchange: Stjepan Sejic's Sunstone
  • ymmv - Always Be Learning

Follow Loser City

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • same tbh
  • merry doge-mas 
#christmas #dogsofinstagram

Follow loser_city on the Gram

Loser City is…

Comics, shows, a secret critical network -- we aim to fail big.

Danny Djeljosevic: Co-Founder

Morgan Davis: Co-Founder

Nick Hanover: Glorious Godfrey of LC

David Fairbanks: Creative Writing Editor

Kayleigh Hughes: Film Editor

Julie Muncy: Games Editor

David He: Assisting Consultant*

Contributors: Nate Abernethy, John Bender, AJ Bernardo, CJ Camba, Liam Conlon, Daniel Elkin, David A. French, Rafael Gaitan, Dylan Garsee, Stefanie Gray, Johnson Hagood, Shea Hennum, Zak Kinsella, Austin Lanari, Marissa Louise, Francesca Lyn, Chase Magnett, Justin Martin, Diana Naneva, Claire Napier, Joshua Palmer, James Pound, Mike Prezzato, Lars Russell, David Sackllah, Keith Silva, Nicholas Slayton, Carly Smith, Ray Sonne, Tom Speelman, Mark O. Stack, Dylan Tano, Mason Walker

Art

Why So Angry: Refusing to Forget Stories of Abuse

Poetry: My God, My World

Comic Cinema Club: Sorcerer by Rafael Gaitan and Mike Prezzato

Nonfiction: Progeny in Crisis by Kayleigh Hughes

The Persistence of Synergy: Scenes from the Stock Business Photo Prison Hellscape

More Art

Interviews

Dhani Harrison Plots His Own Path With Solo Debut In///Parallel

Boston Terriers and Desert Vibes: A Conversation with Jay and Sanders Fabares of “The Pale”

Questionable Comics: Becky & Frank and Rachael Stott

More Interviews

Copyright © 2019 · · · Website by Eric Bullet