Created by Ngozi Ukazu, Check, Please! is the story of Eric “Bitty” Bittle, former figure skater and baking enthusiast, as he navigates through his college years on a varsity male hockey team full of big, supportive, and emotional jocks.
How does the absence of thought bubbles shape the reader’s relationship to Bitty?
It wasn’t until recently that Ngozi pointed out the obvious: there are no thought bubbles in Check, Please! It’s one of those knee-jerk reaction moments where you immediately swear you saw one, but then reality sinks in: it’s true. The entire comic is devoid of one of the staples of the medium, text surrounded by puffy clouds granting the reader insight into the deepest depths of a character’s thoughts. However, readers do know Bitty well; one of the indisputable strengths of Check, Please! are its very strong characterizations. Besides from Bitty’s interactions with other characters, how does the reader get that extra bit of insight? His vlog.
Credit: Ngozi Ukazu
A shot of Bitty in his hockey gear from behind. Faber’s stands and tall glass windows are in the background, a clear orange sky behind them.
Bitty’s narration: Well, y’all!! This is it! We’re all off to the end of the year banquet out at the Samwell golf course. It’s one of my favorite events of the season because Samwell hockey does clean up nice, but… it’s sad. Because after that, it’s a whirlwind. It’s the banquet, then reading week, then finals, then graduation and then… I won’t see these boys of the summer. And then I’ve only got one year left at Samwell University.
Credit: Ngozi Ukazu
A close-up of Bitty putting on a bow tie. On the right, a smaller panel with a shot of Bitty’s cellphone in his hand, a series of pictures on the screen.
Bitty’s narration: Lord knows I’m not one to get ahead of myself, but. Three years already! Life just goes by so fast, y’know? Y’all we’re here when I moved in! I coulda sworn I was bringing a pecan pie to my first keister yesterday, and now…
Bitty’s baking/relationship advice vlog @omgcheckplease is his emotional outlet. The comic starts with him vlogging arriving at Samwell, and it ends with him vlogging all out his upcoming plans post-graduation. Not only is it a kind of framing device for the narrative, but it is also the way Bitty’s thoughts are communicated to the reader. Traditionally, this would have been represented through thought bubbles, reinforcing the boundary between the text and reader. However, Bitty reaching out to his followers means that he is metanarratively reaching out to the readers. This way the reader actually becomes another character in the story.
Expect for the last speech bubble, Bitty does not really “speak” in this chapter. The text surrounding the images of him getting ready, seeing the year’s pictures on his phone and his memories are a two-level form of narration. On the first, it functions as the traditional character narration, putting thoughts into words to further characterization and set the chapter’s tone. On the second level, Bitty is speaking to his viewers, the unseen characters personified by the readers beyond the fourth wall. Having no thought bubbles creates a more intimate relationship between Bitty and the reader. The reader is privy to both his day-to-day through the comic panels, and also to a more grounded perspective as a vlog viewer.