Big Bitty Believer

My Check please Sideblog! Bad Bob Rad Bob is my Dad Bob. English is not my mothertongue!

[omgcheckplease]

👋 Hi Wellies,

First—

Ukazu says, a rising tide lifts all boats, including the S.S. Check, Please! She’s hopeful that the success of Heated Rivalry, as well as another queer romance graphic novel-turned-TV show Heartstopper, will make the dream of seeing her work onscreen into a reality: The book has been optioned for adaptation. — Vanity Fair

Check, Please! has been optioned for a film/television adaptation. A while ago, actually—and that’s lovely. Nevertheless, the vast majority of options do not become television because it takes a million things going right to get projects off the ground.

That being said.

Ahem.

Speaking of getting projects off the ground...

From when Bitty first stepped out into the rink at Faber, to when he kissed the ice at graduation, we've all been part of this fun, weird, magical world of Samwell hockey. But when I left the world of Samwell hockey, I left knowing Jack and Bitty's story was done. Bitty's journey as the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain was done. We baked the last pie; we shut off the lights at the kegster; the story was complete.

…But as I looked around I realized, I had one more story to tell.

Which is why I'm thrilled to announce that a brand new volume of Check, Please! will be serialized in 2026. Dozens of new comics, exciting update drops, your favorite characters with brand new storylines, and characters you've yet to meet.

Hello, Internet Land—SMH is coming home.

This fifth year of Check, Please! will be filled with shenanigans, drama, hockey, pies, Haus parties, and a new message of acceptance that is near and dear to me. And it's been brewing over the last year and half! But with the latest boom in queer hockey stories, I figured, hey! ¯\(ツ)/¯ Here's another one to look forward to. :)

Marginalized athletes still face harmful bigotry, and for this reason, queer sports stories are more important than ever. I love Samwell hockey and how each of you has embraced this roster of athletes.

There's so much more to come.

Ngozi 🏒🥧❤️

=

MORE NEWS? SURE:

I’ll be at Emerald City Comic Con 2026, and yes, I will be dropping exclusive details about Check, Please! Year Fived during my spotlight panel: Ngozi Ukazu - From Check, Please! to DC and Back! (Be there!)

Follow me on Patreon for behind-the-scenes on the making of Check, Please!: Year Five. I'm gonna livestream...a lot.

If only there were an original mm romance that you could read right now while you wait for more Year Five updates! Good news—John Rich & The Big Picture is very cute and laugh-out-loud funny and you can read it now, for free.

My latest graphic novel FLIP has made the best-of lists for the New York Public Library, the A.V. Club, Kirkus Books, School & Library Journal—and more. Get it here.

[hoenursey]

HOLY SHIT

GUYS IM UP IM HERE WE'RE SO FUCKING BACK

[loveliesttime]

"i could fix him" "i could make him worse" well i could make him move out by august. september. tops.

[watermelonmountaindew]

I do accept criticism but ONLY if presented with evidence

( @bisexualnursey how’d I do?)

[virgoscringe]

have some nurseydex as a reminder to take study breaks!! they’re important!!

(nursey’s drink is an oatmilk vanilla latte with 2 pumps of cinnamon no foam and dex’s is peppermint hot chocolate with extra whipped cream)

[henryclaremontdiaz]

don’t let this face fool you, this is a straight up demon

[muppetyaoi]

THEY’RE FUCKING MARRIED YALL.

[uncleshits]

ok ik I say Ransom and Dex are an underrated friendship all the time (and they are!! I stand by that!!) but yall aren't ready for the REAL underrated d-men mentor friendship.......

Holster and Nursey

[uncleshits]

absolute NERDS seeing local musicals and plays together, listening to musical soundtracks together on roadies when Dex and Ransom are doing homework, Holster giving Nursey guidance on helping Dex manage his stress, for Holster's birthday one year Nursey gets him tickets to see a broadway show and they hang out in NYC for a few days over summer, Jewish!Nursey and Holster observing holidays together and celebrating Hanukkah together, both of them making CONSTANT bi jokes and puns, the possibilities are ENDLESS

[oatdog-deactivated20241018]

please look OUT he is BAKING

[johnnyjoestarrelatable]

business majors be like damn i have a human rights violation due tomorrow

[parseisflat]

bitty resents his parents.

sometimes he gets angry at them. or, more realistically, he’s always a little mad at them, quietly simmering in the background. but sometimes when the zimmermanns accept jack’s bisexuality without hesitation, sometimes when he sees a janitor’s closet, sometimes for no reason at all, he’s fucking furious.

how much do you think he confided in his parents when he was in the closet? did he even tell his parents he was getting bullied? did they know until coach found him locked in the janitors closet? actively hiding his sexuality means he’s used to keeping things from his parents, and then he’s not telling them anything at all, and then they don’t know anything about him anymore and actually... no one really does, for a long time.

and then he goes to samwell and finds a new family who accept and understand and love him. he’s grateful, of course he is, but every single day these fucking frat bros, of all people, show him the unapologetic acceptance his parents never gave him.

so he’s furious. because he wasted so many years of his life in the fucking closet, and he knows it’s not their fault and that they’re trying, but the team understood so easily and why couldn’t they do that too why can’t coach just acknowledge that jack is his boyfriend does he want coach to pretend that this is normal because it’s not why does he have to-

“you’re good, okay?”

and coach and mama are trying. but there are so many extra steps. learning that he’s gay. being okay with it. surviving it. coming out. hiding. surviving it. coming out over and over and over. coach acknowledging it. coach and mama stumbling and not knowing and trying but not getting there. surviving it.

he’s tired of waiting for them to get there because he’s been putting in the work every single day since the first time he was called a faggot in pee wee football.

he knows his parents will get there eventually. he just wishes he didn’t have to be the catalyst for his parents to change.

[somethingnurseywoulddo]

i think the best thing the fandom did for holster was take the canon fact that he can sing well, and collectively agreed he is into musical theater.

[nurseanddex]

everyone calm down it is actually canon we didn’t make this one up

[dykeseinfeld]

this panel is the blueprint

[b1ttle]

CORRECT and may I also add-

[lesbasketsjaunes]

[zimms]

ollie and wicks got together immediately before kissing the ice. send tweet.

[erikos-libertarian-socialist]

[flipocrite]

reminder that Gregor Samsa’s first thought to his kafkaesque metamorphosis was “aw shit I still have to go to work”

[hampop]

I’m sorry did you just refer to the metamorphosis in the book Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka as “Kafkaesque”

[socialistexan]

[frogbaker]

i think that one of the things that makes Check, Please! such a heartwarming and pleasant comic, is that the two leads are just,, sweet people with strong Future Parent Energy

Like I'll bet they both give The Best Hugs