Go Get A Roomie Review

Where would a queer webcomic review blog be without one of the longest running Girls Love (GL) comics of all time “Go Get A Roomie!”?

*** Light Spoilers below ***

Started in early 2010 and still going strong, Go Get A Roomie is a NSFW European slice of life comedy. Centered around a beer loving, carefree hippy "Roomie" living life with her roomate, the jaded, lucid dreamer Lilian. It’s probably one of, if not the best slice of life queer comics around.

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The art

Now, the thing with looking at the art for a comic that’s been running for 8 years is there’s going to be some changes. And you would hope so, too. And the art in Go Get A Roomie has certainly changed. In the first couple of chapters in this comic the art is … rough. The characters remain recognisable, and the backgrounds though wobbly aren’t horrible. It isn’t bad art, but it certainly is not the best. But throughout the comic, without losing the style the comic goes from this:

to this…

The panels of these comics are stylised and friendly, but gorgeous. There are many comics that look incredibly pretty, but fall apart when the panels are used as a storytelling tool. In Go Get a Roomie things like panel shape, background detail, timing, and the way it directs the readers eyes sets it apart. It’s highly competent, and it really sells the scenes and the jokes it wants to tell. The deep understanding of panel work and page setting make this comic a joy to read.

The comic may be a horizontal, monochromatic strip. But it knows how to work that, and it knows how and when to pull it’s punches with silent, down to earth panels, and when to really hit the panel home. It’s the care that goes into this comic that really elevates the artwork for the story.  (However, being such an old comic, it takes few chapters until the panels really start to click).

The Characters

Now, this may be a controversial point, but quite a few comics as diverse as this have a lot of problems with characterisation. And [nn5] , lack of diversity is an incredibly important issue with modern media. But, a lot of queer ensemble comics fall into a trap of writing a lot of LGBT+ characters and then forgetting to round them out, or give them interesting flaws, or flaws at all. [nn6] Even if their intentions were in the right place. Go Get A Roomie!, completely avoids this problem. It might take a few chapters for the characters to go from their humorous personalities to their rounded character arcs. But when they do it’s worth the payoff.. It REALLY knows how to pull it off. It re-contextualise 7 years’ worth of jokes with one heart wrenching, hard hitting line. And is it oh-so effective. It’s emotional, funny, and INCREDIBLY well done. The characters in the later chapters really get to shine, and grow, and the interactions between the main cast is absolutely delightful. From Lillian and Roomie, to Ramona or W.O.C (Wise old crone) the story is full of relatable, funny, and engaging characters. The characters in this Comic are certainly it’s biggest strengths. And to watch them struggle and learn over time is incredibly rewarding.

This comic isn’t afraid to take its time to build up emotional pay off

The Story

You probably wouldn’t expect much of a story from a NSFW slice of life comedy. But, oh boy! First of all, though, the humour. The thing with comedies is that humour is damn subjective. Go Get A Roomie goes for sexual to character based comedy. If that’s your type of humour then the comedy in this story is incredibly well done. And the writer really knows how to back up jokes with a deep understanding of her characters and controlled timing in her strips.

But whilst, the comedy is an extremely important part of the comic, the  biggest draw is the characters and story. There isn’t much of a “plot”, the main character drunkenly crashes into her polar opposites’ room one day and hi-jinks ensue... There’s no big bad, no romantic love triangle, or competition that the character strives for. But it would be a mistake to say that the story isn’t one of the most important parts of the comic. The plot will make you laugh before punching you solidly in the gut with a fresh dose of the feels. Things that happened in comedy panels will become character development later on, and single lines can recolour the entire story. It knows when to be energetic and hilarious, and it knows when to hit audiences with subtle hard-hitting lines.

The biggest stand out in the comic however is by far it’s heart and themes of family and love. Character’s form found families, deal with relationships with their parents, and all have unique and varying romantic/platonic relationships including multiple polyamourous ones. And it is far beyond refreshing to see a comic that explores platonic friendship as something important and deeply fulfilling. Found families themselves are also extremely important to the comic, and the comic takes time to cement the dynamics and comfort these characters have around each other. The comic is  takes it’s time to organically explore the complexities of these relationships and the reliance different characters have on each other.

Picking up “Go Get A Roomie!” you’ll find yourself within the first couple of pages in a slightly wonky newspaper panel sex comedy starring an air-headed hippy in a bar. And that’s why I first dropped this comic But scratch a little further through some of the awkward jokes and earlier years and you’ll begin to see something else. At it’s core, this comic is a nuanced character driven story with a great sense of humour, relatable cast, with sex and gender positivity. It’s heartwarming and hilarious, and it’s use of art and paneling is seamless and really knows how and when to hit home for the viewer. It isn’t afraid to be NSFW, and it’s incredibly clever.

It is an amazing read.