In the newest graphic novel from Timothé le Boucher, The Locker Room, readers get a look inside the volatile and singular environment that is a middle school locker room. The graphic novel will be available tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22nd, 2021 from Life Drawn, an imprint of Humanoids.
Le Boucher’s previous work includes the graphic novel Ces Jours Qui Disparaissent (Those Days that Disappear), about a young man discovers he only lives on alternating days… with the other days being lived by a lookalike who possesses a very different personality.
The Locker Room begins when the students discover that their school’s locker room has been renovated – and the dividers between urinals and showers alike have been removed.
The Locker Room keeps the action focused exclusively on the eponymous room, with every scene taking place within its walls (even in the panels that feature the students playing outside, the perspective of the reader remains within the boy’s locker room). But it isn’t just the new setting behind the frosted glass that bears investigating: as the boys get used to the new environment, they also test the boundaries and foundations of their social hierarchies.
Emphasizing authenticity over teenage melodrama, The Locker Room is described as The Lord of the Flies meets Degrassi High, with the students being forced to navigate hormones, hierarchical social positioning, and communal showers. The description from the publisher emphasizes that there’s no adult supervision in the locker room, but given what I remember of William Golding’s novel, even if the teachers were able to rescue the students from the locker room, the question remains: then who would rescue the teachers?
You can check out an exclusive preview of the graphic novel by le Boucher below!
The Locker Room will be available at your local bookstore or library beginning tomorrow, February 22nd. Will you be grabbing a copy of the comic before you hit the showers? Let The Beat know in the comment section and on social media @comicsbeat!
