Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy, A New Graphic Novel From Faith Erin Hicks

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy is a new romantic YA graphic novel about a hotheaded hockey player who falls for the cool, calm boy in drama club, written and illustrated by Eisner winner Faith Erin Hicks. Bought by Calista Brill at First Second, Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy will be published in 2023. Faith Erin Hicks’ agent Bernadette Baker-Baughman at Victoria Sanders & Associates brokered the deal for world rights.

Faith Erin Hicks is a writer and artist living in Vancouver, British Columbia, best known for The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Friends with Boys, The Nameless City trilogy, Pumpkinheads (with Rainbow Rowell), One Year at Ellsmere and the young adult novel Comics Will Break Your Heart. She tweeted out the news, saying;

“WOOHOO New graphic novel announcement!! It’s a Young Adult romance! With hockey! And drama! I just finished drawing it last week! Out in 2023 from @01FirstSecond!!! My first graphic novel romance! Kissing, y’all!”

Here’s concept art! Our main characters are Alix and Ezra, she’s a tall, awkward disaster human, he’s a sweet, queer cinnamon roll who’s got some dark stuff in his past. Together, they are awkwardly trying to figure this stuff out!

I spent a LOT of time on the hockey part of this book! I’d like to shout out my friend @shelligator
who gave me invaluable insight into being a young woman who plays hockey. It’s complicated!

Here’s the very first sketch of Alix and Ezra that I drew a few years ago, they’ve changed quite a bit! I jokingly referred to the story as “Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy,” and the name kind of stuck. We’ll see if it sticks around to publication.

There will be lots of Meaningful Staring in this book. :3

and yes, of course, there will be a Skating Date where Ezra falls over.

First Second Books is an American graphic novels publisher based in New York City, and an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, distributed by Macmillan, with Editorial & Creative Director Mark Siegel and Editorial Director Calista Brill.