The Backstagers: Complete Collection

by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Rian Sygh (illustrator)

A YA classic set in the magical world of the theatre, from acclaimed, bestselling writer James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children), collected in its entirety for the very first time!

20 For 20! Celebrate 20 years of BOOM! Studios with the full Backstagers story, collected in its entirety for the very first time.

There's magic in the theatre—when the crowd hushes, the lights go up, the curtain opens—but for Jordy and the Backstagers, the real magic's behind-the-scenes...literally! Monsters, spirits, and an entire magical world are waiting just off-stage and the Backstagers are the only ones who know!

Join the stage crew on fantastic adventures as they deal with troublesome tool mice, fierce phantoms, and finding love and friendship despite feeling like outcasts at their all-boys school!

From GLADD, Prism, and Eisner award-winning writer James Tynion IV (WYND, Batman) and artist Rian Sygh (Adventure Time, Munchkin), plus shorts by James Tynion IV and Sam Johns with artists Brittney Williams (Goldie Vance), Caitlin Rose Boyle (Jonesy), Katy Farina (the Baby-Sitters Little Sister series), and more!

Collects The Backstagers #1-8, The 2018 Valentine’s Intermission, The Halloween Intermission, and the Backstagers story from The BOOM! Box 2016 Mix Tape.

Genres: Comics

296 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Dan]

As a former theater kid, both performer and tech crew, The Backstagers hit home for me in a way that I suspect it will for anyone who has ever worked to make a theater production happen.

The different personalities, the pressure to put on an amazing show, and the bond that forms between the people working on a production are things that are difficult to replicate outside of that particular time in your life. I remember late nights and Saturdays spent in the school building, constructing sets and making everything come together. I remember the 2 a.m. diner runs afterward, when everyone was exhausted but reluctant to go home. And, most of all, I remember the satisfaction of seeing something come to life that you had a hand in creating.

James Tynion IV has said that The Backstagers was partially inspired by his own experiences as a theater kid. Since he's only a year younger than me, that means the book isn't just revisiting the same kind of experience I had, it is revisiting the same era. There is something particularly nostalgic about that.

Of course, this is a James Tynion IV story, so there is a fantastical element to it. And strangely enough, I think that's part of what makes The Backstagers feel so authentic. Theater kids have their stories, their adventures, their backstage legends and the things that seem almost magical when you're living through them. Maybe they weren't literally true, but they were real to us.

For those of us lucky enough to have been part of that world, The Backstagers is a wonderful trip down memory lane. It captures the chaos, camaraderie, exhaustion, ridiculousness, and genuine magic of putting on a show. It brought back a lot of memories for me, and, more than once, put a smile on my face.

[Michelle]

4.5 rounded up