Rigsby, WI — A Webcomic Reboot About More than Cheap Thrills

Meanwhile, Rigsby, WI is an amazing reboot. This time around, the comic is inspired by the people and places S E Case met and visited while she lived in the Upper Midwest (including Wisconsin). All the characters are now humans, fulfilling her original goal with Cheap Thrills. The human redesigns work and are immediately recognizable. While Jeordie always looked great as a rabbit, his redesign is absolutely stunning. Him being biracial as a Native American and Iranian was a vague concept in CT, but it really works here in Rigsby– doubly so as racism is another subject that can be better addressed in this reboot. Sexuality is also much better explored.

We still have the kids navigating high school, drug use, and just getting along day-to-day. However, it’s clear that events in this story will play out very differently. The setting has been moved from the 1990s to the early aughts– making it very relatable to anyone currently in their 30s or early 40s (like me). In Rigsby, Jeordie is now the younger brother and his older brother, Darius has left the United States to live in South Korea. (Darius resents a lot of the racism he faced growing up a small, mostly white town and would rather not return– even if it’s not outright stated.) Mirza and Elizabeth (Jeordie’s parents) are also given expanded roles, as we get to see both them grapple with their own run-ins with racism, despite being well-off. It’s so much more relatable and emotionally raw. There were parts of chapter 3 that had nearly had me in tears when Elizabeth had a candid talk with Mirza.

While Jeordie is the main character, Rigsby also spends more time with Beth, Alice, and Frank. I assume we’ll see more of Erik in future chapters. Additionally, we get to see more of Jenna and actually get to see her relationship with Jeordie. Bryan is a newly added character. He struggles with being a closeted gay teen, and a Native American who was adopted by a white evangelical family.

Chapter 2 mainly takes place from Anna’s point of view. We learn more about her terrible home life, fraught relationship with her older sister, and how she befriends Frank. It also touches better upon her relationship with Beth, and Anna comes to learn she isn’t heterosexual. She often bounces between living with her mother (and the strange men who stay at their house) and her older sister who resents her.

Jeordie was straight and somewhat of a horndog in CT. In Rigsby, he’s not as certain about his sexuality. He still gets together with Jenna, though he is hesitant to have sex with her. Their relationship also lasts much longer, but it becomes clear they’re really not compatible with each other. There’s also numerous misunderstandings along the way, as Jenna does like Jeordie a lot, but her parents don’t approve of him because of low-key racism. Jeordie feels as if Jenna is trying to make him into something he’s not. He cheats on her with another new character. I won’t spoil it, but the twist makes sense as this young man is trying desperately to figure himself out while trying to fit in.

I love how Frank has been expanded on, and he feels like less a caricature of a meth-head who has given up on a “respectable” life. Granted, he’s still given up on that respectable life, but comes off as way more sympathetic and relatable versus just being comic relief. In CT, he was a hairless dog which made him stand out among the cast. In Rigsby, he has vitiligo and struggles with his education. He’s still in high school at the age of 21, is poor, sells drugs, and this easily makes him a social outcast. Anna is forced to work on a school project with him and this sets them on the path to being friends.

Currently, the biggest question I have about this reboot is if Jeordie and Beth will become a couple. It certainly is a slower burn this time around, as Jeordie figures himself out. Beth has had a crush on him for a long time, but loves him enough to respect his decisions. I will also say in this reboot, Beth feels the least changed out the cast– for the moment anyway. Chapter 4 seems to be moving the pieces into place for them to possibly become a couple. Maybe. This is what I love about Rigsby. Everything feels familiar, but is so very different.

I deeply respect S E Case’s decision to make the cast human for this reboot. It was the vision she always had for these characters, and it’s fantastic to see that vision realized. It’s also just been wonderful to see her art evolve, and become more expressive. She’s also been willing to play with colors and lighting to help better tell this story. For example, chapter 2 is almost entirely in black and white except for splashes of color.

I can’t recommend Rigsby, WI enough. You don’t need to read Cheap Thrills to appreciate this slice-of-life comic. You just need to give it a chance. I just bring up CT because that’s how I found my way to this amazing project. If you read or have read CT, I recommend Rigsby all the more. I would say, if you’re planning to read both comics, start with CT if you want to appreciate how far Rigsby has come. It took me way too long to start reading Rigsby after learning about it. I just missed May’s crowdfunding project for a physical copy of the first volume. Boo.