''Steady Beat'' is a
manga-inspired comic by
Rivkah. It tells the story of Leah, a sixteen-year-old girl who finds a love letter addressed to her older sister Sarai, from a girl called Jessica. It tells of how Leah learns to accept her sister's
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
. Leah realises how lonely she has become and ends up falling in love with a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
boy who has two fathers, thus realising how difficult homosexuality can be to understand in society.
Development
Steady Beat is set in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, where Rivkah grew up.
[
]
Publication
In March 2003, Steady Beat was serialized on the internet by Wirepop.com. Rivkah submitted it to Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga
''Rising Stars of Manga'' (RSoM) was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume.
Each vo ...
competition.
Reception
IGN found the first book clichéd. Johanna Draper Carlson, while noting some cliches, praised Rivkah's artwork, especially in the details of the hair. She disliked how the characters broke the fourth wall during the early part of the second book, but enjoyed the setting of the work, which she felt was more evident in the second volume. Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book pro ...
regards the work as "ambitious". PopCultureShock reviewed the first book and found the extra plotlines distracting. In 2006, Steady Beat was a recommended read by the Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...
for older teens.Graphic Novels, Manga, and Anime: What’s New and Cool for Your Library
/ref>
References
External links
Interview with Rivkah
Romance comics
Tokyopop titles
2003 comics debuts
Template Category TOC via CatAutoTOC on category with 101–200 pages
{{2000s-LGBT-novel-stub