Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous unleashed upon the comics world a sexually charged, lip biting-inducing, and deliciously spicy sports comic in the form of Grand Slam Romance in 2023, earning a spot among The Beat’s best comics list of that year. In my review of the book, I went on to say that Hicks and Oosterhous managed to harness a special kind of horniness that essentially placed its lesbian softball story on a league of its own.
Book 2 of the Grand Slam saga has just landed on shelves (May 14th, 2014), and it is aptly subtitled “Major League Hotties.” To say it looks hornier is an understatement. But there’s also a grander sense of worldbuilding in the story along with the same great sense of character development of the first entry.
Astra and Mickey are enjoying their victory over the Gaiety Gals while diving into their new situationship (a word I shamefully stole from other promos) with the force of a reawakened volcano cooking up fresh lava. Things are halted before getting too hot by their nemesis Jasmine Von Schitz who reveals that Mickey’s magical girl powers require a special license to use in-game. The girls go off to the Magic Girl DMV in Switzerland to get it but are quickly met by another player whose heart both Mickey and Astra have already broken before: Wolfgang Konigin. Chaos ensues, sexnanigans follow.
The inclusion of a shady ex is a clever one here. Hicks and Oosterhuos have already proven to be experts in capturing the intensity of attraction when certain obstacles lie between various points of desire. We should expect a different kind of horny energy to emerge from this scenario. On top of that, a trip to Switzerland puts Grand Slam Romance in Euro-trip territory, a reliable source of bad decisions and risky emotional situations that could threaten to upend everything Astra and Mickey have gone through to finally be together.
Below you’ll find a taste of “Major League Hotties.” You’ll notice book 2 carries the same vibrancy, motion, and in your face sexuality that made the first book such a rip-roaring read, complete with its signature comedic bite and wit. Book 2 is out now. Enjoy these pages and then run to your nearest comics shop for your copy. Run like you’ve just knocked it out of the park and a hot magical person is waiting for you at home base.
