Roaming

Years ago, I took a work trip with my closest colleague and my girlfriend, who is now my wife. You might think that my colleague would be the third wheel, hanging out with a couple. Or, you might think that my wife would be the third wheel when my colleague and I talked shop. But somehow, I felt like the third wheel for most of the trip because the two of them were both much more talkative than me, and I sort of disappeared from the conversation.

Of course, they might have both felt like the third wheel, too.

The graphic novel Roaming perfectly captures this experience of spending a short, intense period of time as a trio. Set during a trip to New York City, the three characters each have moments of feeling like the outsider to the other two. Relationships are ultimately defined in pairs, but one can’t possess another fully, even though we sometimes want to.

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