IDW’s Top Shelf imprint are due to release Onion Skin this coming week and with it already receiving Mexico’s first-ever National Young Graphic Novel Award, it had “READ ME” written all over it.
Writer/Artist Edgar Camacho takes us on a journey of discovery where a chance meeting between Rolando & Nera sparks romance with an endearing tour de force between a couple that seem like opposites but make SOOO much sense together. Rolando’s job was weighing him down big time but when fate stepped in and an injury gave him a way out, he saw a chance to escape and find something new to focus his life on…..if only he can get up and away from in front of the TV long enough to achieve something. Nera is a force of nature who lives only in the moment and when a chance meeting because of a music venue mix-up it’s the beginning of some thing special for them both.
Music, drinking and the love of food are a shared combination that acts as the catalyst of their mutual interest in each other but first they decide to throw caution to the wind and start their own food truck. The extra time together brings them closer and with them beginning to make a name for themselves it seems that the world of mobile food trucks is far more cut-throat that was first expected. Stepping into the territory of a rival food truck owner proves to be a major element in bringing them troubles with gangs, high speed chases and a trade-off of bad vibes and the smooth plans they had are thrown into the air.
It’s easy to see why Edgar’s story is an award winner as the natural meeting between the two characters at just the right times in their life is an instant hook to get you interested in where things might go. The flaws they find in themselves, the stumbles they make along the way and the honesty between them brings with it a world that may not have been so obvious in the beginning. If anything, that’s the magic of a story that allows it’s core story to build at it’s own pace as the organic nature of pretty much every conversation, connection or calamity breathes life into the whole world that’s been created.
That’s matched by some slick panel layouts that help show the energy and excitement of taking the plunge alongside the intimacy of a flourishing relationship and while the charisma of the central characters are key in making sure that all works there’s a subtle set of supporting cast members that inject just the right amount of perspective change for everything to just fit together nicely.
That all means that Onion Skin has a strong heart to it’s tale and with the pace taking us fro music gig, to all-night drinking, to fixing up a van to creating food that’s got the country all a-buzz – this feels like the passion of food, the passion of life and the discovery of a soulmate can combine to take a pair of opposites beyond their own hangups and embrace the chance at something more that they can share. A feast for the eyes, heart and soul all in one……and with some damn fine looking food to boot.
You can check out the IDW website for more information on this & their other releases and check out the Top Shelf Productions website for a look at what else they have on offer too.
9/10
G-Man
COMICS ANONYMOUS 