Well, this was kinda underwhelming, with confusing time-jumps, and stock characters. However, the artwork in the graphic novel “Onion Skin” by Edgar Camacho is fun, vibrant and visually very engaging. So brownie points just for the colorful illustrations!
Plot overview – Rolando hates his job but doesn’t know what to do with his life when he is fired from the place with a generous severance package. So when he meets Nera, an eccentric girl who lives in a van and has no goals either, the two strangers decide to start a food truck together and find themselves embroiled in a turf war.
Yeah, so the plot is obviously random, especially because Rolando expresses explicit interest in drawing but instead decides to invest all his money in a girl he has met only once, for a business neither he nor Nera know anything about. On the bright side, I guess it’s exciting to see two aimless people with no life goals just come up with a new dream and then pursue it with all their hearts. However, creator Edgar Camacho spends little time on how Rolando and Nera begin their food-truck journey and serves readers dollops of flashbacks on how they met, which is barely interesting.
What makes “Onion Skin” slightly challenging to read is the absence of clear demarcation between the flashbacks and the present. So, often when the story appears to shift tone abruptly, I would find myself needing to backtrack a page or two, only to realize there has been a change in the timeline. Given the title, some readers (like me) can get the impression that this is a complex layered graphic novel, but it’s not. The story is straightforward, sure, there are a few small twists, but it definitely didn’t need a confusing non-linear story-telling style.
The artwork and distinct character illustrations make “Onion Skin” a fun enough one-time read, and the food scenes sure made me hungry! Pick this title if you’re looking for a quick, zany tale about two strangers starting their own food business and encountering a few crazy hiccups.
Rating: 3 on 5. “Onion Skin” is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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