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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach
2.0
A cozy, queer graphic novel about a girl learning to overcome her abusive boss and unite her community in their love of cooking.
Soup is less than satisfied with her life as a chef at the Brazen Manticore. Her boss, Trysil Heldritch, is abusive both to his staff and the entirety of the town that he bribes, coerces, and rules with an iron fist. Soup doesn't want to stir up trouble, but she feels obligated to do something to help her people and will stop at nothing to take the tyrant down.
This one has a decent premise, but the execution wasn't all that good. A young girl who was raised in a restaurant by the name of the Brazen Manticore stands up against her cranky boss who treats his staff as less than human. The story isn't all that unique, and it sorta feeds into a ton of different stereotype-esque tropes involving mystical creatures. The fae are magic beings in the woods that lash out at people. Their boss is a stuck-up elf-like being who only cares about himself. The satyr is a semi-erratic sidekick whose main purpose is to support the protagonist, who (wait for it) loves to eat. I wish that this narrative would have strayed a bit more from common stereotypes and made the different creatures featured their own in some way.
The overarching theme of the book is also a bit weird. I totally support standing up to those who are oppressive, but it made me sad that Soup only saw her worth through the act of being a better chef. She felt obligated to beat Heldritch in a cook off, and I think this story would have benefited if Soup would have realized her own self-worth rather than strove for the approval of others.
The art style also isn't my absolute favorite, and I found it slightly annoying how often this story told the reader things rather than let them figure it out for themselves. One of my biggest pet peeves in graphic novels is when they over explain themself through text rather than let the images and dialogue speak for themselves.
Overall, I was hoping that "Off Menu" would be a super cutesy story about finding your people and feeling confident in oneself. Unfortunately, this novel took a very cliche approach to the entire storyline and the magical setting. This wasn't a horrible read, but I found myself growing bored about halfway through and a few of the elements in it are just plain icky. Not bad, but not great either.
Soup is less than satisfied with her life as a chef at the Brazen Manticore. Her boss, Trysil Heldritch, is abusive both to his staff and the entirety of the town that he bribes, coerces, and rules with an iron fist. Soup doesn't want to stir up trouble, but she feels obligated to do something to help her people and will stop at nothing to take the tyrant down.
This one has a decent premise, but the execution wasn't all that good. A young girl who was raised in a restaurant by the name of the Brazen Manticore stands up against her cranky boss who treats his staff as less than human. The story isn't all that unique, and it sorta feeds into a ton of different stereotype-esque tropes involving mystical creatures. The fae are magic beings in the woods that lash out at people. Their boss is a stuck-up elf-like being who only cares about himself. The satyr is a semi-erratic sidekick whose main purpose is to support the protagonist, who (wait for it) loves to eat. I wish that this narrative would have strayed a bit more from common stereotypes and made the different creatures featured their own in some way.
The overarching theme of the book is also a bit weird. I totally support standing up to those who are oppressive, but it made me sad that Soup only saw her worth through the act of being a better chef. She felt obligated to beat Heldritch in a cook off, and I think this story would have benefited if Soup would have realized her own self-worth rather than strove for the approval of others.
The art style also isn't my absolute favorite, and I found it slightly annoying how often this story told the reader things rather than let them figure it out for themselves. One of my biggest pet peeves in graphic novels is when they over explain themself through text rather than let the images and dialogue speak for themselves.
Overall, I was hoping that "Off Menu" would be a super cutesy story about finding your people and feeling confident in oneself. Unfortunately, this novel took a very cliche approach to the entire storyline and the magical setting. This wasn't a horrible read, but I found myself growing bored about halfway through and a few of the elements in it are just plain icky. Not bad, but not great either.