Lemon Pepper Huggz Issue 1 – Review by The Comic Book Yeti
- Under the 5 Meats banner, Garza & Esquivel bring much-needed positive representation to the comics medium. In Lemon Pepper Huggz, all the characters are Hispanic, and multiple body types are represented in the story.
- The colors within are bright and vibrant, perfect for kids
- Spanish use in dialogue builds tone and authenticity while translations throughout the issues use the border space wisely and teach kids Spanish (see a great example of this below)
- Like the colors, the tone is bright and fun and funny
- Oscar Garza draws physical humor well, which delivers on the type of humor kids enjoy
- In fact, the whole comic feels thoughtfully made for its audience, with a shortened, 16-page length cover to cover (great for short attention spans); lots of fun lettering effects and word balloons without too much copy in them; a character introduction in the front, so kids can develop that bond to the characters early on; and an activity page in the back, for coloring and puzzles
- As an adult, it kept me interested, too, especially with its hilarious Chinatown reference and a panel that (I think) based on a classic meme/GIF
- It’s lovely! I have nothing negative to say about it.
- Tristen’s Small Problem by Jennie Garza & Oscar Garza
- Playground – Attack of the Gurglebots!!! by various creators
- Ella Upgraded by Dan Whitehead & P.R. Dedelis
- Mashbone & Grifty #1 by Oscar Garza & Rolando Esquivel
- Megatomic Battle Rabbit by Stu Perrins & Israel Huertas
- Lumberjanes, Vol. 1 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis & Brooke Allen
- Dream Team: Co-founded 5 Meats Comics with Rolando Esquivel
- Multitalented: Works on both the story side of things and the art side
- Influenced by Carlos Meglia, Sam Kieth’s The Maxx, Disney’s Tarzan & WB’s Freakazoid (source)
- Multitalented: Is also an editor at comics publisher, 5 Meats Comics
- Is a huge pop culture fan, as you may be able to tell in the comic
- Dream Team: Helped make, with Oscar Garza, the Mashbone & Grifty short on Amazon
LEMON PEPPER HUGGZ #1
Art & Story: Oscar Garza
Story: Rolando Esquivel
Publisher: 5 Meats Comics
WHAT IS IT?
A light comic about Hispanic elementary-age kids and their school and neighborhood adventures.
It feels like a classic Nickelodeon show: bright and fun and relevant to kids that age.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
(Minor Spoilers)
Lemon wants to ride a roller coaster before they close down the ride, but she needs to earn enough money to pay for admission.
To earn the dough, Lemon decides to open a lemonade stand. But she didn’t expect the other girls selling cookies to pose such a threat to her little lemonade stand…
Lemon and her friends, Pepper and Huggz, must quickly raise money and avoid the wrath of these girls who definitely, absolutely aren’t “Girl Scouts.”
WHAT WORKS?
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
WHY SHOULD I READ IT?
Bright, bubbly and humorous, Lemon Pepper Huggz is a delightful Latinx kids story that’s fun for the whole family.
WHAT DO I READ NEXT?
If you like the writing:
If you like the art:
ABOUT THE CREATORS
Oscar Garza – Writer & Artist
Rolando Esquivel – Writer
HOW DO I BUY IT?
Click one of these:
You can also help support 5 Meats Comics’ publishing endeavors by purchasing a Latinx-themed shirt from their store!
