Eduardo Medeiros

Open Bar is the story of the friendship between Beardo and Lenny, from childhood through adulthood. Beardo ends up inheriting his dad's bar, and he and Lenny end up running it together with help from Lenny's ex, Amanda. I really liked the art style, and I liked how the author played with perspective in a few of the panels (blurring the foreground, etc.).

Unfortunately, there was a lot that didn't work for me. The only female characters that have any page time are, uh, not shown in the best light - a fact I was reluctantly willing to forgive for most of the novel considering how great the other aspects of it were. But then the ending shows up out of nowhere, and the reader is chewed up and spit back out on the most cliche of endings. It almost felt like the author wasn't quite sure how they wanted it to end, so they went with a trope that will leave the reader feeling betrayed for their time and trust.

It makes me sad to say I wouldn't recommend this book. There was so much potential there, and I was willing to overlook something I don't let most books get away with because I trusted the author - and that trust was thrown back in my face with the ending. I'm sure there's an audience out there for this; it just isn't me.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.… (more)