Lowriders in Space

Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Raul the Third; 111 pages

Lupe Impala (an impala), El Chavo Flapjack (an octopus) and Elirio Malaria (a mosquito) all love fixing cars and work together at a garage. They each have a specialty: Lupe is the mechanic, Flapjack is a skilled detailer and Elirio airbrushes the most excellent paint jobs (pin striping being his forte). While they’re happy with their current lot, all three would much rather be working on lowriders. When a car competition rolls into town, our trio knows that the prize money would be the perfect chance to start their own garage. Will Lupe, Flapjack and Elirio be able to transform an old junker into the perfect lowrider? With a little help from an abandoned airplane factory and a galactic road trip, they can’t lose.

I adored this all-ages graphic novel. Lupe instantly calls to mind Maggie the Mechanic from Love and Rockets - which is a great thing in my book. Raul the Third’s illustrations are done almost exclusively in ballpoint pen, and the detail and style are perfectly on-point for the frenzied and spacey story. I’m eagerly looking forward to more adventures of Lupe, Flapjack and Elirio; as well as more books from Cathy Camper and Raul the Third.