Whilst browsing through my school’s library I saw the spine for Low Riders In Space and the first thing that drew me in was the unique hand drawn font and art style. Picking the book from the shelf the cover impressed me, it was an assault on the eyes but in the best possible way. It reminded me of the drawings I used to do in ball pen in my books whilst being bored in lessons back at school but this is about a million times better.
The story is very simple, Lupe Impala (a dog, I think, El Chavo Flapjack (an octopus), and Elirio Malaria (a mosquito) enjoy working with cars and dream of having their own garage. However, they cannot afford to realise this but when a competition to build the best car is announced with a huge cash prize, the team come together to create a mean hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow machine. Will they realise their dreams and create a winning machine that could be their way to a better life? You need to read it to find out!
I read this with my 5 year old daughter and we both loved it. The fantastic artwork and colours by Raul the Third, and the humour by Cathy Camper drew us both in. The theme of teamwork, friendship and dreaming big is a universal one and this story shows that by aiming for the stars, you can often achieve it with a little help from your friends. It is a celebration of Latino culture and the love of the culture and language emanates through the pages.
This is an excellent graphic novel and I look forward to reading the next two in the series.
LINK- Hilda Comic Series Review
LINK- Lumberjanes Ongoing Series Review
LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me
LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East
LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review