Off Road — Sean Murphy
Genre: Coming of Age
Age Range: 17+
Vulgar Language
I found this little graphic novel at our local used media store this weekend while looking for records and such. The artwork inside really got me into the book overall. I thought to myself, “3 guys, off-roading, and male-bounding, sounds fun.” So, is this book more than just some pretty artwork?
This story follows 3 charcaters: Trent (our main protagonist who’s in art school), Greg (his jock friend from high school), and Brad (his other friend). The 3 of them meet up after Trent gets broken up with by his girlfriend. Greg gets a new Jeep. Trent and the car dealer persuade him on the idea of taking it off roading. After witnessing Brad kick out his father for cheating on Brad’s mom, the three decide to go off-roading and… get stuck.
The story is either clearly not for me or just poorly written. It feels rushed and incomplete. I don’t like any of the characters, as there really isn’t any character development to any of them. Trent is the cliche art school sensitive guy whose still in love with his first crush (not to mention the whole hating cops trope. If you are going to have that, please give it more background and development then just artsy guy = anti-cop). Greg is this cocky douchebag wealthy jock who I see nothing likable in. Brad is just kinda there until there needs to be drama with his dad or to kind of use him as a voice of reason. It definitely has this strong testosterone male-bonding feel, but it is just half thought out and lazy. They just comes up feeling like 3 friends who just tolerate each other cause they have history until they magically bond at the end. Trigger Warning: There are several uses of ableist slurs by the characters, which just make the main characters seen more like douches. There is also a few uses of homophobic slurs by the redneck side characters (specifically Brad’s dad), which helps to further paint how much of an ignorant jerk he is. Thankfully, this was a short read. It felt like a chore towards the midway point. I will be trading this one back in for something better at my used bookstore very soon.
2 out of 5 — Look into it if you are curious
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600108520/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6fp.Fb2N0VSC5
