Bread and Butter #1

I enjoyed this start to the series. The socioeconomic inequities the graphic series address promise to be interesting and are likely to grab readers' attention given the current political climate. I'd like to see where Mayorga takes the plot. While set in San Francisco, she has a powerful current issue in her hands.

I also enjoyed Mayorga's beautiful line drawings. The views of San Francisco at the beginning are quite nicely done. And I very much appreciate her drawings of people, which are not stereotypical or caricatures, even when drawing individuals that easily could have become caricatures because of their unpleasant demeanor. Very nice work!

I'm looking forward to #2!

Very little happens in this first issue, so I find it difficult to rate it higher than 3 stars. Nonetheless, the black and white drawings are beautiful and I liked the layout of the panels. There are very few panels per page, which gives the layout a simplistic look that I like. The font was also chosen well.
This story is not a happy read, eventhough the first lines are promising, it is about people who are unhappy. It is very realistic though, it shows that eventhough you have a dream it might not always come true and you still have to keep going after that.
There is not much of a storyline, it is more of a description of what the main character's life is like. The story ended on a happier note, but I didn't really feel it. I really wished that there was a little more happening, because I do not feel compelled to pick up the next issue.

I love both the graphics - very fine and gentle and with a focus on details - and the way in which story is told through images. As a first installment, it is clear enough what it is about: Liana's dream to design covers for music albums while working in a popular coffee shop in San Francisco. It succeeds to introduce more or less friendly people, the ambiance and the struggle.

I read the description for this comic/graphic novel and immediately thought that it was something that I wanted to read. This first installment was short and sweet: we get introduced to "Liana Caudillo, a young Latina, who loves music and aspires to design album covers in her beloved San Francisco", and we get to go through a day in the life with her. We also see little snippets of the past that have shaped her to be who she is. I would definitely recommend this because it is not hard to read nor is it time consuming but it has the ability to get people thinking about a variety of different topics.

Disclaimer: I requested this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This 24 page comic was a refreshing read. Liz Mayorga's art style definitely suits the story and the everyday happenings that take place. I especially liked the diversity shown in the characters; the protagonist is Latina and many of the side-characters are from other ethnic backgrounds.

I loved this comic's portrayal of customer service jobs as I could really relate to that and I look forward to further issues of this comic.

good read.
enjoyed it.
will get many copies for family and friends.

The cover is a little bit dull and to the content of the book I would have chosen something more vivid, said that, but the book got my full attention!
I had no idea what to expect, this is a graphic novel and its been ages since I read one. The story is superb! I love the humor the author has managed marvelously add in the book! As they say - been there, seen that! I could rely myself to the main character and loved the "customer demand section", so accurate, no matter where are you globally!
The graphics are perfect, although black- and white, the drawings are my kind of style!

Bread and Butter is a book about an artist bored with her lackluster life in San Francisco, which she had expected to be a wonderland for the different and weird.

Overall, I felt like the book had a nice concept, but it did feel cut short and lackluster. I'd recommend it if it was a whole story with a beginning, middle and end. Yes. it is the first book in a series but it could've been more.

May as well make this four stars – once again we get just the opening chapter, with nothing from the publisher to let us reviewers know how much is to come, what the author intends and has as background, etc. But what we do get is really quite strong – the life in a pretentious museum café, and our heroine suffering from even more pretentious colleagues on the staff and yet even more pretentious customers. This kind of reporting of the humdrum has been seen so many times in comix over the decades, but it's not just the female, Latin heroine that makes this stand out. Slight on plot but strong on visual detail and with a decent character and personality, I shall be back.

With such an expressive art style and great pacing, this was a lovely first installment to a promising series. I felt like some of the transitions between panels could be a bit clearer, but the art carried the story very well for the most part: communicating the struggles of working in customer service and leading into Liana's fears of never being able to focus on what she really wants to do. The final panel was definitely my favourite of the first issue and I am really looking forward to what will come next

Amid pencil sketches of San Francisco landmarks Liana works in the cafeteria of a museum, disillusioned by her job when she wants to be designing album covers. But once she gets inspired. . . she falls asleep.
With only 24 pages, there’s not a lot here. It’s more of an intro to the main story, which will have to wait for the next issue.
There’s a drawing of a clock in a bar that says “No tick since April 18, 1906,” which I assume is the day of the great earthquake. It’s a bit surreal, but I like it. There’s a lot of small touches to evoke the quirkiness of the city. The problem is there’s too much bitterness throughout, making the optimism at the end ring false.

I didn’t expect this book to be so short, at just twenty four pages. So when I discovered this, I was a bit dismayed. Even still, I loved what little was given and really hope that this continues to be a series, because there’s still so much I want to know about Liana and her story.

Bread & Butter is a visual snapshot into the life of Liana Caudillo, who moves to the big city of San Francisco, working at a cafe while having bigger ambitions of designing album covers. But the promise of this glorious city, full of new beginnings and art and culture and diverse walks of life, seems to fade in Liana’s eyes as she experiences the day-to-day grind of food service and helping customers, who are often rude, impatient, ungrateful, and talk down to her. It’s especially compelling to see how socioeconomic class and race also come into play. Many of Liana’s customers are upper middle class and white, and seeing Liana as a Latina working a minimum wage food service job, they immediately feel it appropriate to treat her with a lack of respect and oftentimes ask condescendingly if she even speaks English. In this way, this book tackles a number of intersecting topics: the gap between lower and upper middle classes in San Francisco, the immediate judgements and lack of respect that many form toward minimum-wage workers, and what it’s like to work in food industry specifically as a person of color.

Along with this, I honestly loved the artwork in this book. As soon as I turned to the first page, I was smitten and felt transported to a different place. I could almost hear the sounds of the city and feel its vibrance as I was met with all of these pictures, frame by frame: people walking past, a trolley rolling through Chinatown, a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, a jazz band playing. I loved how Liana talked about the city in this sort of romantic, idealistic way. But then as the story continues, the rose-colored glasses come off and Liana sheds light on what it's really like--that it's not all perfect. I thought the artwork flowed really well with the narrative throughout as she showed this. Still, even at the end of what was a hectic and mentally draining day, Liana goes out for a drink with a co-worker, who reminds her that the city is always changing and that there are still good people in it. It may not completely fit her fantasy, but there's still a lot to love about the city. Liana reflects on this as she returns to her apartment, where she then remembers why she originally came here. She then begins to sketch, not once thinking of cooks or servers.

Overall, I really love and respect this book for capturing the perspective of a young, working-class Latina. I loved the artwork throughout, and I really admired how the city of San Francisco is almost a character itself and how different characters speak about it. I especially appreciated how the end had this faint glimmer of optimism, with Liana remembering the reason she came to this city and picking up her sketchbook. It leaves you full of hope and wanting more, which is why I really hope this does become a series, and I can't wait for the next installment!

Well drawn, well written. I enjoyed this. I will probably continue to read her series.

Charming comic chronicling one young woman's experiences working at a museum café. She wonders why she moved to San Francisco and feels beaten down by the service industry, before finding again the spark of artistic inspiration. Lovely artwork with clean, expressive lines perfectly complements the tone of the narrative. I hope there are many, many more numbers released soon!