Crude Awakenings takes places in Tyler County, Texas, 1987. The story follows Cooper, a former high school football star who now works for a local oil company. As the story begins Cooper has had enough of working for other people and has grand plans to start his own company alongside his best friend, Lester. Cooper’s current boss, and father figure, My Hightower has agreed to bankroll the entire operation. Unfortunately for Cooper Mr. Hightower’s son, Chuck has other plans. Mr. Hightower passes away and Chuck seizes control of his father’s company. Chuck has always hated Cooper and he soon sets to work ruining Cooper’s life. Almost instantly Cooper finds himself jobless, single and with no investment.

Crude Awakenings is Cooper’s rags to riches story. Chuck makes sure Cooper starts with nothing and we watch his rise to glory, with the help of his friends. It’s not a pretty story, however. Cooper must put his morals aside and literally beg, steal, and borrow to make a comeback. What’s he stealing? Used cooking grease…

Cooper is an easy to root for hero, he’s an everyman who has fallen on hard times. Surrounding him are a host of eccentric side characters who help lift the mood of the novel and add delightful comic relief. Small town camaraderie is a major theme here. The artwork is minimalistic and for the most part it is easy to follow, although I feel like things can get a little messy in the action scenes. The artwork does a great job of conveying the story without distracting from it.

Crude Awakenings takes a story about the second-hand grease market in a small town and turns it into a fascinating graphic novel. This lively story has a host of intriguing and well defined characters on a path that was unpredictable but a blast to follow. Crude Awakenings is a quirky but entertaining story that I highly recommended for a quick, feel-good read.

Pages: 151 | ASIN: B089G71TY8