Puts the "Tender" in Bartending

Wow. This starts out as a perfectly fine shaggy dog story about two pals reopening a bar. It's fairly episodic, with some laughs and some charming moments, but seems to wander a bit at the outset. About halfway through, though, the book rights itself and starts to build up weight and momentum. Even though there are implausible and melodramatic moments, by the end the reader finds himself fully invested in all of the characters and truly touched by the way all of the different plot and story threads have played themselves out to a satisfying and honestly touching conclusion. This is fine storytelling that really expands the borders of what a graphic novel can accomplish.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This was a really solid book about friendship between men. The art is very fun and the use of pink and gray worked really well to show time and mood changes. The humor and the drama both worked very well in the story and the writing did a good job of switching between them without making it feel jarring. My only negative is that the ending might feel like it came out of nowhere. Looking back the was definitely foreshadowed, but I can see how some readers could easily miss those details.

Open Bar is a comic about two friends who come to own a bar together. It is mainly about them as people and their friendship but also deals a lot with their relationships with other people (Mainly his father in Beardo's case and Lenny's ex) and about how the neighbourhood where they grew up changed over the years.

I mainly enjoyed this and I gotta say the art style is really amazing and the thing that impressed me the most. However, I got a bit disappointed with the ending. It came a bit rushed and felt out of place to me, the pacing was a bit off. Overall ignoring the ending it was worth my time and I got good things out of it.

This comic has a wonderful story about two childhood friends Beardo & Lenny. The comic follows the two of them through life as they face all sorts of troubles & problems ranging from family issues, relationship fallouts & the struggles of finding your footing in life when you've been dealt more than one bad hand.

The artwork and coloring style is extremely unique and really easy to look at and follow along with. Each character was so uniquely represented in their design. I also found the character's personalities to be strong and show through really easily in their mannerisms and speech as the comic progressed.

It does move a bit slow in the beginning and then SUPER fast at the end. I think some more epilogue would have been better but I understand it ending the way it did. It definitely pulled at the heartstrings which I didn't expect at all. Really enjoyable overall.

Open Bar is the story of two best friends overcoming their own fears and challenges and trying to find that perfect place of happiness in life. Beardo and Lenny really had my emotions towards the end and I wanted nothing but the best for them (and Amanda).

I came into this comic pretty excited because the story sounded like it was up my alley with friends working together through life and just being messy. I LIVE FOR THAT TYPE OF ENERGY (shout out to Lenny, my king of good times!).

The story starts off pretty slow in the beginning and was really tough to get through (considered DNFing tbh). But by the halfway point, the story picked up and really kept me entertained up to the end. I laughed and cried with these guys and I was not expecting to feel the roll of emotions when I did.

I just don't appreciate how the comic feels like it ends abruptly and I would have wanted more of an epilogue than what did happen (more resolve, like what happened with a certain someone?). But overall not bad and would consider checking out the other works by this author.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had issues downloading this book so I could not access and review but it sounded really good but due to technical issues I could not read and leave a full review.

This comic talks about Lenny and Beardo, two best friends since EVER, who after Beardo's dad die, he inherited his old bar, and now he calls his best friend to help run the bar. Lenny just got divorced, and is looking to change her life, so she accepts the idea. In the beginning the things with the bar are not doing very well, but after Mrs. Sanchez; they're neighborhood and Lenny's old crush, die crashed by a turbine. the things in the bar star to improve. With things doing just fine at the bar a terrible death of one of them completely changes the course of the story.

To begin with, at first I thought Lenny was a stupid guy, and Beard like a bear, idk, just to cute. But then I found out Beard betrayed Lenny with his girlfriend??? Man??? wtf??? Than try miserably fix this calling his ex to working at the bar. The who he always spoke badly, and told lenny to get over her. Okay things started the get better as soon as they(Lenny and Amanda) got back together. But than, BOOM, Death again, and Amanda... things I can't talk about cause that will be a spoiler.


I thought the middle of this story is kind of contradictory, but the beginning and the end were pretty cool. Unfortunately I didn't get attached to any character for this my note. But I would recommend it to my friends to read

Personal rating:
3.5🌟, rounded up to 4🌟


Favourite quote:
“Crazy is one who believes one own lies. Sad is one who hides behind one's jokes.”

Open Bar is a story centred around this two lifelong best friends who became business partners after one of their dads died and left them a bar.

First of all, looove the art style. It's clean, and the main salmon-pinkish colour used throughout this graphic novel is also a great choice, imo. Plus the font choice is very neat, very easy to read ✅

The story is okay. Doesn't really stand out, if I'm to be honest. For the majority of the book the story didn't truly catch my attention. But! The ending is pretty nicely done, even if to some readers it may come off as clichéd. To me, though, the ending worked. It's what elevated my personal rating for this story. I was prepared to give this a 3 at most, but after actually finishing Open Bar, I changed my mind and gave it a 3.5 (rounded up to 4) instead.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Although I liked the art style and the colour hue, I wasn't too convinced about the storyline at first. Although the ending was a bit problematic in some senses, it gave me chills so I have to give that back to it!

I enjoyed the unique visual design in Open Bar. Colorful and an entertaining study in comics form, and an enjoyable read.

I was expecting this book to just be about two old friends that inherit a bar, but the ending really surprised me. There are some very adult themes and scenes in the book, but I would recommend it to anyone who feels that they can handle those things.

It used to be an outstanding pub in a nice quiet neighborhood until "the city spread out and swallowed [them] up...with constant construction and gentrification...family homes... [were] replaced by high-rises." The neighborhood that existed in the 1980s, had now fallen into decay. Ten years ago, the Cave Pub closed it's doors. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Beardo was informed that his estranged father, who he hadn't seen in 12 years, had left him his bar, with stipulations. A clause in Harold's will stated that Beardo must run the Cave Pub, with his BFF Lenny, for a period of three years to attain full ownership.

Beardo and Lenny were roommates and lifelong friends. Friends don't lie...or do they? Beardo and Lenny's friendship was one based upon omissions. Without Lenny's approval, Beardo moved all of their possessions to the apartment above the bar. After all, they were both unemployed and stood to be evicted from their old dwelling. Lenny's romp with a local shopkeeper was a questionable pairing with a cougar. How about weaving a tragic incident into a fake narrative that generates a viral marketing and advertising campaign? In any event, the Open Bar prospered. The "secret formula" brew was successful. The bar was hopping! Even Lenny's ex-girlfriend, Amanda provided assistance as a server.

"Open Bar" a graphic novel, written and drawn by Eduardo Medeiros, has captivating artwork displayed in muted hues of pink, blue, black and white. The description of the "potent beer" did not quench the thirst of this reader. It was disappointing to know that both protagonists made decisions without the knowledge or feedback of the so-called best friend.

Thank you Oni Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Open Bar is the story of the friendship between Beardo and Lenny, from childhood through adulthood. Beardo ends up inheriting his dad's bar, and he and Lenny end up running it together with help from Lenny's ex, Amanda. I really liked the art style, and I liked how the author played with perspective in a few of the panels (blurring the foreground, etc.).

Unfortunately, there was a lot that didn't work for me. The only female characters that have any page time are, uh, not shown in the best light - a fact I was reluctantly willing to forgive for most of the novel considering how great the other aspects of it were. But then the ending shows up out of nowhere, and the reader is chewed up and spit back out on the most cliche of endings. It almost felt like the author wasn't quite sure how they wanted it to end, so they went with a trope that will leave the reader feeling betrayed for their time and trust.

It makes me sad to say I wouldn't recommend this book. There was so much potential there, and I was willing to overlook something I don't let most books get away with because I trusted the author - and that trust was thrown back in my face with the ending. I'm sure there's an audience out there for this; it just isn't me.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

This was a charming, funny, and touching,about friendship and family. As much as I liked the story and the quirky characters, I also loved the artwork. The artist did some really innovative things, like blurring things in the foreground to create perspective.