Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar (Book 1): Attack of the Snack

Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar #1

by Kevin Alvir

Lisa is a sweet unicorn girl with a cyborg arm… and anger issues… who’s late for her first day of work. And if this occult fast food chain’s minions don’t stop attacking, she’ll never achieve her dream of making it as a musician!

Lisa Cheese moved to Earth City hoping to make a name for herself as a folk singer… but her very first open mic was a disaster, leaving her with a bionic arm and an identity crisis. Now she’s starting a crummy office job, her parents back in their home dimension are laying on the guilt trip, her sister’s acting smug, and the cool girl at the record store leaves her tongue-tied. But none of that will matter if the city’s demonic new burger corporation achieves its evil Lisa’s very life is at stake! Fortunately, she has allies…

The astounding first graphic novel from artist/musician Kevin Alvir is packed with off-the-charts creativity and electric energy, blending vintage comic-book aesthetics with contemporary concerns and crusty lo-fi passion. Once you meet Lisa Cheese you’ll never be the same!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Adult, Young Adult

164 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 1 out of 5]

With nary a shred of plot to be found, hopefully this book’s absurdity and bizarre fantasy will be enough to keep teens entertained.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A commentary on capitalism, mom & pop stores vs. the big man. A story of love and friendship and demon possession. If a humanoid-unicorn had a superhero origin story this would be it. More straight commentary than I assumed by the cover (which gives off an abstract, artistic, not clear vibe). More of a 3.5 as I didn't LOVE it but didn't hate it either. It is a nice cozy read to read once (maybe twice if you think you might have missed something the first time), but not a serious read again for me. I don't plan on reading any sequels, but not off the table either. Interesting art that is a hit or miss for the reader/viewer, but regardless sets a tone.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.
Review submitted to School Library Journal for publication.

[Aves Trainor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not unoriginal. It seems like it would be someone’s thing. It’s just not my thing.

It’s a little too silly.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

this took wayyy too long because i just don’t think it was for me!! i didn’t enjoy it that much and i should’ve known that it might not have been my thing but i think it was just a bit too silly for me personally and i know it was intentional but it was just not for me. i often couldn’t tell who was fighting or why and it seemed like the characters had little development or any seriousness or underlying message. maybe do your own thing regardless of what your family thinks? use your negative qualities for good? follow your passions? okay yeah there may have been some substance but meh

[Shannon Grinnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Cheese is a unicorn girl with a cyborg arm and a raging temper. She just moved to Earth City with dreams of becoming a folk singer. Her first open mic sesh is a catastrophe. She ends up with a haunted bionic arm and anger issues. These cultish fast food minions keep attacking her and she has no idea why. She finds a few allies along the way to take down the evil burger corporation so she can jam out with her rocker girl crush.

[Ricky Lima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think what I really loved about this book is its playfulness. It's not afraid to be fun even when dealing with deeper emotions. Oftentimes quirkiness or humour is used by characters as a way to lighten the mood or mask their true feelings, but in Lisa Cheese Alvir gives us an honest world that hides nothing and gives us all the fun and heart. Doesn't hurt that there's some solid Kirby inspired action going on constantly. Love it.

[Sneha Jaiswal · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much chaos!

It follows Lisa Cheese, a centuries-old Unicorn, who gets tangled in a wild capitalist food war where a shady burger franchise takes down competitors with dirt-cheap, drug-laced burgers, eventually turning customers into obedient, food-shaped alien slaves.

Yeah, the plot is kinda wild, but the execution was all over the place, and too messy for me.

Typically, I love colorful comics, they keep me engaged like a little child, but this comic-book just didn't cut it.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this graphic novel was just okay. There was a good amount of action and some character development, but the story and characters just didn't strike a chord in me for some reason. In the world of graphic novels, if I'd try something else before I picked this one up, and if the series continues, I probably won't continue reading it. Just sort of a disappointment for me.

[Shaun Jex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was bonkers. In the best way. A unicorn with a cyborg arm. Ninja burgers. A guitar-wielding ghost. Kaiju broccoli. Not to mention an evil mega corp looking to summon a dark entity as part of their plan for dimensional domination. A blast to read from beginning to end and the artwork is fantastic.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5. I loved the idea but found the text hard to follow, or rather it seemed wrong or off grammatically…but I think that’s the style? I eventually got over it 😜 but that definitely stuck out to me. I think the storyline was wild and I was definitely here for it, but not sure if this is a “you gotta read this” type of book for everyone.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Cheese has a cyborg arm, a hunger for red bean buns, and a dream of being a folk singer. Unfortunately, her favorite restaurant is under attack from a rival, the corporate burger chain, Beef is Burger. This book is a lot. Lot of profanity, lot of plot, lot of fun, but definitely a lot. This is the author's first print comic.

[Caitlyn Hardy 🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I respect the unique take on a new story, the art style, the creativity. But it is just all over the place, and parts of it was honestly gross to read (not gory). I also feel like the cussing was forced and unnecessary most times, and I cuss all the time myself. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, it might be for others though.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

No one could accuse this comic of being uncreative, and I liked a lot of the ideas thrown out here. But the storyline was so manic and veered from place to place so often that I found myself helplessly lost more often than not. I kept wondering if I'm just too old to get what's going on here.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more. Each segment seemed random and unconnected, moments were great and funny, but lacked an overall cohesion to make it not seem like a fever dream.

[The_J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art isn't terrible; the story isn't pathetic; but your time should be more valuable than spent on this.

[Jared Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

kevin deserves the world

[Ronielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was silly, but I kind of liked it

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyper yeah.

[Kelly Teen Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

So bad, but I liked it. Would never recommend it to anyone nor would I ever read another volume if it existed, but this was a fine one-time-read.