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Operation Margarine
Trouble tuff girl Bon-Bon and rich girl runaway Margarine make a motorcycle escape from the mean streets of the city to the desolate roads of the desert, holding their own against the elements, biker gangs, and each other.
104 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2014
115 people want to read
About the author
Katie Skelly
14 books58 followersKatie Skelly is an American comic book artist, writer, editor and critic.
Skelly was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1985. She studied Art History at Syracuse University and then at City College of New York.
Among her works: Nurse, Nurse (2012, Sparkplug), a 'Barbarella-inspired' sci-fi comic; Operation Margarine (2014, Adhouse), for which she won the Emerging Artist Prize at the 2015 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival; My Pretty Vampire (2017, Fantagraphics), a 70's exploitation-style horror; The Agency (2018, Fantagraphics), a collection of erotic stories previously appeared online; Maids (2020, Fantagraphics), a true crime graphic novel; the ongoing self-produced series Heaven.
Skelly has written about comics on the Comics Journal since 2014. She co-hosts the podcast Thick Lines with fellow cartoonist Sally Madden.
Skelly was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1985. She studied Art History at Syracuse University and then at City College of New York.
Among her works: Nurse, Nurse (2012, Sparkplug), a 'Barbarella-inspired' sci-fi comic; Operation Margarine (2014, Adhouse), for which she won the Emerging Artist Prize at the 2015 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival; My Pretty Vampire (2017, Fantagraphics), a 70's exploitation-style horror; The Agency (2018, Fantagraphics), a collection of erotic stories previously appeared online; Maids (2020, Fantagraphics), a true crime graphic novel; the ongoing self-produced series Heaven.
Skelly has written about comics on the Comics Journal since 2014. She co-hosts the podcast Thick Lines with fellow cartoonist Sally Madden.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 11, 2022
1,5 star, rounded down because this graphic novel seemed to be doing something, it was just nothing I wanted anything to do with.
The art was cute but looked unfinished (it's just lineart on pure white, with some black bits [hair, leather jackets]; I'm not one to police anyone's artistic choices, but it felt like it was whipped up in 5 minutes), the story was nonexistent (the girls just run from place to place, just vaguely "running away" from their pasts that are barely mentioned; were we supposed to be taking those little nuggets of information and imagining their pasts ourselves?), and the characters were paper cutouts, just plopped in situations by the author, with lukewarm reactions. Had they been explored more I'd fine with just following them from place to place, but the characterizations were even *less* than "bare bones", we know absolutely nothing about these girls.
Don't even get me started on the nunnery scene ("Don't you have anything stronger?" LMAO chill, tuff gurl), or the "let's have a cat fight for a man (who's never even shown)" climax, or the complete lack of closure. I'll have forgotten all about this graphic novel in a week, max.
The art was cute but looked unfinished (it's just lineart on pure white, with some black bits [hair, leather jackets]; I'm not one to police anyone's artistic choices, but it felt like it was whipped up in 5 minutes), the story was nonexistent (the girls just run from place to place, just vaguely "running away" from their pasts that are barely mentioned; were we supposed to be taking those little nuggets of information and imagining their pasts ourselves?), and the characters were paper cutouts, just plopped in situations by the author, with lukewarm reactions. Had they been explored more I'd fine with just following them from place to place, but the characterizations were even *less* than "bare bones", we know absolutely nothing about these girls.
Don't even get me started on the nunnery scene ("Don't you have anything stronger?" LMAO chill, tuff gurl), or the "let's have a cat fight for a man (who's never even shown)" climax, or the complete lack of closure. I'll have forgotten all about this graphic novel in a week, max.
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May 10, 2024Thank god for open library. (https://archive.org/details/operation...)!!
I've seen panels from this comic book floating around on We Heart It and Pinterest in 2014. Back then, I was 15, full of creativity and inspiration. Katie Skelly's art just really spoke to me somehow and I was enchanted by it. I just really liked how she drew girls and how sassy/unique her heroines looked. There was a hint of manga styling but also her signature limited color palette that set her own unique spin on it.
Operation Margarine has always been sort of a white whale for me. I could never find the book in person and chances of it ever being sold in local bookstores in Malaysia is 0%. It's an indie comic by an indie artist no one has ever heard of here. What chance would I ever get to know the full story? So I could only speculate and imagine what the whole tale was about through the scraps of black and white illustrations online. My mind lingered on that iconic image of one of those girls dressed in a black leather jacket smoking a cigarette and standing in the rain with a defiant scowl on her face. "Fuck this and fuck you." the speech bubble said. I had no context at all for that scene but it left an impression on me. Something about her style just speaks volumes with such simple, strong lines.
Today, I finally read the story and now I finally know the context for that scene. I also finally found out that the girl's name is Bon Bon. But she isn't the main character of the story. That would be Margarine Litres, a runaway debutante with a pixie cut and a desire to escape her wealthy, overly controlled life.
The comic is only a 108 pages and it's a fast-paced, fun, exciting read from start to finish. Essentially, it's a pretty straightforward story. A young rich lady named Margarine escapes her gilded cage when a tough girl named Bon Bon rides into her life on a motorbike. Bon Bon taught her to be fearless, to start fights, to punch like she meant it and injected much needed wildness in her sheltered personality. But just as Margarine is starting to enjoy her newfound freedom, the two of them realize a bounty has been placed on their heads and a ruthless gang of female bikers is out to track them down. The leader, Billy has some unfinished revenge with Bon Bon and eventually, that conflict escalates during the climax leading to a surprising bittersweet twist.
The transformation of Margarine is as fast as a speeding bullet or an out-of-control motorbike racing into the desert. She started off pretty disempowered, sent off to a boarding school she hated and escaping from a mental institution where she had been placed against her will. She had no say over her life and her mother called all the shots. But as the story progressed, her friendship with Bon Bon taught her so much. She grew bolder and braver. Donning a black leather jacket over her sweet mod dress, she became a rebel who wasn't afraid to ask for a gun and a bike just within a few minutes of meeting her new friend. I liked how she wasn't afraid to ask for what she wanted. She was almost greedy with excitement to try out her new life and shed her old one around Bon Bon. Her true personality started showing throughout the journey as she got more comfortable drinking, dancing, cursing and riding a motorbike through the desert. I liked how her flashbacks to bitter memories of people pushing her around in the past gave her the fuel to transform.
By the end of the comic, Margarine isn't the same person she was at the beginning and her full transformation into a ruthless tough girl biker outlaw is complete. Her strength was even acknowledged by the enemy and nobody dared to mess with her anymore as she drove off into the desert night.
Overall, a five star read!
I've seen panels from this comic book floating around on We Heart It and Pinterest in 2014. Back then, I was 15, full of creativity and inspiration. Katie Skelly's art just really spoke to me somehow and I was enchanted by it. I just really liked how she drew girls and how sassy/unique her heroines looked. There was a hint of manga styling but also her signature limited color palette that set her own unique spin on it.
Operation Margarine has always been sort of a white whale for me. I could never find the book in person and chances of it ever being sold in local bookstores in Malaysia is 0%. It's an indie comic by an indie artist no one has ever heard of here. What chance would I ever get to know the full story? So I could only speculate and imagine what the whole tale was about through the scraps of black and white illustrations online. My mind lingered on that iconic image of one of those girls dressed in a black leather jacket smoking a cigarette and standing in the rain with a defiant scowl on her face. "Fuck this and fuck you." the speech bubble said. I had no context at all for that scene but it left an impression on me. Something about her style just speaks volumes with such simple, strong lines.
Today, I finally read the story and now I finally know the context for that scene. I also finally found out that the girl's name is Bon Bon. But she isn't the main character of the story. That would be Margarine Litres, a runaway debutante with a pixie cut and a desire to escape her wealthy, overly controlled life.
The comic is only a 108 pages and it's a fast-paced, fun, exciting read from start to finish. Essentially, it's a pretty straightforward story. A young rich lady named Margarine escapes her gilded cage when a tough girl named Bon Bon rides into her life on a motorbike. Bon Bon taught her to be fearless, to start fights, to punch like she meant it and injected much needed wildness in her sheltered personality. But just as Margarine is starting to enjoy her newfound freedom, the two of them realize a bounty has been placed on their heads and a ruthless gang of female bikers is out to track them down. The leader, Billy has some unfinished revenge with Bon Bon and eventually, that conflict escalates during the climax leading to a surprising bittersweet twist.
The transformation of Margarine is as fast as a speeding bullet or an out-of-control motorbike racing into the desert. She started off pretty disempowered, sent off to a boarding school she hated and escaping from a mental institution where she had been placed against her will. She had no say over her life and her mother called all the shots. But as the story progressed, her friendship with Bon Bon taught her so much. She grew bolder and braver. Donning a black leather jacket over her sweet mod dress, she became a rebel who wasn't afraid to ask for a gun and a bike just within a few minutes of meeting her new friend. I liked how she wasn't afraid to ask for what she wanted. She was almost greedy with excitement to try out her new life and shed her old one around Bon Bon. Her true personality started showing throughout the journey as she got more comfortable drinking, dancing, cursing and riding a motorbike through the desert. I liked how her flashbacks to bitter memories of people pushing her around in the past gave her the fuel to transform.
By the end of the comic, Margarine isn't the same person she was at the beginning and her full transformation into a ruthless tough girl biker outlaw is complete. Her strength was even acknowledged by the enemy and nobody dared to mess with her anymore as she drove off into the desert night.
"Her name was 'Margarine'...and the desert is hers-she can have it!"
Overall, a five star read!
January 10, 2018
Excellent short graphic novel following the awesome & illegal antics of two bad, bad girls. Fantastic escapism. Could have had a bit more story but a really great escape read for some vicarious living 😉
May 12, 2022
cute art but the story was very bare bones
May 9, 2016
This short graphic novel focuses on Margarine, a rich girl running away from psychiatric help and a stifling family, and Bon-Bon, a tough girl who happens to choose bad boyfriends. The two go on a crazy adventure where they steal motorcycles and run away from a biker gang and get into shoot-outs while the narrative explores their backstories. It was an okay graphic novel, though I would have liked greater closure. Definitely deserves a read though.
August 18, 2014
This delightful romp is like what you might get if you took one part Girl, Interrupted with one part Thelma and Louise and added a good dash of Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill, then set the dial to Pulverize. I really like Katie Skelly's 60's pop-art influenced drawings, which fit the subject matter perfectly. It's a mere slip of a book which I found difficult to resist.
September 16, 2015
I love the art in this book! It's really fun and cute which is an interesting contrast considering the plot being pretty bloody and dark. There were parts that I felt were rushed as far as plot went, but then a couple pages later the loose ends would be tied.
April 19, 2014
Two bad ass bitches on bikes bust up a biker gang in the desert...oh, why wasn't this longer?! Skelly is a humdinger of a gem!
April 20, 2014
Wonderful!
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May 28, 2014Cool art, but I wish it had been more flushed out.
October 5, 2014
One "tuff" girl and one troubled rich girl have an explosive adventure in the desert. Imagine a team-up of Twiggy and Tura Satana. Groovy!
June 13, 2015
Two badass ladies form a motorcycle gang? Count me in.
April 1, 2017
Fun breezy read that feels like a reimagining of old schlocky grindhouse movies with a modern feminist sensibility. Katie Skelly takes the best of this and combines it with a unique cartooning sensibility that is like putting Osamu Tezuka's early 70s gekiga, Kyoko Okazaki's best work and psychedelia of the early 70s into a blender delivering a unique cartoon experience that is neither overly formulaic manga or often too wordy american indie comic books. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews