Graphic Novel Review: Super Trash Clash by Edgar Camacho

Posted on February 28, 2023 at 6:38 am by Gene Ambaum

Super Trash Clash by Edgar Camacho. Translation by Eva Ibarzabal. Top Shelf / IDW, 2022. 9781603095167. 96pp.

A young woman, Dul, buys an old video game cartridge she sees in a shop window and then rushes home to play it. And as she does she relives a childhood memory when, as a video game-obsessed young girl, she wanted a copy of Super Encounter Champions 2 to play with her friend Misa. Her mom bought her another game instead, the very poorly rated Super Trash Clash. What Dul did with the game, and how her mom reacted when she found out, form the emotional core of the story and are the reasons the game means so much to Dul now that she’s older.

It’s a quick graphic novel, and its emotional punch will sneak up on you, particularly if you were once (like me) an ungrateful latchkey kid who only now (sometimes) appreciates what your parent(s) did for you. (Worth noting: I love the full-color pages, which have a matte finish — I’ve read too many graphic novels with slick, glossy paper recently.)