Episode 029: Bloom
“Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band - if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens.
But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easy going guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.
Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow”
This week we are reviewing “Bloom”, a comic by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau about two boys who slowly develop feelings for one another as they spend the summer working together in a quaint seaside town. As we approach the end of summer, why not round it out with another tale of summer romance.
You can either listen to the podcast above, or you can read below for a majority of the transcript of the podcast! Now as always, our discussion will begin with a brief summary of the comic followed by spoiler free thoughts and feelings. This will be followed by an in-depth discussion of some of the key plot points that occurred and we will then finish off with my overall rating of the comic and a heads up about what we are looking at next time. If you have not had a chance to read Bloom and don’t want to hear any spoilers, then please feel free to skip the detailed section and listen to it afterwards if you so wish.
The premise itself is a nice slice of life story, with Ari reaching that stage in his life where he wishes to go out into the world, but isn’t quite sure of what or where he wants to be, other than not working at his family bakery anymore! It’s a very grounded story of having a summer crush and helping discover that you don’t need to have everything planned out for your life straight out the gate. It makes the story a fairly easy & quick read, and it also meant the themes were quite relatable as someone who has also questioned what the fuck am I doing as an adult.
As a visual medium, the artwork also plays an important part in bringing the story to life, and I did feel that the visuals were detailed enough without being overwhelming and thoroughly engaging. I also have to say that Savanna Ganucheau made a brilliant choice to use only aquamarine colouring throughout the book, it really makes it stand out while keeping things simple. And throughout the book we are treated to some lovely double page spreads which beautifully detailing our characters baking in the kitchen together. In the heat of baking, I sometimes feel it's a messy endeavour but these spreads make it all look so elegant.
As well as being a love story, there are other valuable lessons that Panetta and Ganucheau have laced throughout the comic. A key theme we get is that we don’t need to have everything planned out in terms of life decisions nor have an exact idea of where we are going from the get-go. We are allowed to take time out to think about where we want to go and discover what ignites our passion and will drive us going forward. All smartly wrapped up in taking the summer between college years or the gap between leaving high-school and the rest of someone's life to really illustrate this process to us.
In terms of representation, the story is really good at showing us a typical summer crush story without making a big deal about the sexuality of the characters. I love that we can have pieces of media that don’t make a thing about the characters sexuality, but instead give it true equality treatment with it just being another facet that makes up the person, and I really appreciate the normalisation of queer relationships!
Also, you know I love a good selection of extras and this comic doesn't disappoint! There is a cute little recipe for sourdough rolls, which feels only natural for a story about being in a bakery, along with some lovely production artwork. Best of all, there is a soundtrack at the back presented as a mix CD for Ari, and I freaking love a soundtrack as someone that also uses them for their own artistic endeavours!
Final Feelings and Recommendation
If you're a fan of the tale of summer crushes as a teen still finding themselves, then this will definitely hit that sweet spot for you! And this is also a useful read for anyone that is coming up to a major junction in their life and aren’t sure about what path to take, as it reminds us that we don’t need to know the exact perfect path to our future.
I would give this lil comic a strong 8 out of 10 sourdough rolls. It's an easy read, looks beautiful, and has a very wholesome narrative at its core along with some very relatable lessons.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Now, just a reminder that at this point, I will be going into a more detailed analysis of the comic which means there will be spoilers! If you haven’t managed to read Bloom yet and you don’t want anything spoiled, then this is your last chance to avoid the discussion. Or you can go ahead and close the page, go read the comic and then come back afterwards to finish reading. I promise I won’t mind. Still here? Well then, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Now the best way to start a summer romance comic is clearly to jump in at a wedding, specifically the wedding of Ari’s sister. Here we see Ari thinking about moving away now that he has finished high school, but his sister is putting some soft pressure on staying put and helping with the family bakery. Without much more context, I do rankle a bit against the idea of familial pressure being applied to life decisions, as I do feel it takes away people's sovereignty, but it does seem to just be a temporary suggestion while Ari finds what direction he goes in.
As he goes out after the wedding we meet his friends that he is in a band with and they are all planning to move to the big city together after the summer, although there already seems to be at least one problematic person in the group. Then when Ari gets home to the flat above the family bakery, we witness a chat with him and his dad where he is being asked to step up with helping out at the bakery and is told to be “sensible”. Little frustrating to have Ari’s choices belittle like that, and eventually they settle on looking at hiring another person who can take over his role after the summer when he moves to the big city with his friends.
As Ari goes out to make the deliveries, he passes Hector and we get a change in perspective for the story. We find out that Hector has come to town to clear out his Nana’s house due to her recent passing and that soon his friend Meg and Andrew will be visiting soon, although it seems Andrew is a bit clingy so maybe he was more than a friend at one point? Although he is hardly the worst person Hector has to deal with, since he runs into an older woman who flirts with him at the supermarket all because she knew him when he was much younger. Umm yeah, really odd choice lady…
The interviews for the new bakery member are a wash out, but Hector is studying to actually be a baker so says he will come back the next day to trial. And so that evening Ari and the gang head out to the city, but we see that it’s similar to any high school friend group where some connections are more of convenience since Cameron is acting like a dick to Ari and it gets people questioning if some even like Cameron because of how mean he is. Yet Ari seems to idolise him for some reason, regardless of how cruel he and Lauren can be towards him. It flags up that interesting aspect that sometimes we remain friends with people not because we like them, but because we are convenient and I think it's always worth looking at those friendships and seeing if it actually benefits you or if it is having a detrimental effect on your own wellbeing and if you should be leaving that situation.
Back at Hector’s nana’s house, or I suppose just Hector’s house now, we join him and his visiting friends. We see Meg rummaging around like a manic fairy, with some light banter between them as well as asking when he is coming back to college as they all miss him. Meanwhile Andrew has those vibes of someone still interested in his ex, and when Meg heads off to bed he does try to kiss him as they watch TV. Hector however puts the brakes on that and reminds him that they broke up for a reason, mainly the fact that Hector was ready to move around the country for Andrew but when he got nervous, Andrew just got mad instead of supportive. I really appreciated seeing someone being firm in their decision to leave a partner, especially since it shows Hector has a healthy respect for himself.
Hector appears for his trial at the bakery, and so it’s baguette making time! As the day progresses the two boys start to build up a rapport, however Ari’s friends show up and while he is talking to them, Cameron starts being a dick about Hector and they all laugh about it. Funnily enough, the bakery isn’t that big and Hector overhears it, so things are a little frosty for the rest of the day. I get Ari’s laughter was more uncomfortable with Cameron being a douche, but even then with no formal apology to Hector or such it is a shitty move on his part, as well as his friends.
Later at the arcade we hear that Cameron and Lauren are officially a thing, and so we can all see this is going to end well for their little band… During this gathering, Ari actually calls out Cameron for being a dick to Hector at the bakery, although he doesn’t give a fuck and Hanna actually gets defensive saying that she never said anything and that Ari laughed along with it, so he can’t just blame all of them and not own up to his own part in this. It’s a fair point, you can’t just throw people under the bus when you were joining in on being a shitty person but well done on finally realising it wasn’t a cool thing to do.
There is another day at the bakery where we see Ari getting stuck in with Hector and we even get a few educational tidbits shared with the reader about baking. That night Ari overhears his parents talking about needing to discuss something with him soon, and he can’t sleep that night and so aims to text someone, but chooses not to engage with any of his current friend group. He actually sneaks down to look in the employee file and messages Hector, who actually responds! So we see the slow budding of Ari’s feelings towards Hector and his comfortability speaking with him. Very sweet.
Now we move into July, and of course the place is swarming with summer tourists! Our boys head out for food and run into Hanna serving there, which has Hector acting a bit odd since he is still upset about being mocked the other day by the gang, which includes her. It’s brought up, she doesn’t actually apologise and is quick to change the subject, and rather than argue any more with Ari he just wants to drop it.
The creepy woman from the store appears, and so the boys dash out, while holding hands might I add, and run through the festivities of the summer day! They eventually wind up on top of a hill, overlooking the town as the lights are coming on, and even get to watch the fireworks together. It’s all very sweet and these little interactions continue to build up the feelings between our two protagonists.
There is some tension between Ari and his dad the next day as there is a baking bonanza going on to prepare for a summer fair that the boys will be going to tomorrow to represent the bakery. And the early morning ride over is plain sailing, well other than a near-hit with a deer and a flat tire change. Once more Ari’s friends appear, suppose small towns mean you run into people all the time, and Cameron is acting a dick again, saying that Ari hasn’t been helping look for places so isn’t sure if he even wants to move anymore. If people can’t understand that you might have other commitments, especially when you have clearly told them before you need to assist at the family bakery before you can springboard your moving away, it really calls into question if they are really your friends.
Our boys have another day hanging out and eventually end up on Ari’s roof, getting all deep and personal with the conversation. Hector questions why Ari wants to leave since it seems like he has a good life here, to which Ari admits he doesn’t really know what he wants yet which I think is relatable to many of us just finishing high school. It's one of the key themes of the story in this book, not being sure of where you want to head next and needing time to process and decide. And that is 100% ok, nobody has it all figured out on day one and we can make choices, make mistakes, learn, and choose again.
Ari also hits back by asking why he broke up with Andrew, to which he is told Andrew wanted a fixer, not a boyfriend out of Hector. Again Hector shows some emotional maturity in realising that it’s not his role to fix his partner, that’s something only they can do and he can be supportive of them. And the boy knows his own limits and acts upon them, which is just great to see!
The boys end up watching the stars together, omg so gaaaaay. Ari does fall asleep and almost slips off the roof, but thankfully Hector has those strong baker arms and saves his boy from a fall!
This time we hang out with Hector’s friends since they are back in town and it turns out that Ari and Andrew like the same band, so they bond over that while Meg teases Hector a bit about what she can see developing between the two bakery boys.
However, all good things must come to an end and Hector has to head back home for a bit, to which Ari gets all huffy due to his own insecurities. They admit they will both miss each other, and Hector admits they are basically best friends, although from Ari’s face it's clear to see there might be more there for him. It’s an indication that Ari still has some things to work on as a person, and with what we know about Hector’s previous relationship, it could be an indication of things to come.
While hanging out with his friends, Cameron and Lauren announce they will be going solo instead of being in the band, which upsets Ari since it now feels like his previous plans are all crashing down. Instead of being a decent person, Cameron just starts insulting him and so Ari chooses, rightly, to leave that situation.
He ends up bumping into Hector, who has come back a day early since he missed Ari and expected him to be happy. But instead Ari is going on a depression spiral feeling like he can’t do anything right and that nobody cares about him. Hector establishes a boundary that Ari is clearly trying to put stuff onto him and he won’t have that, so he too chooses to rightly walk away from that scenario. Although Ari will be feeling shit about what is happening with his friends, there isn’t any justification for taking that out on people who do care and have been nothing but supportive of him all summer.
The next day Ari realises he was acting like a shit and apologises to Hector, however he still seems a bit off during the day. To cheer him up, Hector bakes a treat but before he can properly get it out the over Ari is kissing him! Finally, about time boys! And yes, it is getting hot in here, but not because of the passion makeout session but because a fire has started since nobody turned off the oven properly!
Sadly the bakery does burn down, although everyone makes it out safely. And as Ari’s dad asks what happens, Hector takes the blame and Ari doesn’t contradict this, meaning Hector is fired.
We quickly move into August and we see that Ari is now sleeping on Cameron’s couch, being rudely awoken and told to get to work to ensure he has his rent money, or he will be kicked out. Great to see Cameron still being the same asshole then. We see that Ari really isn’t enjoying the city life, he doesn’t have any real connections to people, and seems to feel really isolated. He makes the choice to leave Cameron’s toxicity and actually head’s home, realising that maybe he didn’t really want what he thought he wanted for so many months.
He arrives at the motel his parents are staying at and breaks down crying, admitting that it was his fault the bakery burned down and he hurt Hector and misses him. His parents comfort him and it’s here that Ari’s dad talks about how when Ari was younger, he loved backing with him and yet as he got older, he seemed to become sadder and he felt like he was losing his son. It’s only just been over the summer that he seems to have had glimpses of his son again, all thanks to Hector being there. It’s a really subtle nod to how accepting Ari’s parents are about who he loves, but it also helps illustrate how the people we have around us can also help bring out the best, or sometimes the worst, in us.
Ari’s parents confirm they are getting the insurance paid out, and Ari says they should rebuild the bakery, clearly feeling that this is the healthiest place for him for the foreseeable future after all. The next day he bumps into Hanna and confirms he missed them, and he actually goes and retrieves the moped from the garage and heads along to Hector’s, noticing he is running an open house.
There is some tension since they haven’t spoken since the fire, and Hector is hurt about having just been dumped as soon as he wasn’t of use to Ari, which is not what Ari intended. He was ashamed, and scared, and he is here to apologise for just having left. So we get a sweet make-up where both boys admit they still have feelings for one another and there is a tender moment as they hug one another.
We then jump to December to finish out this tale, and we see the rebuilt bakery along with everyone coming along for Xmas celebrations. Hector is back at school, Ari is in a healthier mindset and is happily working at the bakery, and the two are now an official item.