Power Lunch: First Course by Mayday Trippe & J. Torres
An all-ages graphic novel from Mayday Trippe and J. Torres about a kid who gains superpowers from eating colored food—the ultimate lunchtime hero origin story.
📖 Oni Press • Started 2011
What if lunchtime was the most powerful moment of your day? That’s the deliciously fun premise of Power Lunch: First Course, an all-ages graphic novel that turns the school cafeteria into a launchpad for heroics.
Joey is the new weird kid at school. His mom has him on the strictest diet imaginable: nothing but white food. Bread, milk, potatoes, cauliflower—if it has any color at all, it’s off the table. Naturally, this makes him a target for bullies and the subject of endless curiosity. But the old weird kid at school, Jerome, decides to befriend him anyway. And that’s when Joey’s secret comes out: every colored food he eats gives him a different superpower. Fruit punch makes him super-strong. Star fruit lets him fly. Lunch isn’t just lunch—it’s his origin story.
Written by award-winning comics writer J. Torres (Alison Dare, Teen Titans Go, Batman) and illustrated by Mayday Trippe with warm, cartoonish energy, Power Lunch: First Course (published by Oni Press in 2011) is a pitch-perfect introduction to the world of graphic novels for young readers. It’s the kind of book that makes kids giggle while sneaking in messages about friendship, standing up to bullies, and—yes—healthy eating.
Trippe’s art is the secret ingredient here. Their simplified, expressive character designs give every page a Saturday-morning-cartoon vitality, with clever visual details that reward repeat readings—look closely and you’ll spot hints about Joey’s powers hidden throughout the backgrounds. Publishers Weekly praised the “cartoonlike images and snappy dialogue” and called it “a fine intro to what should be an entertaining series.”
The book proved so popular it spawned a 2014 sequel, Power Lunch Vol. 2: Seconds, in which Joey faces a new school, a new sport (soccer), and a new moral dilemma: is using your superpowers to win fair, even when the other team is cheating?
Perfect for fans of Lunch Lady, Babymouse, and anyone who’s ever wondered what would happen if broccoli made you bulletproof.
