I saw Flavor #1 solicited a few months ago, and the preview pages caught my eye. Well, it’s now here, from Image, and it IS easy on the eyes.
The scene is this: a young woman is running an unauthorized kitchen. That is, she is a cook, but unregistered. And the bureaucrats and her competition do not like that. Xoo is the girl, and she has her work cut out (pun intended) for her: rare Garuda Truffles are arriving by train, and she wants, NO, NEEDS!!! some! But she’s not the only one in town on the hunt for the rare truffles. Woe be the cook who is late for the train!
This opening situation is exquisitely paced, beautifully written and choreographed, and the drawings are amazing. It’s Joseph Keatinge on words, Wook Jin Clark on art, with Tamra Bonvillain on colors. And it doesn’t stop there: there are more characters to meet!
If you enjoy a European comic style such as Tintin, this book will appeal to you. Flavor’s visual style is nicely detailed cartoony realistic, and I mean that in a good way. The facial features are wholesome and attractive, the colors are rich and appealing.
As a postscript to the illustrated portion of the comic, there is a long interview between writer Joseph Keatinge and culinary consultant Ali Bouzari. Bouzari talks in major depth about his stance on melding new science with cooking in this three-page text feature.
Image Comics, Flavor 1. $3.99 for 27 pages of comic, 3 pages text. Rated Teen
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