The Delicacy, a new Graphic Novel from IDW, captures the thrills and chills of life in the food industry… from organic food production to running a state-of-the-art trendy restaurant chain in London and elsewhere.
It’s the ‘product’ of British writer and illustrator James Albon. The book begins on a remote Scottish island, where two boys are being raised by their eccentric mother. When a fluke situation develops that leads the boys off the island and into mainstream life, they decide to raise vegetables and meat on a farm and then open a restaurant. Some of the farm’s products turn out to be very very popular with customers, almost addictive!!
Tulip and his brother Rowan are perfect foils. Perfectly opposite. Introverted and extroverted. Thin and not so thin. But both are ambitious to a fault, even if they frequently disagree. And the “faults” in the story are where the strength of the drama seeps in; its jokes, sadness, and the growing anticipation on the complications to come.
The Delicacy is entertaining, has some twists and turns in plot that generate fine entertainment, and is a wonderful delve into the world of competitive restauranteering. I found it a ‘long’ read, one that could have benefited from some pruning and reducing. Albon could have boiled away a bit of the every day juice, and let the rest thicken. It’s full of indie-flavoured drawings that are in turn ripe with fun, exaggeration, and personal expression.
IDW, Top Shelf imprint, The Delicacy (graphic novel), $24.99 for 320 full colour pages(!!)
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