Get Jiro!

Los Angeles. The Future. The world is dominated by food and chefs are the new power. The best sushi place is a little shop on the outskirts of town, a master chef named Jiro is obsessed with the precise & delicate art of making sushi. Jiro deals with only the best for his food, the best tools, the best ingredients and expects nothing less from his patrons. To expect anything else could be lethal. Two ruthless chef warlords from two very different parts of the city compete for the employment of this rumoured sushi prodigy and will stop at nothing to get what they want. But with an agenda of his own, Jiro will slice n’ dice his way to the top of the (ahem) food chain in a culinary clash the likes the city of angels has never witnessed. So make a reservation, put on your best clothes and whatever you do, don’t order the California rolls!

The Chefs

Written by Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw) & Joel Rose (the Blackest Bird, La Pacifica). Illustrated by Langdon Foss (Dinonauts, Heavy Metal). Published as a Hard Cover Graphic Novel by Vertigo Comics.

The Menu

From renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, comes an ultra violent & wickedly funny tale of a futuristic society obsessed with food & the art of cooking. This is a great crime story for anyone looking for something different and it’s as fresh as Jiro’s ingredients. The dialogue is as sharp as a bushido blade and the story offers some twists & turns along the way. You’ll also learn a thing or two about the world of fine cuisine. The characters have a lot of rage, anger & some colourful language, which felt more like the story was instead written by Gordon Ramsay, the famous hot tempered chef. The two rival chef gang leaders competing for Jiro’s business are Bob, a professional chef who values culinary traditions above everything else & Rose, a ring pierced vegan obsessed health nut with a pig farm that would make Brick Top from snatch a little envious.

The illustrations are by newcomer (well he’s new to me) Langdon Foss, Foss’ drawings make this whole HC worthwhile. With the help of colourists Jose Villarrubia & Dave Stewart, the splattered blood is bright red & the food looks so good, you can practically smell it off the pages. His attention to detail is incredible with full page drawings of the city, reminiscent of Goef Darrow’s style (Hard Boiled, Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot) in a weird Where’s Waldo book, the food & Ghetto version. The story starts with the focus on one man, but eventually becomes a struggle for a society on the brink of a revolution, which pleasantly surprised me.

L’Addition

Having dove in with zero expectations, this HC graphic novel just entertained the hell out me. It left me with a huge grin on my face and a grumble in my stomach. Warning! If you read this on an empty stomach, you’re will get very hungry.