I very much wanted to like this one, but…
Creative Staff:
Story: Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose
Art: Alberto Ponticelli, Vanesa Del Rey
Colors: Jose Villarrubia
What They Say:
Kitchen Nightmares!
On a dark, haunted night, a Russian oligarch dares a circle of international chefs to play the samurai game of 100 Candles–where each storyteller spins a terrifying tale of ghosts, demons and unspeakable beings–and prays to survive the challenge.
Inspired by the Japanese Edo period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, Hungry Ghosts reimagines the classic stories of yokai, yorei, and obake, all tainted with the common thread of food.
First course: With bad consequence, a ramen chef refuses to help a beggar, and a band of pirates get more (and less) than they were bargaining for after their encounter with a drowning woman turns ghastly.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The horror anthology is nothing new to comics. Short penny dreadfuls have been a staple of the medium since the glory days of EC, and it’s easy to see why. Many say that horror works best in short form, that the genre subsists on creating tension and atmosphere, and the longer the work, the harder it is to maintain those qualities. Couple short, nasty stories with effective art, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Well, in theory, anyway.
Hungry Ghosts works under a novel conceit: transposing a Samurai game from Japan’s Edo period with modern chefs. Whereas the stories told in Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai range far afield with no thematic thread other than the genre, Hungry Ghosts fashions each tale around food in some way, shape, or form.
This is hardly surprising considering that chef and writer Anthony Bourdain is co-writer. Bourdain hit the literary world with his book Kitchen Confidential, an entertaining, searing look at the life of a chef in New York. He parlayed that into a lucrative career traveling and writing about food and other cultures, first with his show No Reservations and later with Parts Unknown. He appeared on the comics scene a year or two ago with his work Get Jiro (which I haven’t read), and according to the afterword, he came up with the conceit for this new series.
On paper, this series has “Josh” written all over it. Horror anthology? Check. Based on Japanese history and culture? Big ol’ check. Edited by one of the greatest comic editors of all time, Karen Berger? Even bigger ol’ check! In reality, though, this first issue is a letdown.
To be clear, this isn’t a bad issue, it’s just underwhelming. It could just be a case of first-issue-itis. After all, this first issue has to establish the basic conceit, the setting, and the characters. Couple that with it trying to shoehorn in two stories on top of that, and you don’t have much room to breath or go into any kind of depth.
The frame story works well. A Russian oligarch throws a sumptuous party and hires some of the top chefs from around the world. The chefs gossip about their employer but then are called into the dining room to join the party. At the dinner table, the oligarch explains Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai and invites the chefs to participate. Well, invite is a polite term considering there doesn’t seem to be any choice in the matter.
The first story, “The Starving Skeleton” has about as much meat as the titular spirit. A ramen shop owner refuses to feed a homeless man and walks home, only to be stalked by the man—who, we discover, is a spirit skeleton—and devoured by him in front of his wife and children. The story is far too straightforward with no clear pacing or atmosphere. It’s not particularly frightening or entertaining, despite Alberto Ponticelli’s pencils and Jose Villarrubia’s dark, gloomy colors. There’s also a strange moment that took me right out of the story. As the chef flees the skeleton, he says “Here comes you father, children. How surprised he will be you’re still waiting up for him.” It’s unclear whom he’s talking to or why he’s even saying this. It seems like this should be the ghost’s dialogue, but that’s not how the panel plays out. I spent a good minute trying to figure that out, and it took me right out of the moment. Not that there was much there, but you get my drift.
The second story, “Pirates,” drawn by Vanesa Del Rey, fairs slightly better, but only slightly. The storyteller sets it up by saying “It used to be, back in the day, lustful women were thrown into the sea in retribution for their wanton ways. Who’s to know what happened to them?” Well, we do: they turn into hideous crab women who delight in taking men’s balls and ransoming them for gold. You know, as one does.
A pirate ship rescues a beautiful redheaded woman from the sea (although, frankly, if this were an actual human woman, she would have been better off drowning). It doesn’t take a storytelling genius to tell where this is going. Lonely, criminal men at sea, a single woman, it’s a bad equation. Yet the woman doesn’t appear too concerned. As she says, “I am strong. And used to every variety of bestial behavior. Now shall we get on with it?”
The captain enacts the pirate version of Droit de seigneur, and takes the woman to his bedchamber. She makes fun of the size of his penis (as one does) and then bites off his testicles. The crew is either deaf and blind or so horny that they don’t care about the danger. They line up for their turn. Literally, they queue right up, standing beside the bed while they watch this woman bite off their mates’ balls. And that’s where the story falls apart. Unless she casts some sort of spell on them, this makes no sense. It strains the reader’s willful suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. I can accept a monstrous crab lady who ransoms testicles for gold, but I can’t buy that level of horny stupidity.
It’s a shame, too, because “Pirates” had the potential to be a solid story. If it had been handled a little differently, it could have saved this first issue, but as it stands, it doesn’t live up to its potential. The real saving grace comes from Vanesa Del Rey’s line work, which is rough and thick, much like the story itself.
In Summary:
Instead of enticing me to read the next issue, Hungry Ghosts #1 makes me pine for Alex de Campi’s Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight. The pirate story in particular sounds like it’s right in her wheelhouse, and she would have done a better job with it. Still, first issues are difficult to pull off, and I hold out hope that this series will improve. I just hope that the other titles under the “Berger Books” imprint will fair better. Dr. J gives this a….
Grade: C-
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 31st, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
