Anthony Bourdain's first foray into comics, co-written with Joel Rose (Kill Kill Faster Faster), yields a graphically violent, in-your-face adventure akin to the Soup Nazi meeting the Sopranos--or maybe a cross between the Soup Nazi and The Bride of Kill Bill. The setting of Get Jiro! is a futuristic Los Angeles where food culture dominates the landscape. Two rival "warlord" chefs, having divided the city into meat-eaters (Chef Bob) and vegans (Chef Rose, a not-so-subtle nod to Chez Panisse and Alice Waters), court Jiro, an independent sushi chef on the city's fringes after hearing that he mercilessly lops off the head of a patron who dips his sushi rice-down into soy sauce. What ensues is a vicious blood bath that marries Bourdain's philosophical approaches to food with the punchy noir voice that characterizes all of his writing.
The artwork by Langdon Foss is vivid, harking back to old-school comics created in the pre-digital age, and Bourdain and Rose's anti-hero combines the rebelliousness of Bourdain with the merciless cunning of a sword-wielding Sherlock Holmes. Jiro can be read as an alter-ego for Bourdain--a cool, suave wayfarer in search of food justice in a world of gauche talking heads. The epic story adds another dimension to Bourdain's already accomplished career: let's hope enough readers discover this new side of his talent to ensure a sequel. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer