Flavor Vol 1. by Joseph Keatinge, Wook Jin Clark, Tamra Bonvillain, Rich Tommaso

‘Follow that truffle.’ The opening line of a graphic novel I never knew I needed.

Xoo lives in The Bowl City… a place of strict hierarchy, all forged from food. Oh, and as usual, money and influence. Xoo is not one of those with power. She is a young woman who runs her parent’s crepe shop after they were in a grave accident that put them in wheelchairs,. The government sees her as a delinquent and sends for her happy-go-lucky, but mysterious uncle to be a caretaker for her and her parents. Uncle Geof sees great talent in Xoo and hastily enters her in the city cooking contest.

There are so many things I liked about this graphic novel. An anthropomorphic dog, an underground Iron Chef competition, Xoo’s upper-class former friend at the culinarian academy… and the artwork… it’s fresh and bright and so much fun. This is different in all the ways I needed. A new and unique world, and food. I love food!

I read Volume 1, which collects the first six issues of the story. It will continue and the drama will be high. What will happen to Xoo? Will she win the contest? What other secrets are being kept by Uncle Geof?

Highly Recommended for those looking for a taste of something different in their fantasy graphic novels.