The Incredible Story of Cooking: From Prehistory to Today 500,000 Years of Adventure (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's impossible to cover all aspects of over a half million years of cooking in less than 215 pages of comics. But writer Benoist Simmat and artist Stephane Douay do a decent job. Originally published in French, this book focuses mostly on the contribution of France to the culinary arts. Being a culinary graduate, I had wondered like many other culinary students why French cuisine is considered the fundamental region of which to begin learning how to cook. Thanks to Douay and Simmat, I feel like I have a definitive answer. Although you kinda have to draw a line between several important periods in history to get there. 

The beginning of France being the central hub of the culinary galaxy has to do with the Roman Empire. To the Romans, food was considered a gift from the gods and it was something to be treasured and conserved. With emperors such as Caligula and Nero, excess became the norm amongst the elite. And with this over-abundance came unnecessary waste. One such popular recipe called for one to use 100 flamingo tongues. The rest of the bird was bound for the trash heap. As a result of such wanton use of resources, many wealthy Romans sought other lands that made complete use of all parts of the food source being used.

This migration took many Romans north to Gaul, which is now modern day France. The Romans saw how the Gauls would use all parts of the animal slaughtered to make sausages, pates, and early versions of gelatin and terrines. This also explains why French cuisine utilizes many Italian ingredients and techniques. But why did French cuisine take over the world?

That answer has to do with the French Revolution. Right around when the American colonies began to seek independence from England, France was experiencing a level of decadence with the bourgeois class on par with Rome. Only, France wasn't so much wasting food as they were keeping the choice bits away from the peasants. 

France was a powerful ally to the American colonies. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were impressed by the cuisines of France they experienced while acting as ambassador for the fledgling United States of America. So impressed, they brought back chefs and recipes to share when they returned. Likewise, the first modern restaurants were taking shape in France, and they saw popularity with both sides of the French Revolution.

Some French chefs who were considered loyal to King Louis XVI fled France. They saw the guillotine used upon their benefactors and feared that they would be next. Thus a great migration of French chefs took French cuisine to the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and the United States. Those chefs who were on the side of Napoleon, such as Marie-Antoine Carême became the first celebrity chefs. These chefs were also used in a new sort of warfare, the diplomatic state dinner which was supposed to beguile visiting dignitaries with the culinary prowess of France.

The Incredible Story of Cooking covers other global cuisines, just not to the extent of French cooking. Japanese, ancient Greek and Chinese, meso-American, Spanish, English and Middle Eastern cuisine are briefly explored. Jewish cooking is virtually ignored and whenever American cuisine is mentioned, it's demonized as the 'Land of McDonald's.' Interestingly enough, this book begins with a look at prehistoric cooking and eating; which is rather ironic as the paleo diet, a current trend based on how cavemen ate, closes this examination of the history of how and why we eat as we do. It seems that our palates are attuned to a certain way of eating and those cuisines rotate through cycles, just like the seasons as they bring back the fruits of humanity's harvests. 

Completing this review completes Task #3 (About Food) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Action Comics #332 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In the 1960s, if you wanted to do something wild with DC's flagship character, Superman, you had two choices: use red kryptonite or make it an imaginary story. With red kryptonite, you could temporarily change the Man of Steel into a raving lunatic or give him the head of a ant. But if you wanted to play around with the dynamic of Superman and his friends and family, or even his personal history, you had to create an imaginary story.

Under a strict set of guidelines imposed by editor Mort Weisinger, Superman couldn't marry, he couldn't reveal his secret identity of Clark Kent and he couldn't go back in time to change the deaths of either his earthly parents, the Kent's or the destruction of his home world. That's where the imaginary tales come in.

In the cover story 'How Superwoman Trained Superboy', we see what would have happened if Kara Zor-El was born before her cousin Kal-El. Instead of only Kara going to Earth in the wake of the destruction of Krypton, her mother and father also make it to our planet. For a brief while, the family works in secret at night, using their new found powers, gained by our solar system's yellow sun, to help the people of Smallville. 

Meanwhile, Jor-El and his family have been living on a floating planetoid containing Argo City, encased in a protective plastic bubble. When asteroids destroy the dome and uncover deadly green kryptonite underneath Agro's crust, teenage Jor-El is sent to Earth to be reunited with his now adult cousin Kara. However instead of adopting the Kryptonian boy herself, she places Kal in Midvale Orphanage, until he can learn discipline and to master his new powers before he can become Superwoman's new sidekick, Superboy.

This issue opens with a Superman story involving his arch-enemy, Lex Luthor. Having escaped a prison planet, Superman goes to the planet Lexor, where the criminal mastermind is revered as the Lexor's savior, to find him. In doing so, he's inadvertently revealed to Luthor's wife Ardora that Lex is really a villain at heart. 

This causes a rift between Ardora and Luthor. Out of revenge, Lex plans to destroy Superman once and for all. But when the fiend discovers that another criminal is about to kill the Man of Steel, Lex actually comes to his foe's rescue. Changing plans, Luthor schemes to drive Superman insane by being his enemy's protector. 

But how that plan will be implemented will have to wait. Both 'The Super-Vengeance of Lex Luthor' and the cover story starring an adult Supergirl end on cliffhangers. That tale ends with Superboy planning to show Superwoman that he's more than ready to not only be her partner but out of revenge, he'll become something far more superior than his mighty cousin. 

Both stories were written by Leo Dorfman. Al Plastino both penciled and inked the Lex Luthor story. Jim Mooney was the artist and inker for the Superwoman adventure. Curt Swan was the cover artist.

Completing this review completes Task #15 (A Superman Comic From the 1960s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Big Book of Losers

It's a goal to collect all of the volumes that make up The Big Book Of collection from Factoid Books. Unfortunately, this one won't be added to my collection. But it wasn't because of quality or a dislike for the material. Quite the opposite, I found the source material so engrossing, that there are a couple of subjects that I would love to read further about.

For example, the Gatti Gang from Italy. A mismatched group of mostly middle aged bunglers who couldn't do anything right and after several years of trying, when they finally robbed a bank, they only took in enough lira, that it equaled and $25 American dollars.

1997's The Big Book of Losers is full of people who just couldn't get ahead. There's the group of 5 singing sisters who's voices were so bad, only 3 people showed for their reunion show. There's the innovative music producer who snapped under the pressure of a massive infringement lawsuit, killing his neighbor and ultimately himself, only in death to win the verdict and a slew of royalties. There's also some very famous names, like George Custer, 30-day President William Henry Harrison and many more.

Don't think this book is just about people who failed. There's a bunch of inventions, forms of entertainment and other concepts that went bust and ended up in this book. The most famous example being perhaps the Edsel from Ford, a car so hated, only one of the 100,000 that were sold was ever reported stolen. Did you know that Stephen King's Carrie was adapted into a musical? Plus if you think you're having a rough first day at work, take a gander at how things went on the inaugural day of the US Postal Service's Air Mail program!

As you can see, I really enjoyed this book. So why don't I keep it! It's because there's a misprint! A big one and not something that I think would be considered collectible. There is a roughly 30 page segment where the previous 30 pages are included once again. Called an 'erratum', it's a rare production error and yet I have encountered such boo-boos in at least 2 other books with this error and countless comics. Am I am loser when it comes to finding these?

Thankfully I only paid 75 cents for the book. While I don't think it would be ethical for me to try and pass this off on someone else by trying to resell at a used bookstore, I do not have any qualms counting this as having read it. It's not my fault the book is missing a section. It just would be wrong to try and sell it as complete to someone else. To the free shelf it goes and on my wish list it remains.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Bullwinkle #2

The second and last solo issue from Gold Key in the 1960s titled Bullwinkle. It really didn't need to be renamed because the formula is exactly like the TV show. It just reflects that Bullwinkle became the break out star.

The opening story has Rocky and Bullwinkle investigating the so-called 'Phantom of the Soap Opera.' While squirrel uncovers the clues, moose plays bait, taking a lead role in the stage production. 

Afterwards, Snidely Whiplash infiltrates Mountie's headquarters, posing as a travelling magician whose closing act promises to be explosive for Dudley Do-right. The 'Fractured Fairy Tale' is a spoof on the Woodcutter's Daughter, becoming a beautiful starlet after she rescues a witch. Mr. Peabody takes his boy Sherman back to meet P.T. Barnum around the time he was playing manager for noted songstress Jenny Lind and the talking dog becomes the circus' latest star attraction!

In a rarity, there's also a 3-page solo story starring Boris and Natasha. The spies film a promotional video touting the benefits of living in Pottsylvania and wind up making the Communist country sound so good that nobody will want to escape from it!

Bookending this issue has Bullwinkle resulting in trickery to win a kiddie TV show contest. Also posing as a child in hopes of winning is Boris, who thinks his short stature and former childhood prowess will net him a humiliating win over the children of the United States.

Another fun read that includes a Ripley's Believe It or Not type feature of unusual and somewhat comical facts. It would be almost a decade before Bullwinkle and Rocky returned to comics with a very poor adaptation from Charlton. If you can't get your hands on the classic episodes, this is the next best thing for many laughs and a few groaners. But that's was to be expected from the toon as well.

Worth Consuming!

Rating; 8 out of 10 stars.

CBGB: OMFUG (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Creators from mainstream and Indie comics along with musicians, music experts and those intimately involved in the operation of the legendary New York music venue CBGB joined forces in 2010 to present a 4-issue anthology from Boom! Studios. 

CBGB was at the forefront of the American punk scene, providing a headquarters for fabled bands such as Television, Blondie, Talking Heads and Ramones. It later evolved into the home of New Wave as punk began to fade. But it wasn't intended that way. When Hilly Krystal opened his bar, he felt that country music was going to be the next best thing in the Big Apple. Hence, the name CBGB, which stood for 'Country, Bluegrass and Blues'. Like one of the characters says in the opener 'A NYC Punk Carol', which untangles the facts from the myth of CBGB, the owner 'couldn't have been more wrong.' In desperate need of patrons, Krystal would allow very avant garde acts to perform under the arrangement that the band got the door sales and Holly got the bar take. Soon, an unusual new vibe began to form, fueled by a single rule: there are no rules.

Kieron Gillen, Rob G.,  and Kelly Sue Deconnick, among others, examined the past, present and future of CBGB. The past of the venue was vast and rich. The present for fans of CBGB, was pretty bleak. In 2006, the club closed due to a dispute over rent. (Patti Smith was the site's final act.) A year later, Hilly Krystal passed from complications of lung cancer. By the time this miniseries saw print, CBGB was an entity in name only with licensing of the name and logo on countless T-shirts, hats and book bags being overseen by the venue's long-time general manager, Louise Staley, who reviewed and approved all of the stories in this collection. 

As for the future of CBGB, as long as the acts that got their start at 315 Bowery, Manhattan continue to enthrall the next generation of music lovers and musicians, CBGB will continue to live on, if only as just a memory and commercial property.

Note: OMFUG isn't an acronym for dirty talk. It stands for 'Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers.' In this case, the gourmandizers were 'eaters of music.'

Completing this review completes Task #4 (About Music) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Bullwinkle and Rocky #9 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Though new episodes hadn't been produced in over 2 decades, Rocky and Bullwinkle saw a resurgence in the mid-1980s thanks to home video. Disney, of all companies, actually had distribution rights of the show through their sister company, Buena Vista Video. Suddenly, children born in the late 70s and early 80s could watch The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle any time they wanted. 

With parents in full nostalgia mode, they began purchasing the VHS formatted home entertainment to share with their children. Local TV stations took note and began picking up various incarnations of the animated series in heavy syndication. In 1986-87, I remember it being a big deal that Rocky and Bullwinkle were coming to a UHF band TV station in Fayetteville, NC. One hour blocks filled with special messages from Bullwinkle and his friends were peppered throughout the broadcast, along with special trivia contests and drawings for you prizes during the debut week. 

Marvel Comics took note of Rocky and Bullwinkle's revival and signed a franchise deal with Jay War Productions to produce a comic book. Originally published under Marvel's all-ages imprint Star Comics, Rocky and Bullwinkle soon switched imprints to the Marvel line up with issue #3, when the publisher shuttered the majority of the family friendly run of titles. 

This 1989 edition of Rocky and Bullwinkle would mark the debut of all-new adventures of not just the main stars, it would also see the first original adventures of Dudley Do-Right, Sherman and Peabody and Fractured Fairy Tales since 1964. However, due to a page count of only 28 pages, only 1 regular sized extra feature was possible. In this issue, in a story that doesn't seem from a traditionally known fairy-tale, an inept, bumbling King is saved from his scheming chief of staff by his own dumb luck. Then Bullwinkle returns for a 2-page adventure as resident Frostbite Falls genius, Mr. Know-It-All, showing readers what it takes to train to become a famous actor. For those of you wondering, what it takes is the ability to wash dishes and wait tables. The cover story is a two-parter, book-ending the issue. As Hollywood announces the disappearance of superhero costumes across Tinsel Town, Bullwinkle gets his chance to play his hero, the Masked Avenger: because he is the only one left in the world with his fan made outfit!

Dave Manak was the main writer for this issue. He also contributed some of the art, along with Ernie Colon. While Manak and Colon present screen accurate representations of the main characters, the supporting characters do not look in the style of series creator Jay Ward. Characters such as the original actor who plays the Masked Avenger and the King and his court look more like they were drawn as characters in a Flintstones or a Jetsons comic book. A.A. Perry wrote the Mr. Know-It-All episode.

Delightful fun. But it wouldn't last. This was the last issue published by Marvel Comics.

Completing this review completes Task #19 (Cartoon Comic Adaptation from the 1980s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Bullwinkle and Rocky #4 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

After a brief defection to Charlton Comics, Moose and Squirrel returned to Western Publishing. From 1972 to 1980 under the Gold Key imprint. Legacy numbering was used for the series with the fun beginning with issue #3. Over the course of the series, at least 6 Whitman variants would be produced.

The new series, now retitled Bullwinkle and Rocky, from just being named after the noted alum from Wottsamotta U, was still riding high from syndication reruns. After The Bullwinkle Show ceased producing new material in 1964, the show continued on network television in reruns on Sunday mornings under several titles. Thanks to syndication packages that also included a repackaged run on a series called The Hoppity Hooper Show, it would not be until the 1990s before America saw a Bullwinkle void on the airwaves, albeit very briefly.

Seeing that Bullwinkle and Rocky were appealing to a new generation of cartoon viewers, Western Publishing was able to cut costs by recycling in material from their Dell and Gold Key archives. Even cover art from that era was reused, with only the new title and a new price tag being the only changes. A small handful of issues saw new material, mostly starring Rocky and Bullwinkle. Backup features starring Dudley Do-right, Sherman and Peabody and 'Fractured Fairytales' were all reissues, as the smaller page count for the 70s Gold Key issues allowed for those segments to be spread out over multiple issues. Some issues, such as issue #12 was compromised of only reprinted material.

In issue #4, Bullwinkle is signed by a producer to become the next singing sensation. A la Johnny Bravo on The Brady Bunch, Bullwinkle fame is more based on appearance and very little talent. The second story has the friends at a carnival where Bullwinkle wins a special prize. Unknown to the colorblind carny, who is secretly an agent of Pottsylvania, he's accidentally given a hollowed out cane filled with top secret blueprints to the Moose instead of Boris and Natasha. The dastardly duo spend the rest of the story chasing Bullwinkle around the festival in hilarious attempts to steal the cane.

There are 2 back-up features. Sherman and Peabody travel to Roman times to see a very indecisive Julius Caesar stymied by superstition. The 'Fractured Fairy Tale' skewers the classic Jack and the Bean Stalk with Jack's mother taking a more active role.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #19 (Cartoon Comic Adaptation from the 1970s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.